6 Great Ways To Start A Zoom Meeting

The world is evolving, and this evolution has seen people shift from conventional one on one meetings to virtual meetings. Modern-day organizations no longer resort to employing only people they can see physically as people can now work remotely especially after Covid 19 struck. However, for official meetings, seminars, or interviews virtual online meeting platforms have to be utilized. Many organizations are still new to this development so they find it difficult to host meetings seamlessly on virtual platforms especially Zoom. This article however seeks to make both individuals and organizations have a better understanding of how to host a virtual meeting seamlessly using Zoom.

1. Schedule The Meeting: 

After you have downloaded the Zoom app and you have launched it, you’ll find four icons, three blue and one orange. Of the blue icons, one reads “schedule”, click on the “Schedule” icon. This icon allows you to set the time, date, topic of the meeting, or name of the workshop/webinar, the duration of the meeting, and every other necessary information about the meeting. The schedule also allows you to generate a meeting ID which would be sent to those who can be allowed to attend the meeting.

2. Start Like A Pro:

After you have scheduled your meeting and you’ve sent the meeting ID to those who are allowed to join, you can now go back to the home page to start the meeting. On the home page, your scheduled meeting would be displayed, just click on the “Start” icon then you can begin. You’ll be asked whether you want to use your computer speaker or a microphone, select the one you want to use. It is advisable to start your meeting with external microphones for better sound quality.

3. Take Charge:

Before you start a Zoom meeting, you have to either take charge of your meeting or put someone in charge. You know that before you can start a zoom meeting you must have sent out an invite link either with a password for those who are allowed in or without a password if it’s a meeting for all. Whichever way it is you have to control what happens during the meeting like muting people’s audio if they refuse to do it themselves or kicking out someone if necessary. Zoom allows you to share a “host code” if you wouldn’t be hosting the meeting alone. The host code gives you and the hosts control over what happens in the meeting.

4. Think About Your Audience:

While hosting a virtual meeting, it is essential to have the interest of your audience at heart. You want to make sure that there’s a clear audience benefit to attending your meeting. If your audience cut across different cultures and traditions you should consider using remote video interpreting platforms to translate your zoom meetings for multilingual events. They are used for online meetings and webinars as well as traditional physical conferences with translators connecting remotely from the comfort of their homes or specially designed equipped studios. Remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI) helps you host a multilingual meeting without worrying about the language barrier.

5. Secure Your Meeting:

Before starting your zoom meeting, you have to decide who is allowed in the meeting. If it is a meeting for your employees, you know it is strictly for employees of your organization, and no intruder is allowed so you might have to password your meeting ID. When scheduling your meeting you can select a password that would only be available to the attendees. In this case, only those who have the password can have access to the meeting. Another way to secure your Zoom meeting is by turning off “join before host”. You should also make sure that the host will be available to start the meeting on time.

6. Control The Video:

It is also important to think about what people will see when watching you address them during the meeting. The way you look during a virtual meeting will leave an impression on the attendees. Invest in setting up a home studio with appropriate lighting. Relying solely on the light from your window or just a lamp can make you look terrible so you might have to get yourself an affordable ring light to help you look good. You should also be conscious of the position of the light. Good lighting with poor positioning will only make a bad video.

Final Words

There are different video conferencing applications available but zoom stands out. It would be bad if you choose an app that stands out and you don’t make the most out of it. Understandably, it might take a while to understand the usage of zoom but if you follow the above-listed tips you can be sure to deliver an outstanding meeting.