Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing improved telephonic conferences is presented. A speaker is selected for each conferee from the signals of the other conferees. The peak values of the speaker signal establish a variable reference level which another conferee must first exceed in order to become the new speaker and establish a new reference level. The reference level is continuously allowed to decay so that new speakers may gain the floor when the current speaker's peak signals fall below the peak signals of another speaker. Both an analog and a digital embodiment of the invention are presented.