Let’s face it, almost every business has discovered the benefits of video conferencing for themselves lately. With teams pressured to work from home in every country conducting a lockdown, video conferencing is now at the heart of collaboration.
Even as the world overcomes the initial stresses of 2020, the demand for video isn’t going anywhere. Conferencing will continue to be an essential solution in interacting with coworkers, remote contractors, and clients. That means that businesses need to make sure they’re getting the most out of their tools.
Zoom is one of the most attractive video collaboration tools around, offering easy access for businesses that want a simple way to connect on the web. However, just like any other tool, it pays to know how to use Zoom properly. Here are some top tips to transform your next meeting.
1. Transform Your Background
Sick of the clutter behind your desk distracting your team? No problem. Why not virtually place yourself in the middle of a beach, or a beautiful garden instead? Zoom’s excellent custom backgrounds work best with a green screen, but you don’t have to have one to take advantage.
Just go into your Account Settings and click on the Meetings tab, here you’ll be able to toggle the option for Virtual Backgrounds on. You’re going to need to log out and back in for the change to take effect. After that, you can transform your messy office however you like.
2. Use Reactions to Show You’re Engaged
If you’re in a meeting with a lot of people at the same time, you could end up talking over each other. That’s usually why it’s a good idea to mute your video unless you’re talking. Muting means that you won’t be distracting other team members with the sound of your dog barking in the middle of a meeting.
Fortunately, hitting the mute button doesn’t mean that you need to be totally silent. You can send a thumbs-up or clapping emoji in the meeting to let everyone know that you’re listening. The Emoji only shows up for about five seconds. Click on the Reactions tab at the bottom of your meeting to deliver some handy non-verbal feedback.
3. Try the Raise Hand Feature
Speaking of having too many people talking at once in a meeting, Zoom also allows users to avoid this issue with hand-raising. Go into the webinar or meeting controls and click on the hand icon to raise your hand. The hand graphic will then appear next to your name on the meeting screen, letting the host know that you want to say something.
This is an excellent way to chime in without being rude if you have something important that you want to discuss with the other people in your team.
4. Improve Your Confidence with the Beauty Filter
Most remote workers at this point know that it’s important to dress professionally – even when they’re working from home. Ensuring that you look the part for your meetings is crucial when you’re not in the office. However, if you’ve had a rough night staying up with the kids, and you don’t look your best, you can take an extra step.
Go into the Up arrow menu next the Start Video button on Zoom. Click on Video Settings and you’ll see a box that allows you to touch up your appearance. Pick that to smooth your features on your next meeting.
5. Record Your Meeting
There’s no guarantee that everyone you want to talk to in a meeting will be able to attend your conference. If you’re working with people from around the world, time zones might get in the way. Fortunately, you can record the meeting to your computer, and then send that conversation to anyone you like.
