Over the past year, countless articles have advocated crucial “Zoom-Tips”. Yet from our experience, most users still do not apply simple yet important tips that can help them create the perfect Zoom meeting. Therefore, we’ve decided to write an article of our own.
Most of us use Zoom practically every day. And although we wish it was under better, pandemic-less circumstances, video conferencing allows us to continue to work, study, and communicate with peers, friends and clients from home, even when we’re quarantining or when offices and schools are closed.
Since we use Zoom so extensively, it’s only natural that we try to perfect the Zoom experience. From a business perspective, it has become clear that creating the perfect Zoom meeting can have a profound impact on our business results.
Engagement is Essential
In the perfect Zoom meeting, everyone is engaged – and no one is bored. If you’re the meeting host or moderator, then you should strive for every participant to leave the meeting with a “to-do” list filled with action items. Luckily, Zoom has some great features that will help you achieve maximum engagement. Here’s a partial list, and some other pointers thrown in for good measure:
1. Pace Meeting Duration: Decide on the ideal length of your meeting ahead of time, and stick to it. Don’t stretch your meetings too long, because we live in an era of short attention spans. If it helps, create a meeting timeline before you get started.
2. Adjust Your Content: As you prepare for your next perfect Zoom meeting, remember to adjust your content and presentation to fit the video format. This is absolutely necessary. Some elements that work in face-to-face meetings simply get lost in a video conference.
3. Keep It Up: Watch out for Zoom tech updates, and always make sure you’re using the latest version. Zoom is constantly updating its platform, so be on the constant lookout for new features on our YouTube channel. There are some must-have features that you need to know:
- Share Your Screen: Don’t just talk about it – show it. If you’re discussing a document, a slide presentation, an image or anything else you can show, then simply use Zoom’s share screen feature. It will keep everyone on the same page and disrupt meeting monotony.
- Use Video Breakout Rooms: This great feature allows you to split your meetings into smaller meetings, assign specific participants to different meetings for an allotted time frame, and then rejoin everyone in the original meeting format.
- Use Chat and Poll Features: On Zoom, you can communicate on many levels. While talking or listening to someone else talk, you can write to all participants on the Zoom meeting chat. The chat is great for sending specific messages, links, reminders, questions, and just about anything else. You can also use the poll feature, which allows participants to express themselves simply and easily.
- Use Two Cameras Simultaneously: Show a different angle of yourself by using Content from 2nd Camera, or simply join the meeting using two devices at the same time.
4. Divide Your Meetings Between Different Participants: A meeting that is based on one speaker only may exhaust quickly, so you may want to consider a variety of speakers.
It's All about Appearances
In business and in life, appearance matters – and it shouldn’t be any different with Zoom. On the contrary, appearances are even more important when video conferencing, as we cannot read our participants’ body language. So, how do we look our best on Zoom?
1. Dress the part: Dress as if you were on your way to a board meeting at the office.
2. Adjust Your Screen: Your screen should be perfectly aligned with your face and shoulders. It shouldn’t be positioned too low or too high. Meeting participants should be able to talk to you on eye-level.
3. Stage Your Environment: Use books, plants, and any other accessory that will create an interesting and professional environment. If you prefer, you can save yourself the hassle and use one of Zoom’s great-looking virtual backgrounds.
4. Get a Great Camera: Zoom will access your computer’s camera, which is nice, but if you invest in a quality external camera, you and your surroundings will look much better.
5. Enhance Your Lighting: Position yourself in front of your major lighting source, and place your screen between you and the source. Feel free to place a lamp behind your computer screen, which will shine directly onto your face and enhance your looks.
Hear the Difference
Audio is essential to creating the perfect Zoom meeting. You want your voice to sound crystal clear – especially if there is a distance
1. Invest in Hardware: If you want your peers to hear you perfectly, you should consider using a high-quality headset. If you want to retain a natural look, think about purchasing a table microphone.
2. Practice Before Talking: Since you’re communicating via a screen, it may be hard for some participants to hear what you are saying. You can’t control their volume levels, but you can control the way you accentuate your words and sentences. So, make sure to speak a little slower than usual and enhance your conviction. Feel free to practice before the meeting – it’ll also boost your confidence.
Your Perfect Zoom Meeting is All About You
As a meeting host, your job is to leave as little as possible to chance. Luckily, with Zoom, preparation is easy and shouldn’t take much of your time.
In today’s world, Zoom-awesomeness is an important professional skill. It is a skill that you can easily master. Good luck!
