Working from home means half of your office life is being spent on Zoom. Zoom helps in doing meetings and webinar sessions. You can also join or even host a meeting. But along with doing meetings, making it an interactive session can be even more engaging. Below, are some of the interesting tips and tricks of how to use zoom and make it a fun and lively session.

1. Adding a Virtual Background 

Adding a virtual background can make the call a little bit more interactive and fun. In case you feel that the setup behind you or the background is not appealing or attractive you can always add a virtual background.

You have two options either to choose from a green screen or mirror the video whatever suits you. 

ADDING THE EXISTING BACKGROUND
Adding the existing background
ADDING YOUR OWN VIDEO OR IMAGE
Adding your own image or video

QUICK TIP

Virtual backgrounds can also show you are a part of something and add to the moment. It is like ‘BEING IN THE MOMENT’ feel. For example, you are talking about San Fransisco or any other place you can add a background to make it even more realistic.

2. Recording the Video 

You can also easily record your video by going to the recording option in the settings. The recording is pretty easy, and you must know how to record a meeting. The reason being you can always refer to it in the future in case you want to recall something. This by far is definitely one of the most useful among the tips and tricks of using zoom.

RECORDING THE VIDEO

3. Recurring Meeting

You can also use the option of recurring meetings incase you have a meeting with the same set of people again. Using this function not only saves times but also prevents the unnecessary hassle of following all the steps to schedule a meeting.

RECURRING MEETING
Recurring Meeting
REMINDER FOR RECURRING

4. Using Shortcuts (Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts)

Zoom offers many shortcuts from joining, starting, scheduling a meeting to screen sharing, and much more. These shortcuts play a really important role when you want to join instantly or want to perform an action like mute or unmute while the video is going on. It makes the functioning easier and accessible with just a few keys.

SHORTCUTS

5. Touch up your Appearance (Settings > Video > Touch up my appearance)

This feature of touching up your appearance available in the video section can be a big boon when you are not feeling up to the mark. Especially when you are operating from home, you can be feeling lazy. This feature can make your image look softer, better, and a little more presentable.

TOUCH UP MY APPEARNCE

6.  Video Modifications (Settings > Video)

 You also have the option to choose whether you want to show your video or stick to only audio. This feature can be of use when you are in a crowded area. Although you can always switch on to video as and when needed. This option is good for quickly getting on a call. 

VIDEO MODIFICATIONS

7. Audio Modifications (Settings > Audio)

To make sure that the audio is working smoothly, you can go to the Audio section to test it once before the meeting starts. You also have the option to join audio by computer or mute microphone which you can choose depending on your preference. Doing a setup test before the meeting starts to ensure that the meeting runs smoothly can assure a hassle-free experience.

AUDIO SECTION MODIFICATIONS

8. Registrations

An option to gather information from those who are attending the meeting is also possible. You might want to know their industry apart from the Name and Email Id which is possible through registrations. You can also add more questions to the form through the ‘Custom Questions’ option. 

Registrations

DEEPER DIVE 

To get the attendee information you need to have a pro account.

9. Set Reminders (Settings > General)

The option of setting a reminder just 5-10 minutes before a meeting starts is a way to prep and warm up yourself before the meeting. Sometimes we are so busy with work, that attending a meeting might slip off our mind. Therefore, in such times the reminders can be a total saviour!

SET REMINDERS

10. Share a Screen

Sharing a screen can come into play when you wish to show some work to your colleague or explain him through a presentation. To do so all you need to do is click the share screen button on the zoom app. In case you are viewing someone else’s work you can annotate by clicking the view option and then annotate.

SHARE A SCREEN

 Try these tips and tricks when you use zoom, the next time to host, join or schedule a meeting on your Mac or Windows.