44 Tips and Pieces of Practical Advice When Using Zoom

I like to use ZOOM. I use it daily for sales calls, design meetings, client updates, and of course, training workshops. I use it to deliver webinars (to me a webinar is like a virtual keynote presentation). But, overall, I have found ZOOM the perfect LIVE VIRTUAL ONLINE TRAINING (LVOT) platform for workshops. Thiagi and I have managed to translate most of the activities we conduct in-person to ZOOM. We have found we can easily run one, two, and three-day programs with no complaints from participants because we are immersing them via good instructional design which includes a strong and engaging activities-based approach. 

As more and more delivery migrates to ZOOM and its competition, there will be a tendency for lots of bad stuff to come out… and most participants won’t notice until they become more versed with what good looks like. Thiagi and I will write more in the coming weeks on that topic, but here is a technical perspective. Here are 44 tips and pieces of practical advice when using ZOOM. 

Is this a comprehensive list? Certainly not. But, I think it is a good start. Why 44? Because in life, most things don’t land on a multiple of ten. Enjoy!

General Tips

1. You have your account settings and your user settings. Account settings are most easily reached via your browser at the ZOOM website. Your user settings are more easily accessible through the downloadable app. While you can access most options from both places, there are some differences. For example, in the App, you can click on your settings (usually the icon is at the top right corner) and access all sorts of things related to your personal usage. Under the video tab, there is a cool option to “TOUCH UP MY APPEARANCE.” Or, you can enable HD for your video. And more. While you can adjust these settings during a session, it is always better to do so in advance. Play around with these and see what you like the most.
2. As the trainer, presenter, or facilitator, while you can always run ZOOM via your browser, the functionality and layout is much better from the app. So, download it and set it up. 
3. Be conscious that ZOOM will look different when using diverse browsers and interfaces. So, what you see may not be what others see. If you can, check out what ZOOM looks like using Safari, Firefox, Chrome, etc., as well how it looks on devices and the desktop app. Be prepared to answer, “Where is that function…?”
4. Always do a tech check! Test your own connections. Test your panelist or co-speaker connections. Test all the features you’ll use. If you’re going to use a poll, or the chat function, or the breakout rooms, practice and test first!
5. Computer hygiene. Consider rebooting your computer shortly before you begin an important session. Close out of other programs, including your browser, your email, or anything that is communicating via the internet. We are in a bandwidth starved world now! Close out of email or anything that sends notifications. You don’t want these distractions during your session. And you certainly don’t want them to pop up if you are sharing your desktop. 
6. Can’t say this strongly enough… have a good audio interface. Use a good microphone, either direct into your computer or some other interface. This does not translate as expensive. There are plenty of microphones that are inexpensive and will do a great job for you. 
7. Mute is your friend. If you do have that cough coming, or a sneeze, or you need to type something in CHAT, hit the mute. Remember to turn it back on. Become agile at muting and unmuting for those bodily noises and avoid typing until you can mute (meaning you are no longer talking). Typing, usually occurring right next to your microphone is LOUD!
8. Mute your participants. There’s nothing worse than hearing someone’s dog, someone’s boss, someone eating Pringles. Zoom has a feature to automatically mute participants when they join. Use it! They can unmute to talk, and that’s good, but audio control is critical.
9. Use a producer. Have a co-host who can handle tech issues, read the chat stream to highlight pertinent questions and comments, and save the day if you get disconnected. If you don’t have an extra person, be sure to pay extra attention to your participants on video (watch them watching), listen to any comments that may pop up in the CHAT, and watch for the non-verbal cues (hand raising, thumbs up, etc.). Remember, using ZOOM is all about engaging and not delivering a one-way show.
10. Have redundancies. Tech can fail. Have backups. Whether the problems are WI-FI related, slide related, ZOOM related, or other… problems will occur. Have a back-plan for everything you are going to do. 
11. Speaking of WI-FI issues, make sure your producer or another participant can take over if your WI-FI cuts out. Sometimes you will receive a warning telling you your WI-FI is spotty. Take this warning seriously. And, be sure your backup is set as a co-host.
12. Virtual backgrounds eat up bandwidth. If you want to use one, you better have good WI-FI.? Or, simply purchase a backdrop. You can also just use a curtain. Or, have a plain wall behind you.
13. But, if you do want to use a virtual background you certainly can use the ones ZOOM provides, or you can upload your own photo. You want the photo to be relatively simple or it can wash you out of the picture completely. 
14. Regardless of using a virtual background, do pay attention to your backdrop. Your space behind you, your lighting... all can distract or undermine your credibility.
15. Smile. Now and then, but not in a creepy way. Which reminds me, blink normally. In other words, maintain good body posture and presentation rules. 
16. Don’t forget…the rules of activities-based training design and delivery hold true for ZOOM and all these platforms. Focus on activities as you would in-person. Almost all activities can be translated to ZOOM.
17. Have an associated website with resource materials, recordings of the session, and anything else you may have promised them.

Preparing Your Session

1. If possible, have a second screen set up and log on as a participant so you can see what they see (more or less).? There are differences between a host’s view, a co-host’s view, and a participant’s view. (Although, in your account settings, you can set the co-host to have the same in-meeting controls as the host if you want.) The differences between host and co-host are very minor. Co-hosts can do everything hosts can do except end the meeting, start closed captioning, start live streaming, make other participants co-hosts, start breakout rooms, and start waiting rooms. Participants will have fewer features based on the permissions you set in advance. But they definitely will not be able to run polls or record.
2. Many of your participants are already familiar with ZOOM. This is cool. But a few will always be first timers or will have forgotten. So, take a few minutes before your session actually starts and do a quick run through of the features you plan to use.
3. In fact, inform participants you will arrive into the virtual classroom between 20-30 minutes early so they can, as well, and test their tech. This has the added benefit of ensuring people get familiar with the ZOOM features like muting, chatting, annotating, and hand raising before the program even starts. It also enables you to test participant audio and make any fixes ahead of time.
4. I know we said do a tech check in our General Tips section, but this is worth repeating in more depth… Do check your own audio, lighting, and bandwidth before starting the program. Check glares and shadows. Listen for echoes and feedback. Remember the earth moves around the sun, so no glare at the beginning of your meeting doesn’t mean no glare by the end.
5. Prepare any polls or whiteboards as soon as you turn the session on, so get there early. Then save them in case you get cut off. Also, practice with them until you’re smooth and fluent.
6. If you are alone and don’t have a producer (even if you do), set cues in your slides. For example, have a RECORDING slide to remind you to hit record. Or, have a STOP SHARING slide to remind you to return to main video. This will help you keep the program running smooth.
7. Be sure all your ZOOM permissions are set BEFORE your program. You can make them your default preferences, but you always want to verify participants can annotate, control their own mikes, share screens, and all other features your activities will ask of them. Otherwise you will have difficulty engaging and you can undermine your entire program.

At the Very Beginning of Your Session

1. Keep a glass of water and cough drops by you. You’ll be amazed how often a coughing fit will hit.?
2. I know it is a technical environment but keep a pad of paper and a pen readily available to jot down quick notes. You are often juggling so many balls in the air, it is easy to have an idea or a thought and immediately forget it. Quick notetaking is easy and usually won’t distract.
3. Speaking of noisy participants… it is great to have them all chime in and talk, but they don’t always realize there is often background noise. So, teach them up front to work the mute button and ask them to unmute to speak and then mute back when they are done. 
4. You can have as many of your participants assigned a co-host role if you want to give them more autonomy during your program. For example, during some activities, you might want them to access the polling function. You can give and remove these privileges at will.
5. Often people come in late, or they are late due to tech problems. Use an opening activity that enables a “soft” start while stragglers come into the virtual classroom.
6. Open both the MANAGE PARTICIPANTS window and your CHAT window. Keep them open and available at all times. This way you can track the comings and goings of your participants, their reactions, and who needs to be muted. Keeping CHAT open gives you quick glance capability of any conversations happening. If you have a producer, she can manage both of these areas if you want, but nonetheless, it is nice to be aware.?
7. When recording, save to the cloud if you are worried you might get cut off during the program. But make sure you have enough ZOOM cloud space. Alternatively, save to your own hard drive if you would like your recordings at a better quality. But, you will have to make sure you have the space… recordings take up a lot!

During Your Session

1. Sharing is a wonderful tool. You can share documents, PowerPoints, videos, and more. When doing so, make sure you share just the app you want. You do have the option to share your entire desktop, but that is a good way to disclose stuff you don’t want participants to see. If you choose to share the desktop, do so with intent, and close any extraneous applications.
2. When sharing video, don’t forget to click the button to “share computer audio.” This is a cool ZOOM feature that allows you to share a video and allow all participants to hear the audio from that video at proper volume levels. You can also use this to have some fun, like sharing a tune during an exercise. I lean toward using Cheap Trick songs. J
3. Never be afraid of your participants having control over their own engagement. Many virtual facilitators turn off permissions. Well, you can’t do this with in-person training… as much as you may sometimes want to do so. And, you shouldn’t do so with virtual training. 99.9% of the time in-person participants behave and respect each other. 99.9% of the time, so will your virtual participants.
4. Having said that, ANNOTATION is a great tool for interactivity, but it is also power in the participants’ hands which they can wield anytime. Same with SHARING. Don’t be surprised when they do. Note that annotations can get unwieldy with large numbers of participants (more than 10-20).
5. CHAT is great, but the video recording does not include the CHAT scripts as they happen during playback. You can send your participants a manuscript separately, but if having their text contributions is important to the recorded video, don’t use CHAT, instead, have them annotate on a blank whiteboard or on a slide.
6. If your WI-FI signal gets spotty, temporarily turn off your video.? This often will immediately fix the problem. Again, close all programs that communicate with the internet, which is most of them!
7. Breakout rooms are great! They enable lots of different small group activities. However, they take time—just like small group activities take time with in-person training. So only use them if they are appropriate for both your instructional design and for the logistics (time being the most impactful). 
8. Use file transfer and participant cameras to exchange documents and white board output for breakout usage.? These are especially useful when using breakout rooms. For example, you can send participants a document you want them to reference in the breakout room right before they leave the big room. Filesharing is a simple way to do this. You can have participants snap a picture of the breakout room instructions before leaving the big room. And, you can have them take a picture of their whiteboard output before returning (and then fileshare or screen share it when ready).
9. Don’t forget to end your session with a bang! Make sure you identify action items for after the program as you would for in-person programs.

After Your Session

1. Debrief with your producer and co-host. We are all used to being in charge of our classrooms and managing most aspects of the workshop. But in a virtual setting, there are many aspects. The producer handles the tech and admin during the session, the co-host may manage the CHAT and/or other aspects, and more. So, debrief to ensure you can learn from the process and work even more effectively the next time.
2. Manage your recordings. Whether you recorded in the cloud or onto a hard drive, make sure you pay attention to when the recordings are done processing and then validate you can locate them. Be sure you immediately rename and file them in a location easily found and backed-up. Did I mention back up? DO SO!!
3. Ask participants for any feedback (not smile sheets, or not just smile sheets) about their experience and incorporate their suggestions in the next session. Your objective is less about their opinions on whether they learned something, but more about their experience with the tech, ZOOM specifically, their interactions with the tech during the activities, and their overall perspective. The value to you is to identify areas of improvement in how you manage the interface for them, and if it indeed went well, to use that information as marketing fodder for the next round.
4. Conduct any additional evaluation you would normally do when looking out how well the program worked. For us, we like to use Will Thalheimer’s Learning Transfer Evaluation Model (LTEM) as our template, but you can use whatever you prefer. NOTE: By doing good instructional design before you conduct your program, you should have the evaluation in mind. So, be sure to have this tip before your program, as well.

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Three people helped make this article possible... Thiagi and Will Thalheimer both read it, critiqued it, added a few tips each, and found typos. David Ganulin reviewed it and helped copyedited it. So, a big thank you to all three of them. But, as always, anything you don't like... blame me. Any errors in it, my fault.

Finally, a general caveat. The ZOOM folks are constantly adding new features and updates. So, I will try and update this article as I notice new stuff happening.