Zoom usage is still increasing even a year into the outbreak. These pointers can help you get the most out of the popular video conferencing program, whether you're using it for business or a virtual lunch with pals.
Zoom, a video conferencing service, has witnessed a significant increase in popularity and usage since the epidemic began in early 2020. Everyone now appears to utilize it not only for working from home and attending school from home, but also for book clubs, baby showers, birthdays, and hangouts.
Part of what makes Zoom one of the top video conferencing services is its ability to keep calls going even when Wi-Fi and 4G are down. Zoom gracefully determines what adjustments to make on the backend to maintain your conversation as smooth as possible, despite the rare freeze.
Aside from its technological capabilities, Zoom provides excellent features for making video chats more enjoyable. You may smooth out your skin, provide a virtual background, and reduce loud noises automatically. And, yes, you can change yourself like a cat, but do you know how to make sure those settings are turned off before your next call?
These ten tips highlight some of Zoom's greatest features and will help you make the most of your video chats, whether you're working from home or simply catching up with friends and family.
1. Mute/Unmute and Wear Headphones
If you don't usually participate in video conversations, there are three essential skills you should learn:
Mute your microphone. Mute your microphone while you're not talking and aren't expected to join in right away. It is fundamental etiquette in parties with more than three persons. To mute and unmute, click or press the microphone icon, or use the following shortcuts:
- Shift+Command+A (macOS)
- Alt+A (Windows)
Wear headphones. Calls sound so much better with headphones and a microphone. Even a low-cost pair will assist. Even if you don't have a microphone, the headphones will increase the sound for everyone else. Really.
Check your equipment. Launch Zoom a few minutes before every critical call to check your microphone and video camera. Click your profile image > Settings > Audio in the desktop app. Select the appropriate input and output for your audio and microphone. Try them out. Then go to Video and repeat the process for your camera. You'll be able to check whether there are any rogue video filters or effects enabled here, so you may disable them before you make a critical call. This is how you avoid the "I broadcast myself as a cat" issue. It's much more amusing when it occurs to someone else!
2. Modify Your Appearance
Touch Up My Appearance is a Zoom feature that provides a soft focus to your video. In other words, it makes your skin smoother. A slider bar allows you to control how much of an influence it has. You can see it deactivated (left) and enabled (right) in the image (right).
Go to profile image > Settings > Video > Touch up my appearance before a meeting. Refresh my look.
During a meeting, select Video Settings > Touch up my appearance by clicking the up arrow next to the Stop Video button.
3. Redesign Your Appearance
You may also completely alter your appearance with video filters and studio effects. Video filters add pictures and borders to your video, making you appear to be wearing sunglasses, for example. Studio effects are similar, but they are more like virtual cosmetics, allowing you to apply virtual lipstick, improve your brows, or create a mustache.
Go to Settings > Background and filters > Video filters.
To launch a new panel of effects, click Studio Effects in the bottom right corner.
All of these choices are available with Zoom if you have version 5.2.0 or later for macOS, Windows, or iOS and fulfill extra hardware requirements for video filters.
You may also use third-party filters and effects, such as Snapchat Filters.
4. Make a Fun Password
When you plan a meeting, Zoom generates a password, which is a tedious series of digits or letters. It doesn't have to be this way. You may modify the password to anything you like as long as it is no longer than ten characters. Make it suit the topic of your gathering, an inside joke, or a term relating to the next holiday.
People entering your meeting seldom need to type the password because it is incorporated in the encrypted link they get. They will, however, see and read it, and it is an opportunity to put a smile on their faces. Change the Topic or meeting name while you're at it.
5. Make a Waiting Room
You may direct anyone joining a Zoom call into a Waiting Room, and they won't be able to formally join the call until you permit them in. It aids in preventing Zoom-bombing. You have the option of allowing folks in one at a time or all at once. You may also configure it so that the persons you specify avoid the waiting room. The process for setting up a Zoom Waiting Room differs depending on the type of account you have and if you're an administrator enabling the option for other users.
When you plan a new meeting using the Zoom app, search for the checkbox to add a Waiting Room if you have a Zoom Pro account that is not controlled by an organization. To alter the wording and visuals in a Waiting Room, log in to the Zoom website and navigate to Settings > Meetings > Security.
6. Make Breakout Rooms
Breakout Rooms, a tool for large meetings, classes, and events, allows you to break people into groups where they may have a private video conference apart from the main one. It functions similarly to breakout groups. Breakout Rooms may only be created and managed by meeting hosts and co-hosts.
Zoom provides features for allocating individuals to certain groups or making it random, as well as giving each group a name if desired. You can arrange for a planned meeting before it begins. You may also set a timer so that attendees return to the main meeting after a certain number of minutes, or you can let them come back whenever they choose.
7. Use a virtual or blurred background to protect your privacy
You may use Zoom to disguise a dirty environment while on a video conversation by providing a fake background or blurring the background. It's useful not just for hiding messes, but also for maintaining your privacy. You may not want participants to get information about your location or personal life by seeing everything in your area. By using a virtual background or blurring your background, you may see your face while hiding everything else.
This function works best with a green screen and only one person in the camera frame at a time, although it's not horrible even if you don't. Unless you explicitly deactivate it, any image you set will be saved for your next call (which is why the camera check-in tip #1 is so critical!).
Zoom provides several backdrop options, including a blurred option, and you may even upload extra photos. Go to Settings > Virtual backdrop to enable it and add your photographs.
During a conversation, navigate to Video Settings > Background & Filters > Virtual Background by clicking the upward-facing carrot next to Stop Video.
8. Add a Poll
Add a poll to your Zoom meeting to collect opinions on a certain topic, or spice it up with an interactive icebreaker. Use polls to get more specific information, such as feedback on work.
A poll for attendance cannot be created on the spot. To begin, you must enable polls in your Zoom web account (not the desktop app). The steps for enabling polls differ slightly depending on whether you have a personal account or are an administrator of a group account, but in both situations, you begin at Account Management > Account Settings. There, you may also construct polls that will be saved to your Zoom app and ready to use in your next call.
During a meeting, pick Polling from the toolbar, choose a poll from the ones you've already generated and save it.
This functionality is not available with free accounts, and you must use the Zoom desktop client for Windows, macOS, or Linux, version 5.4.7 or above. It also works only in planned and immediate meetings that utilize your Personal Meeting ID.
9. Soften Loud Noises Automatically
You may choose how much Zoom muffles noises around you in the audio settings. The preset level is adequate for most sounds, but you may increase it if you expect a yapping puppy, wailing infant, or nearby jackhammer.
Go to Settings > Audio > Suppress background noise before making a call.
During a call, select Audio Settings > Audio > Suppress background noise by clicking the upward carrot next to the Mute button.
10. Gather Attendee Information and Keep Track of Who Joined
You may not know who joins your calls or why if you utilize Zoom to hold huge meetings or public events. One method of gathering information requires guests to fill out a form before attending. You can request general information such as a name and email address and ask your own questions.
This function is not available to free Zoom customers; a premium account is required. Furthermore, the meeting will not be able to utilize your own meeting ID.
If you match those criteria, launch the Zoom web app and select Meetings. Choose an existing meeting to update or create a new one here. Select the Registration: Required checkbox. Save your changes, then return to the Meeting page and pick the meeting again.
Now, scroll down to the Registration section. Click Edit on the far right. You may now personalize the signup form.
Registration takes place before the meeting, and you may view who registered at any moment. You may get a CSV file of who attended a meeting after it has concluded. To obtain that list, run a report once the meeting has concluded. This report cannot be generated by everyone. You must be 1) the meeting's host, 2) in a position that allows Usage Reports, or 3) the account administrator or owner. You will also require a licensed account (not a free account).
Launch the Zoom web app. Account Management > Reports is the place to be. Click Meeting under Usage Reports. You should see a list of prior meetings, as well as any forthcoming meetings. If you don't see it, try adjusting the time search filter, which is limited to a month at a time. Select Generate at the far right to acquire the report, which will download as a CSV file that you can access with any spreadsheet tool. The procedure is a little clumsy, but there are no alternative options at this moment.
Consider a Zoom Alternative
Zoom is not suitable for everyone. Several security and privacy issues have emerged as its user base has grown throughout the COVID-19 epidemic. To its credit, Zoom acted fast, correcting issues and clarifying policy within days of their discovery. However, not everyone trusts the corporation, and others may be barred from using it owing to regulations imposed by their companies or groups. Google employees, NYC schools, SpaceX, the Taiwanese government, and the US Senate, for example, have all elected not to utilize Zoom.
Fortunately, there are many additional options, whether you want to speak with friends and family or organize a distant business conference. Check out the top Zoom alternatives for free video chatting if you're making video calls for personal usage.
If you're looking for another choice for business, look into the top video conferencing services.
0 Comments