However, the utilisation of zoom is different for every purpose. While many of us are well-versed with Zoom meetings for our work life, certain disturbances or lack of communication can still get annoying. Working remotely and doing it seamlessly with constant meetings can be hectic for all of us. But if we all take note of some basic etiquettes and tips while our zoom sessions, it can definitely be a positive and productive experience for all of us. Let’s take a look!
A dry run is always beneficial
You have an important presentation with your clients and you prepared a lot for it. However, in the final zoom session, what if your video doesn’t work or your voice isn’t audible? What if your hard work gets wasted due to some technical glitch? Zoom allows you to test your setting and take a test session before your meeting commences. You can do the same from https://zoom.us/test to ensure that the session remains uninterrupted.
Let them see you when you talk
While you are presenting in your office in front of your colleagues, it is evident that you are being watched and heard. However, in a zoom session, it is always a good idea to keep your video camera on while you are talking. Ensure that your video is steady, has better light and no background noise or disturbance for a smooth experience. It definitely helps you to be more interactive and also helps the other person to stay interested until the end and come up with some innovative ideas after the session.
Focus is the key
Zoom meetings will be the regular way of communication for all of us till the time it gets safe. Back to back meetings and discussion can get hectic for all of us. However, it is everyone’s responsibility to keep the spirits up for the team. Stay interested in the discussion, look into the camera as you make eye contact in person while you talk and do not do multi-tasking while you are a part of the zoom session. Fous and help others stay focused!
Not talking? Stay Mute instead
No one likes interruptions. Also while it is a virtual meeting when everyone is figuring out how to coordinate, interruptions get more annoying. Background noise can be a big barrier during a healthy discussion. It is always a good practice to stay on mute if you are not sharing your thoughts. Of course, nobody wants to hear the barking dogs or cars honking during a fruitful discussion. Always remember, stay mute if you have to stay quiet.
Meeting or Webinar? Decide first
Zoom is an amazing platform that can help corporate meetings, entertainment and teaching sessions too. While we are focusing on corporate meetings in this article, initially decide if it is a webinar or a meeting that you wish to conduct. With various features available in Zoom, you can conduct a meeting for collaborative events where the participants are able to share their screens and present thought or two by turning on their videos and audios. In a webinar, things work differently as we have a key speaker. For webinars, you can choose to interact with the attendees using Q&A and chats. The host stays the in-charge to let people speak in webinars which definitely helps in avoiding interruptions.
Let the participants present their views
While you have a discussion that includes the opinion of the participants and deals with queries, it gets cumbersome to ask every person individually. For this purpose, you can make the use of zoom features like:
Polls: Making the use of this feature for quick decision making is a great choice of convenience and saves time.
Chat option: While you are presenting and wish to take questions but also want the participants to be on mute, you can always use the chat feature. By this, you will not be bombarded with questions at once and can easily address each question by taking your own sweet time.
Zoom Raise Hand: The raise hand feature is very helpful when a participant wants to share an idea or maybe ask a question. One can easily raise a hand and the meeting host can choose to allow the participant or skip it for later.
Being the host brings great responsibilities
Imagine a class without a teacher! Even with the most disciplined students, there will be chaos created without proper guidance. That’s exactly how a zoom meeting works. The host is the one to take care of all the participants who wish to talk or present something. The host can allow the participants and just so that nobody misses the last-minute essential tips, the host can stay till the end of the session or also choose to close the entire meeting. As they say in Spiderman, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’. That is what a host is supposed to do.
Share screen, share ideas
At the end of the day, we all participate in sessions and meetings with the purpose of brainstorming. Zoom is a great platform where all the participants can share their screens, present and share their ideas with each other. With the Zoom whiteboard, it is also easy to explain the write-down or draw and explain the entire plan to the team.
Manage meeting privacy
At times, you wish to let it be a public announcement regarding the upcoming zoom session or a webinar. So you tend to post it on social media platforms like Facebook or Linkedin. However, if it is a private meeting with limited and selective participants, ensure that you never share the meeting id and password publicly. If it is a private meeting, then you will definitely not like a random person joining in that may cause inconvenience.
Invite only the important people
Not everyone enjoys meetings back to back. While you create your guest list or invite people to join the session, do your best to gather only the important people. Not only too many participants create audio/ videos trouble with connectivity issues, but it can also be annoying at times. The people who aren’t;t required to be a part of the conversation can skip the meeting, and continue with their work.
With all these easy tips, your zoom meetings will be more productive than ever!
