How To Set Up A Zoom Conference Call

Whether it's your first time working from domicile or this isn't your offset rodeo, nosotros thought it might be a tad businesslike to share a stride-by-step guide to aid you fix upwards your space for a Zoom call.

Virtual meetings don't have quite the aforementioned 'ring' to them as face-to-face meetings, but with where we're at in the globe, they're our best opportunity to stay connected with our colleagues while kicking goals.

Read on for a video conferencing guide like no other; honest, to-the-point and immediately actionable.

How to gear up your space for a Zoom call (or other virtual coming together)

Step #i: Dress for success

Sure, you aren't working from the office so there'due south no need to stone a conform and necktie, just that doesn't mean y'all should resort to pyjama pants and an old rock concert tee with tiny holes scattered across it like a starry dark.

Dress classy casual (I know, what on earth does that actually hateful?) for your virtual meetings and even when you aren't having meetings. Training and forenoon routines are an important part of maintaining your mental health and a positive, motivated mindset.

Get yourself into the headspace of work by getting dressed as if you were going to work. Hither's some quick 'Classy Casual' outfit inspiration to get in a fiddling more directly-frontward.

A prissy, obviously coloured t-shirt, dress shirt or top (i.eastward. navy, black, white).
Avert wearing stripes equally this shows upwardly foreign on camera – it'due south a tried and true Television set stylist tip!
Wear comfy pants, slacks or jeans – no PJ bottoms or yoga pants here.
Add your usual accessories – a pair of earrings, a necklace, a band or a watch.

Stride #2: Detect a infinite with good lighting

Ideally, yous'll want to find a infinite with good lighting for your Zoom call so that you lot are clearly visible. Without proficient lighting fifty-fifty the best webcams will struggle to present loftier-quality video.

Need an example of what 'proficient lighting' really ways? Below are some examples for you.

Natural lighting hitting the back of the laptop = OKAY

Natural lighting hitting the screen-side of the laptop = PRETTY BAD

Diffused natural lighting – room adjacent to balcony/outdoor area = OKAY

Chamber floor with a bare wall and natural lighting = PERFECT

As you can come across from these examples, the best mode to achieve good lighting for your video conferencing calls is to either:

Sit down near a natural light source with the light hitting the back/side of your laptop screen
Sit in front of a clear wall or blank backdrop to minimise visual distractions
Gear up a lighting source (similar a lamp) behind or adjacent to your laptop on your desk
Use a selfie band-light – if you take teenagers, ask them if they have one lying effectually

I live in a 1-chamber flat with beautiful large floor to ceiling windows, so I'm a bit spoilt as far as natural lighting goes. Use the 'Photobooth' app (if yous have a Mac calculator) to test out dissimilar areas of your home until you observe the well-nigh well-lit spot for video conferencing.

There is ane clear caveat I have to make – although my most well-lit spot is on the floor in my bedchamber, I wouldn't spend the entire day working from bed. This would wreak havoc on my night routine and probably lead me to getting poor sleep as my brain would begin to associate my bedroom with piece of work. We go into more detail on this phenomena in our Good Sleep Guide.

Step #3: Consider your groundwork

Okay, now that you lot've got your lighting sorted it'south time to have a look at what is in the groundwork of your video.

To examination this without starting a Zoom call, if you're on a Mac open upwardly the 'Photobooth' application. This way you'll see exactly what guests in the video call will see.

Ask yourself the post-obit questions:

Do you accept whatsoever laundry inundation out of the hamper? Consider moving it to some other space for the duration of the telephone call.

Do you accept a harsh light on in the room behind you that's degrading your video quality? Turn it off for the elapsing of the phone call.

If there is a mysterious dark-green glowing goo on the floor behind you? Wipe that up before the Zoom call, you don't want your colleagues thinking yous're an conflicting, right?

Step #4: Minimise external noise

Working from dwelling is generally pretty quiet – y'know, equally long as you're on your own without any children, pets or other adults… y'all lucky bugger.

If you've got an important Zoom call coming upward be sure to minimise external racket as much as possible.

Here's a few quick questions to ask yourself before joining a call:

Practise you have your windows open? Consider closing them to block out road noise.
Exercise y'all have a dryer or loud washing machine going in the background? Move away from these sources of noise or pause them if it's a possibility.

Step #5: Take hold of your phone and a glass/bottle of water

In case your internet drops out or you need to switch to a telephone phone call, keep your phone nearby throughout the duration of your Zoom video conferencing call. If yous'll be talking a lot throughout your meeting (which yous probably volition because being stuck at home is boooring) take hold of yourself a glass of water to quench your thirst mid-meeting.

Pro-tip: If you're clumsy like me and have a history of spilling things on your laptop (we've all been there right?) consider filling upwards a water bottle instead of a drinking glass and keep it on the floor adjacent to you rather than on the same table as your computer. You'll give thanks me subsequently…

Step #half-dozen: Gather your meeting notes

Keep a piece of newspaper side by side to y'all with a pen throughout your coming together. Before the call begins, write down the key points that you'd like to discuss with your squad and any numbers or details that you need to reference exactly.

Step #seven: Minimise distractions + internet lag

Yous wouldn't scroll through your phone while in a real-life meeting, and you certainly would put your phone on silent style, so why not do the aforementioned with your virtual meetings?

Minimising distractions is essential for a high-quality virtual meeting.

Here'south a few questions to ask yourself to help minimise distractions during Zoom calls:

Is your phone nearby? Put it in silent mode to avoid 'dings' from notifications.

Do y'all get notifications showing up on your laptop? Turn on 'Do Non Disturb' Mode

Close all unnecessary tabs on your laptop and phone (if you are hot-spotting from your phone)

Here's how to turn off notifications on your desktop during work hours (on a Mac estimator):

Step ane: Click the Apple symbol in the top correct corner of your screen.

Step 2: Click 'System Preferences'

Step 3: Click on the search bar in the correct paw corner of the screen and type in 'notifications'

Step four: Change your 'Do Not Disturb' hours to suit your work hours and select the checkbox

Step #viii: Ensure yous accept backup audio options

Sometimes, no affair how difficult you lot try, the congenital-in reckoner audio will fail yous. It could drib out during the call or you could struggle to hear someone else in your team while speaking due to their computer audio.

In either situation, the all-time thing you can do to combat this and prepare for a smooth virtual meeting is to keep a headset or earbuds next to your laptop ready to be plugged in when and if yous demand them.

Step #9: Place a sticker or bluish-tack a piece of paper next to your webcam

Ever noticed how easy it is to get defenseless up looking at the faces on screen when in a virtual meeting? While information technology's only natural that our eyes are drawn to look others 'in the optics', when we are looking at our screen nosotros are actually not making stiff eye contact with the other people on the telephone call.

To assistance shift your line of sight, put a small sticker or piece of bluish-tack next to your built-in webcam or external webcam lens.

Throughout the meeting continue to draw your ain focus back to that small sticker next to the webcam – it'll assistance you ensure that you lot are looking straight at the camera rather than off to the side.

Step #ten: Join the virtual meeting room early

If you are the host of your team's Zoom call, be sure to 'arrive' v minutes early so that you have the opportunity to check your audio and video quality.

With a few extra minutes up your sleeve you'll be able to brand sure that y'all are well prepared to kickstart the meeting every bit presently every bit anybody in the meeting turns up. There's nothing worse than fumbling around with audio and video when you're already 10 minutes past the original meeting commencement time.

Did you find this blog post useful? Be sure to share it around on LinkedIn or with your team via email. Information technology's sure to come in handy over the adjacent few weeks.

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