Give Your Zoom Some Zing

These days, connecting online isn’t merely a possibility—it is a necessity. How can you optimize your presence in meetings? In a sense, we’re talking about “Zoom etiquette.” But venture beyond Miss Manners to make your experience professional, effective, and inclusive. 

Begin by making your display name accurate and sufficiently formal, with inclusion of job title and pronouns if appropriate. Edit your display name during a meeting by clicking the “Participants” button, then selecting the “Rename” option by your name.

Keep It Clear as Crystal

Your conversation partners want a direct connection, which should include clear visuals and sound. Situate yourself in an uncluttered space—or, if that’s not possible, a folding wall that can be set up in front of a larger room. Position light sources in front of you, not in back. If the existing light is not sufficient, add a USB-powered ring light. An external microphone can filter out ambient noise. Silence any “dings” associated with emails or messaging. Elevating your camera-view ensures good eye contact, and an unopened ream of printer paper stored under a laptop will add just the right amount of “lift.”

Respect the order of operations typical of an in-person meeting. Use the “Raise Hand” function, found by selecting the “Reactions” button, rather than un-muting and interrupting someone else’s comment. Those interjections are particularly distracting if someone is using “Speaker View,” since the display shifts to the latest source of audio. Share comments pertinent to previous topics via the chat window. Chat is also the place to link to websites or upload documents, instead of wordy summaries that eat up time.

Black Tie Is Optional, Clothing Is Not

You should understand that Zoom’s “privacy” features only do so much to protect you. Don’t be the nightmare guest at the Zoom party. Don’t say anything near your microphone that can’t be broadcast, even if you have the “mute” function on. Don’t display anything that can’t be shown to all, even if you’ve selected “Stop video.” Don’t type anything as a direct message into chat that you would not share with the whole group; everyone who opts to save the chat will ultimately see the full transcript.

Access Is Love (and Professional Courtesy)

As host, remember that the best Zoom sessions are fully accessible. Go into your dashboard prior to a meeting, and enable live transcription. This way, participants can opt into auto-closed-captioning during the session. Verbally amplify questions or points raised in the chat, and encourage participants to enlarge chat and transcript display sizes if needed, which can be done under “Preferences” and “Settings” by viewing the “Accessibility” menu. Record sessions to benefit those who experience connection issues.

If you do not observe all of these tips in a given meeting, that’s okay; as Miss Manners once said: “Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace.” Though addressing each suggestion may feel laborious, it soon becomes second nature. The more streamlined the technical aspects of Zoom experiences, the more energy you can devote to what counts: the ideas you bring to the table.

Let us know how we can help you with sales training, sales ops, or messaging at mastery@maestrogroup.co.