With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, work from home (WFH) is becoming a permanent part of our work culture. Previously, companies allowed work from home on an emergency basis, but now a flexible workplace is something every prospective employee looks forward to.
Working from home can be challenging without the right communication tools. That’s when Zoom meetings come to your rescue. According to Sensor Tower and Appfigures data, Zoom was downloaded 485 million times during 2020, a 30x increase compared to 2019. Zoom calls are sought after across workplaces with intuitive user interfaces and affordable plans. These meetings ensure that your employees are connected even while working from home.
However, successful Zoom meetings require you to follow certain guidelines with respect to the proper lighting, meeting background, audio-video settings, etc. Let’s understand these guidelines in detail in the next section. If you planning to take your employee experience to the next level Plum group Insurance has various insurance plans that will make your employees more productive and happy!
Top 5 Tips to Ace the Zoom Meetings
When you are on a Zoom call, ensure that you have minimal distractions to enhance work productivity. A small alteration in lighting, appearance, and basic settings go a long way in increasing remote collaboration.
1. Sit in an Area with Proper Lighting 🔦
Proper lighting is essential for good visibility of your image on the Zoom call. You may not want only your silhouette to be visible. Poor visibility can also be distracting to your Zoom meeting members.
Hence, either sit in a room with ample natural light or good tube/bulb light. Ensure that your face is in the opposite direction to the light so that it can fall directly on your face. But, beware of too bright or too dim lighting. They cannot be captured effectively by your webcam.
2. Arrange Your Background 🌄
The right meeting background creates pleasant aesthetics with minimal distraction. For example, imagine you are sitting near a door. Your Zoom call attendees may constantly see your family members coming in/out of the room. This distraction can reduce the flow of the meeting with regular disruptions. Similarly, if you have cluttered bed sheets or dirty laundry as the background, it creates an unpleasant effect.
You can set up the right Zoom meeting background in two ways. First, go for a virtual background by clicking Settings -> Backgrounds and Filters -> Virtual Background. Here, you can select your favourite background image. It could be your favourite tourist destination, quotes, the Zoom meeting agenda, etc.
Second, you can have a tidy natural background by sitting in front of a plain wall. Or, even plants or clean furniture also form your perfect Zoom call background.
3. Touch Up Your Appearance 😚
Imagine waking up late for an important meeting while working from home. You don’t want your co-workers to see your tired face with dark spots and puffy eyes. If you are short on getting dressed up, don’t worry. You can use the “touch up my appearance” option to minimise wrinkles and dark spots. The polished appearance makes you look fresh and ready for the Zoom call.
4. Adjust the Right Audio and Video Settings 🎧
Usually, only one person speaks during a Zoom call, while others remain silent. But, sometimes, you may forget to mute your audio, thereby causing disturbance from the background noise. Hence, ensure that you mute your default audio and video settings. Ensure that this setup is done before you join the meeting. Else, it can get cumbersome to change the settings during the meeting. If you face internet connectivity issues, it is advisable to keep your video off throughout the session.
5. Pre-Approve Meeting Participants into the Room 🚫
It is good to generate a Zoom ID and password to allow only the authorised person to enter the meeting room. Else, anyone with the meeting link can join your meeting, leading to potential security threats. Also, the meeting hosts need to allow entry to only people with right/real names rather than just device names.
Bonus Tip:
6. Schedule both Formal and Informal Meetings ☕
Always stick to a concrete schedule for your Zoom meeting. Ensure that your employees follow a disciplined timeline and join the discussions on time. However, it is difficult to segregate professional and casual talks during these meetings.
Since employees work remotely without face-to-face interaction, they will want to catch up over personal talks. Hence, you can schedule both formal and informal meetings for your employees. For instance, if you schedule a 1-hour task review call, you can devote another 10 minutes to catching up. In this way, employees feel more energised to work.
Final Thoughts: Take Your Zoom Calls to the Next Level
The right Zoom settings ensure that your team works remotely in a hassle-free manner. Next time you plan to schedule a Zoom meeting, sit in an area with the proper lighting, set up an aesthetic background, touch up your appearance, and put the correct audio-video settings in place.
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