A system and method are provided for providing users of voice conferencing with indications of the quality perceived by other users of the voice conferencing system. A voice conferencing bridge measures the quality of the each user's channel, and provides real-time feedback to users whose channel quality is inadequate and that other users cannot hear them clearly. The feedback may be in the form of in-band or out-of-band signals, indicating for example that the user should speak louder, should mute while off-line, or warning the user that his or her channel may be muted automatically. The last option is particularly useful if a participant has temporarily left the conference and is playing music or hold tones while absent.