Tips For Having Zoom Meetings

If you’re looking for software that allows you to meet and connect with people worldwide, an online meeting software like Zoom might be a great choice.

Zoom is cloud-based software that allows individuals to meet colleagues, friends, and family members right from the comfort of your home or office. With this seamless web conferencing tool, everyone is just a few clicks away.

While the application has an easy-to-use interface, it can be a little tricky for users new to the world of online meetings after the outbreak of coronavirus. Whether you are new or an experienced zoom user, learning about some zoom tricks and tips can enhance your overall online meeting experiences. Given the importance, let’s have a look at some tricks and tips for doing multiple zoom meetingssuccessfully.

First Things First: Choose The Right ZOOM Conferencing Plan

A zoom meeting on macbook pro

For a successful virtual conference at zoom, it is incredibly essential to identify your needs and choose the right zoom conferencing plan. Whether you need to host a one-on-one meeting or a webinar for an audience of 100 or above, zoom offers conferencing strategies for all at the most affordable rates.

There following are the four conferencing plans by zoom for online meetings:

Basic

This conferencing plan is the most common one because of its free availability. One can host up to 100 participants within the basic conferencing-plan for a high-quality HD virtual conference. There is, however, a 40-minute time limit for group meetings (with rescheduling, always possible for another 40-minute session right away). For one-on-one online conferences, there is no time limit.

Pro

Zoom Pro is a paid conferencing plan billed both annually and monthly. It is the most suitable for small teams with an ability to host up to 100 people with no time limitations. It also allows you to integrate third-party applications for social media streaming and offers 1GB Cloud recording.

Business

Excellent for telehealth and businesses, the business conferencing zoom plan has several features to offer at affordable rates. This zoom meeting plan allows you to connect with 300 people worldwide at once with an option of single sign-on and cloud recording transcripts. Many businesses make use of this plan for managed domains and company branding as well.

Enterprise

This online meeting plan is your ultimate best bet if you’re a large firm and need to conduct many virtual meetings. We highly recommend this plan for global companies with remote employees. With this plan, you can connect with up to 500 people, and 1000 if you upgrade to an Enterprise+. Zoom also offers unlimited cloud storage and transcription features to boost your productivity. Zoom’s headquarters assign you a dedicated customer success manager.

Furthermore, you can also choose up to 49 virtual rooms or webinar-special services. Head over to the official zoom homepage for the add-ons.

Choose the Right Device

An image of an online meeting on the phone and a laptop

Being a web conferencing software (Link to Choosing Software for Online Meetings) with multi-device support, participants can log-in from both their desktops and mobiles at will. While all primary features are available on both versions, we recommend choosing the right device depending on the type of your meetings.

Often, people use a combination of both depending on when they need what. For instance, if you’re about to host a webinar or need to share screens, using a desktop is wiser as wider screens require less attendance when going through presentations. You can also perform multiple shortcuts and tasks with ease. However, if it’s an open forum Q&A or a long informative presentation, the direct zoom mobile application should be a lot more convenient. You can easily send in your questions in writing and have your answers without being restricted to your desktop chair.

Choosing the right device can prevent last-minute problems and keep you more focused.

Learn Some Handy Keyboard Shortcuts

An image of a black keyboard

The following keyboard shortcuts can help you save oodles of time if you use zoom regularly.

  • Mute or unmute your audio: Alt/Cmd + A
  • Putting the entire audience on mute at once: Alt/Cmd + M
  • Turning your camera on or off: Alt/Cmd + V
  • Screen sharing – resume or pause: Alt/Cmd + S
  • Recording the meeting: Alt/Cmd + R
  • Resuming or pausing the screen recording: Alt/Cmd + P
  • Switching camera sides: Alt/Cmd + N
  • Hand raising: Alt/Cmd + Y
  • Accessing invite window instantly: Alt/Cmd + I

Automatically Schedule Meetings and Send Invites

A picture showing notes, schedule-book, and a laptop on the desk

If you host a lot of conferences, being able to schedule online meetings and send invites via an automated process is nothing less than a blessing. Luckily, there is an abundance of modern technology available that allows you to do this now.

You can integrate third-party applications or software to run this process and enhance your meeting experiences. The following are some popular zoom integrations that can aid automation:

Zapier

With the Zapier-Zoom integration, you can bid farewell to the hassle that comes with manual scheduling and sending.

Zapier automatically adds the zoom meeting link to your calendar and shares it with your audience, making the entire process seamless and productive. You can also connect zoom with a hundred more apps using this integration.

Slack

Zoom-Slack Integration allows you to run automated reminders. You can also send automated invites. Reach out to your audience with these simple yet extremely effective integrations for a spectacular online meeting experience. 

Record And Transcribe Your Zoom Meetings

A video conference

Advanced zoom conferencing plans let you record your virtual meetings. These Recordings are essential if you have several remote employees, and someone can’t attend because of timezone problems. They also help cover up for inevitable connectivity issues.

You can also transcribe your recorded zoom meetings. Zoom uses integrated artificial intelligence (AI) tools that transcribe conferences with complete timestamps. Transcription takes the notes for you automatically. For accuracy, your moderator can edit this file at the end and share it with the audience.

Such tools can heavily boost productivity as you and your audiences no longer have to take notes or worry about any missed details. The following steps will help you enable recording and transcription.

Step 1: On the web zoom portal, sign in and on the left-hand-side click Recordings. Click Cloud Recordings then.

Step 2: Under the Cloud Recordings, choose Audio Transcript and make sure to save your changes.

Step 3: When you start a meeting, use the Record button to select Record to the Cloud.

You may have a look at the keyboard shortcuts mentioned above for this section.

Turn Off Your Camera and Audio by Default

Screenshot of an ongoing video conference

Keep your cameras and mics turned down when joining a meeting, especially late. A sudden noise or a face popping up on the screen can cause a lot of distractions during online conferences. Hence, to ensure you’re not a trouble-maker for anyone, it is best to keep your audio and video off by default. You can turn these on during any call when needed just by clicking the camera and mic icons.

Step 1: Access audio settings. You can do directly or by clicking on the arrow next to the mic icon during a call.

Step 2: Choose the second last option at the bottom to keep your microphone off when joining meetings.

Step 3: Select Video Settings directly or from a call by clicking the arrow next to the camera icon.

Step 4: Click on the option to keep your video off initially when joining a virtual conference.

The Bottom line

Now that you are aware of some tricks and tips for doing multiple zoom meetings: incorporate them in your online zoom meetings to make the most of your virtual conferences. These tips and tricks can help increase productivity by saving your time, even if it’s just a few minutes. They can also help you avoid some last-minute problems.

If possible, share these tips with the ones around you. Let’s make the transition easier for all by sharing what we know!