It’s incredible how heroes rise up to the occasion. Our fave DC and Marvel superheroes elaborate this to the utmost, cashing in big-time in the box office in the process. Thus, when the pandemic sowed sorrow and confusion all over America, our world seems to have fallen apart. We’ve shrunk into home quarantines, a word that for many have meant home prisons in actuality. And yet, there are things that gave us a taste of our lost freedom. One of the most groundbreaking is Zoom, the company that made conferencing online trending.
Before Zoom came into the picture, online video conferencing was not a novel idea. Facebook had its Messenger service which can do group calls; Skype already was a go-to app for group meetings. Thus, it’s established that the idea wasn’t new. But Zoom gave what is ordinary and raised it to a fashionable status. When the virus hit the town, Zoom’s daily subscribers hit 200 million by March 2020, which’s almost unfathomable given the video conferencing service only 10 million months ago in December.
Therefore, for any Tom, Dick, and Harry, making the most of a Zoom meeting has become a must-do. Here’s how.
Have Purpose
Have you heard of the old adage? When all is said and done, more is said than done. While that can be true in any face-to-face business transaction, it also holds water in a Zoom meeting.
Unless your video conferencing is just to meet your old friends and rekindle your long-lost friendship with an hours-on-end video call, then you need to get your call’s purpose clear as a bell. Ask yourself:
- Why does this call matter?
- What do you want to achieve in this call?
- What are the specific actions I need to be done to make this call a success?
If you don’t do a little digging, you will end up wasting your time over details that don’t matter. So before you shoot yourself on the foot, think. ;
Assign a Leader
Every zoom conference call will have its challenges. But we’re sure things will easily get out of hand if you don’t have a host. Yup, that’s the one in charge of the meeting. You might even have to assign co-hosts if it’s a large gathering.
Know that Zoom automatically allows you to get as many as 100 attendees in one video conference call. That’s a lot of heads in one online room. Of course, paid Zoom account can enjoy up to 300.
And the reason why you need a leader is that you need work done. As the conversation flows, people can be off-topic or worse bicker. A leader is like an eject button, throwing people who repeatedly don’t toe the line.
If you think Zoom is a safe video conferencing platform, you may have to think again. Discussions can get messy. Video backgrounds can get sultry. Here are some incidents where Zoom meetings failed. And badly.
Decide Levels of Security
Take note that if you are expanding your business (working from home), widening your communication tools is wise. In this regard, exploring PBX systems or private phone systems should be spot on.
While Zoom is best in teleconferencing, PBX offers greater flexibility such as call forwarding to mobile devices. Indeed, consulting a trusted PBX Philippines supplier can go a long way to boost your productivity, especially in the era of the virus.
Zoom’s popularity is phenomenal in view of the fact that other services such as Skype and Google Meet which offers similar service were there before its rise. One of Zoom’s biggest draws is access. You can invite people to Zoom via email, for one.
But that can also cause a lot of headaches for you. So before you turn on the “Join before host” options, get back to your purpose. What is the level of security measures you need to take to make the meeting a whooping success?
Usually, the “security by obscurity” factor embedded in your coded Zoom link should be good enough for most business meetings.
Control Audio
Last but not the least, make sure the Zoom leader knows how to “Mute all” when the meeting starts. Or when it is called for. Right off the bat, this feature can be the most important feature of all.
This is especially timely for large meetings. Know this. When people gather at a time when all the virus news is taking center stage, your meeting can be chaos in no time. No kidding!
“Mute all” allows you to take the helm, assuming you’re the Zoom leader. Otherwise, you can also control the audio and video features of the attendees by clicking the Participants button. And adjusting their camera and audio features one by one.
No doubt, zoom can help you big time. It can help you move your business forward. It’s true. A little planning can indeed go a long way to boost your productivity through the roof.
