A method is set forth of controlling an acoustic echo canceller at the output of a beamformer in an audio conferencing device. Information is saved to, and retrieved from, memory that characterizes each of a finite number of look directions, or regions of focus, covering the entire spatial span of the conferencing device. Each time a change occurs from a first look direction to a second look direction, information relating to the workspace captured by the acoustic echo canceller is saved for the first look direction, and previously saved information for the second look direction is retrieved from memory. The acoustic echo cancellation then takes place for the second look direction with the retrieved information.