26 Ways to Feel Even More in Control on Zoom by The Offer Bank
Whatever your business, you’ve by now probably run a meeting or two on Zoom. You might even be attending — or running — multiple Zoom calls involving large participant numbers and complex instructions. Maybe it’s all feeling a bit ‘next level’. Don’t worry, though: here’s a checklist, to follow up on The Offer Bank’s first ‘Zoom Tips’ blog. These are various features that all gave me a real ‘light bulb’ moment; hopefully they’ll support you to feel more confident and in control of your calls. NB. All commands are written for Apple MacBook Pro: please check for equivalent steps that match your personal tech.
BEFORE
1. Update Yourself
Get the latest version of Zoom on all your devices. You’ll benefit and so will the room, since several functions need everyone using an updated version to work at all.
Zoom.us/ Download
2. Check Filters & Backgrounds
You don’t need to be US lawyer Rod Ponton or a cat to know that filters can have a distracting effect. Open Zoom.us, log in, hit Personal Room: Start and test both video and audio to iron out foibles ahead of time.
3. Plan Your Session in Detail
Calls with big participant numbers, calls that involve Breakout Rooms (BORs) and calls with a lot of complex engagement all need meticulous planning (it’s proven that a bad engagement experience online feels much worse than equivalent in real life). Use a dedicated software package such as Sessionlab.com (recommended to me by the brilliant Erica Marx Coaching. Thanks, Erica!).
4. Book a ‘Meeting Buddy’ or a Team
Are you running a big or complex meeting? It’s a lot to manage when you want to throw in fiddly extras like playing music multiple BORs. Assign a Zoom technician who’ll become Zoom ‘host’, and safeguard smooth running for you, so that you concentrate on presenting. You might even want another pair of eyes on the Chat, for maximum engagement. If there’s a client involved, explain this extra cost and build it in.
5. Have a Tech Back-Up
Not a person but an extra device, eg. your phone. It’ll be eyes on the main room if you need to visit BORs and, if you fall off the call, you’re still there with everyone. Rename it something like ‘tech support’ but don’t ‘join with sound’ or it creates feedback echo.
12. Write Your BOR Messages in Advance
Sure, write directly on your call to the BORs by typing your comment into the ‘Broadcast Message to All’ box. However, if you have complex specifics to impart, write the messages in advance on a note document and copy/paste when you need. The advantage is that you can put carriage returns in, which means the message takes up more space and catches the attention of your busy BOR participants.
DURING THEM
21. Invite Others to Optimal Connectivity
If it’s a big call the room might feel a bit creaky and it’ll definitely take longer to ‘commute’ to BORs and such. Invite everyone to Stop Video for better digital connection or Start Video for better human connection.
22. Control Your Participants
You have the right to control your meetings, as Jackie Weaver would testify. As well Mute or Stop Video, you’ve two modes of removal: put a person in the Waiting Room (when they come back, new Chat won’t be visible to them) or Remove them from the meeting — if you do so, they can’t rejoin on that device.
YOU AND THEM
23. Have People See What You Want Them to See…
You can create a room where everyone sees the same order of screens as you, which can be very useful when you need everyone to follow a specific order. And the old favourite: invite everyone to Hide Non-Video Participants: perfect for quickly highlighting just a few people who don’t turn off their cameras.
24. Spotlight vs Pin
NB. Spotlight: everyone can see it, Pin: only you can see it. A hot tip: get people Pinning each other in pairs and each pair will feel like it’s just the two of them, which is great for movement connections. If you’re Spotlighted as the Speaker, it can be very disconcerting for you — but simply hit Gallery View and you’ll still be Spotlighted but will see the rest of the room in Gallery View: win-win. Zoom can now Spotlight up to nine people, which is cool. Finally, do invite everyone to UnPin each other (or UnSpotlight yourself) at the end of the segment, and invite the room to hit Gallery View for a group reset.
AFTER
25. Log Out
You might by now have a number of bosses or clients and, therefore, a number of attendant Zoom log-ins. You’ll want to jump straight back onto the Zoom.us website after your call and Log Out. If you don’t, the next Zoom link you click on might boot one of your colleagues out of their meeting, because you’re still logged into that shared business’s account.
Zoom.us/ Log Out/ Log In (to the next account you need to use)
26. Connect
Breathe, connect with yourself and write down your reflections (as per my previous Zoom Tips blog). You still need to process what just happened and fresh notes are the best notes.
Written with gratitude and respect for AIN’s online Open Space USA & Europe teams: you are an inspiration and the AIN is a powerfully positive share space. Thanks for reading and good luck, everyone, with your Zoom calls! Here’s a fun workshop I’m running with The Nursery Theatre if you like improv and want to play some Zoom-perfect games and learn some scene-enhancing online tricks. Monday 22 March, 7pm GMT.
Picture credits: Brendan Smialowski (Bernie); Autostraddle (Zap!); Anna Kucherova (goat).
Originally published at https://theofferbank.co.uk on February 17, 2021.
