Zoom Meeting Tips & Tricks
Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the use of Zoom for virtual meetings has exploded. Our expectation is that Zoom virtual meetings will continue to be popular for the foreseeable future. Here are some helpful guidelines when conducting or attending a Zoom business meeting, to help ensure a smooth, professional experience for all.
Preparing for the Zoom Meeting
- Test that your computer, camera, microphone and screen sharing (if applicable) are all functioning properly. Zoom has a feature that lets you test your settings before your meetings begin here.
- Ensure your camera is displaying only what you want it to. If your business attire is only waist-up, be sure that’s all viewers will see.
- Keep yourself separated from pets or children that could “crash” your meeting.
- If planning to use a virtual background, choose something appropriate to the circumstance. A spaceship control room may be cute, but not right for a formal business meeting with a client.
- If using your actual background, ensure what viewers will see behind you is appropriate, not a pile of laundry, for instance.
- Set yourself up where there is adequate lighting.
- Turn off any notifications which could interrupt the meeting, such as your cell phone.
During the Zoom Meeting
- Ensure your microphone is turned on when you wish to speak and muted otherwise. You don’t want the mic picking up household or street noises. You also don’t want it to pick up comments not meant to be heard.
- When speaking, look at your camera, so your audience feels you’re speaking directly to them.
- If you plan to share your screen, avoid sharing your entire desktop. Opt instead to share only specific documents. This avoids the possibility of your email or other information being inadvertently displayed to attendees.
- Be attentive. Staring at your phone or looking away from the camera to do other tasks while other people are talking is poor manners. Also, you may miss important information.
- Try to keep fairly still. Avoid touching your face, scratching, picking, fidgeting, etc.
- Don’t interrupt or attempt to speak over other participants. A system of physically raising hands or of using the “raise hand” feature on the participant panel will help prevent such interruptions.
- Don’t eat during a meeting if it can be avoided. If you must, mute yourself and turn off your video.
Besides using Zoom for business meetings, Microsoft Teams is another popular platform to consider. Only the organizer of a Teams meeting needs to have a license (purchased as part of a Microsoft 365 bundle of services). Unlicensed participants can join a Teams meeting by simply clicking on a link provided by the organizer. To learn more about Teams, we invite you to view our recorded webinar entitled “Harness the Power of Microsoft Teams” here.
If you are interested in learning more about Microsoft 365 service bundles, simply give us a call.
