Zoom Tips

Even if your entire team is onsite, locally, you’re still going to have to conduct some portion of your work with others via online meeting platforms like Zoom. Here are some best practices to consider using:

Pick your background carefully 

Find a simple background behind you and sign into Zoom ahead of time to see what your meeting participants will see. Is the bed in the background messy? Is there a pile of junk behind you? Can you move it just a few feet away so it’s out of perspective?

Virtual backgrounds can often be a bit glitchy and can sometimes send a message that you have something to hide. If you can, try to create a space where you can be on Zoom without a virtual background. But, if you really need a virtual background, test out a few to see which one will work best for you before the meeting begins.

Check your lighting

If there is too much background light, Zoom will have a tough time keeping your face in focus and you’ll look super grainy. Buying a couple of lamps with fabric shades to provide diffuse light near your face or a ring light can help keep you in focus. You may need to play with curtains, natural light, and lamps to get the balance just right for your environment.

Have your screen at eye level

It’s important to be looking at the screen as if you were looking at a person sitting across the table from you. If you have a sit/stand desk, you can raise it a few inches for Zoom meetings so you are not looking down at the screen or you can always prop your computer up on a few books if you need to get the height just right.

Display your name and your pronouns

It’s helpful to introduce yourself to new folks and to make sure they know your preferred pronouns. It also makes it safer for others to share their pronouns with you if you open that door for them by modeling safe sharing.

Arrive and leave on time

In real life, you have about 3-5 minutes before you’re really late for a meeting. On Zoom, it seems like you really only have a 1- or 2-minute grace period before you are rudely late to a meeting. If you’re going to be more than 3 minutes late, consider sending a quick message apologizing and letting them know when you’ll be there. Try, also, to end meetings right on time to set everyone up for success for their next meeting or commitment.

Show your face

If you aren’t visually impaired, it can be hard to have a work conversation when you can’t see the other person. Consider moving the conversation to the phone if you can’t be visible and alert the other person so they can plan accordingly. It feels disrespectful to turn your screen off unless you give someone the heads-up.

Listen actively

One of the main reasons to show your face in meetings is to demonstrate that you are actively listening to others. You can show you are actively listening with eye contact, affirming body language, rephrasing someone’s idea, or asking follow-up questions. If you are an active listener, you are validating the other person and making it safer for them to take risks by sharing new ideas and giving honest feedback.

Do you need to take notes?

It’s hard to maintain eye contact and stay present in a conversation if you’re focused on taking notes during the meeting. We’ve found we like using a Remarkable so we can take manual notes when we need to and they can sync electronically. Taking notes on the computer during a Zoom meeting can cause you to lose your ability to stay visually engaged in the conversation. If you truly must take notes, try to minimize the impact it has on your eye contact.

Minimize distractions + noises

Make sure you silence any notifications on your phone or email before you chime into Zoom. It can be super distracting to have pinging happening throughout the meeting. Consider what else might make noise. It’s cool to have your pet nearby if it is well-behaved and will chill out near you.

Be mindful of the “chat” function

We typically only use the chat function when it’s helpful to share a link during the meeting with someone. Otherwise, the chat can become a whole other conversation that can be distracting. You want the real content to be in the actual meeting, so it may be helpful to set some guidelines about how your team wants to use the chat in meetings.

Have everyone sign in for hybrid meetings

The minute you have one person who is remote at your meeting, it’s best if everyone signs into Zoom to even the playing field. That way everyone can still have equal “space” in the meeting and it can provide equal access to all. We are not a big fan of The Owl or other tech devices, which can make it very hard for virtual employees to engage and hear. If the live room audio is tricky to manage, you may want to have everyone mute and have a remote mic to help capture voices effectively.