Reverberation describes the way sound is reflected or absorbed as it travels around a room.
A large room with a lot of hard materials (plasterboard, timber, concrete, glass) will have a high reverberation time. Reverberation will sound lively and might get uncomfortably loud with a lot of people talking.
A room with a lot of soft materials (acoustic ceiling tiles, acoustic panels, curtains, upholstered furniture, thick carpet) will have a lower reverberation time. It won’t get as loud with a lot of people in it but might sound too dead or make it hard to project your voice across the room.
