Over the past six months, we’ve all become experts at video conferencing. Some of us are better than others. Check out the Twitter handle @ratemyskyperoom for the good, the bad, and the ugly. We’ve put together our five top tips that will bring your next Zoom call to a 10/10.
Touch up your appearance
Stayed up too late? Woke up with bags under your eyes? Did you know you can touch up your appearance for your 8 a.m. meeting faster than you can make your cup of coffee? Simply go into your Zoom settings, go to Video and click “Touch up my appearance” and… Voila! Supermodel ready in one click!
Always start a meeting with a muted mic
Practice polite Zoom etiquette by always starting a meeting with your mic off. Click the arrow next to your mic button and select Audio Settings from the pop-up menu. Click “Audio Settings”, scroll to where you see “Mute microphone when joining a meeting” and select the box next to it. The days of your colleagues hearing your partner ask where you put the toilet paper are over.
Set up breakout rooms in Zoom (advanced feature)
Conquer the many moving parts of your project by splitting your team up into breakout rooms. As host, you’ll be able to jump between each breakout room to ensure that your colleagues are staying on track and not sending dog memes to each other. Before the meeting begins, log on to your Zoom account on the web, click the “Settings” tab followed by “In Meeting (Advanced)” tab and double check that the “Breakout Room” option has been selected. If you’re extra organized, you’ll have the ability to pre-assign your colleagues to rooms. Aaaaaand break!
Camera Placement and Microphone
No one, and I mean no one, wants to be looking up your nose the whole meeting. To avoid this, PLEASE make sure that your camera is level with your face and do a quick video preview before-hand just to make sure. We also strongly advise you to invest in an external microphone and a solid set of headphones. If you can get a 2-in-1 device, even better. You can channel your inner Britney Spears wearing her iconic headset as you’ve just finished giving the performance of your professional career – oops you did it again!
Getting Kicked off
If you get booted off the call, don’t panic, breathe, just rejoin. Find the email or calendar invite that contains the Zoom link, click that and you’ll make your swift return to your meeting.
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