Zoom (and other) online meetings

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
OK, I'm four years late to the party, but will be a first-time Zoom user this coming week. A few one-on-one meetings, and several with a half-dozen or so participants. For the regular users, what are some tips and tricks I should know?

I got my camera and microphone figured out and working, and decluttered & simplified the background. I did a test call with someone (internet is slow out here). I also recorded a couple of test videos (directly to my Mac) and found a few things...like when I look down, like at written notes, it looks like my eyes are closed, so I need to be sure and have notes up on the screen near camera. I also saw that when I talk for more than one sentence, I start slightly swiveling in my chair, which I am sure will be distracting to others.

So...any tips for me?
 
Pro-tip: Don’t worry about that stuff ;) Nobody is watching as closely as you. If the camera is too low, they can see up your nose. If the camera is too high, your forehead will look big and your eyes will look closed. Mute is your friend. Only use the camera if you have to. Most meetings I have my camera off and microphone muted unless I need to speak. People will talk over each other. Slow internet will result in laggy video.
 
I think you and Matt covered the bulk of it. If there are only a few people in the meeting, I don't bother muting my mic because I will probably be talking a lot. In large meetings, almost everyone will be muted and some people routinely forget to unmute themselves when they start talking, so remember to unmute. We use MS Teams, and 99.5% of people do not use their camera. Therefore it is of the upmost importance to upload a professional looking photo of yourself as your avatar. Here is my current one:

1742551449330.png
 
I’m on Multiple calls calls daily across the globe. As you are a newb, be at the computer and ready to hit connect. Something will inevitably go haywire on you because of that asshole Murphy and his dumb ass laws. I don’t like to be late to anything.

I don’t know about Zoom, but Teams does a good job of muting your background noises. If Zoom doesn’t, make sure anyone else in the house knows you're on a call and keep the dogs away from the windows so they aren’t barking at the mailman. Teams will block everything but a human voice, maybe zoom will too.

I’m opposite of Matt. I use my video 99% of the time and rarely mute myself. I’m notorious for forgetting to unmute. Was even gifted a coffee mug that says “you’re on mute” by a coworker. Best part about that is that she was the first one to be on mute in a call with me and I held it up for her to see.😁

Biggest thing is to remember that everyone that gets on calls has done something or had something happen to themselves on a call. If something does happen, laugh at yourself, make a joke and move on. People like to know they aren’t alone in online call mishaps.
 
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You're an I.T. guy so I feel inadequate even telling you this, but don't use the AP. Whether it's zoom or teams, always hit cancel and "open in browser" (I typically use chrome for this) The AP NEVER works right with either platform. And Chrome will save your info for another meeting.

I'm on teams and zoom about 3-5 times daily tue-fri (thankfully no one wants to meet on mondays)

I only ever use my first name and company abbreviation in parenthesis and click mute mic and close the camera before I ever log in.

As said above ALWAYS MUTE!!!!!! and never use the camera if you don't have to. Seriously. It's a waste of time, and the only thing you all need to see is the shared screen of the person sharing info (powerpoint etc)

We have some pretentious folks that run meetings that INSIST on your camera being on. They SAY they want to see your face and know you are engaged, but basically they want to know you're not working on something else or surfing NX4x4 while you're on this meeting :laughing: for that a few of us have purchased various celebrities on sticks and use them to point the camera at. Mine is Mr T :huggy:
 
Zoom does really good in blocking background noise, just make sure you have the setting turned on. My dogs will go crazy for Amazon delivery and nobody really hears it, but I do stay on mute unless I'm talking (in 1:1s I don't mute though)

I'm in ~25 hours a week in zoom meetings, it's a blast. I have an external webcam because I'm on them so much.
 
CasterTroy said:
Wouldn't it be awesome if this feature worked IRL

There's so many people I would mute for simply


:smokin:
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It's really funny to watch their face when they get a notification that they've just been muted. Only you and that person know. I've gotten everything from a thumbs up to a Minion "WHAAAAAAT" look, to laughter, to rolling eyes. But my favorite is the confused looking around.
 
Thanks for the responses! This is just something I'm not looking forward to doing. I'd rather drive 100 miles and talk to someone face to face instead of a phone call, much less video, but that's not an option here.

I guess one important question remains, do I have to wear pants?
 
All of you that spend so much time in these “meetings” what do you actually accomplish through the day? I like my job but it’s frustrating at times (Maintenance Super for a specialty aggregates Co.) Being in a position I had to sit and listen to other people on a screen through a speaker/ headset would make me want a Remington 870 haircut.
 
skyhighZJ said:
All of you that spend so much time in these “meetings” what do you actually accomplish through the day? I like my job but it’s frustrating at times (Maintenance Super for a specialty aggregates Co.) Being in a position I had to sit and listen to other people on a screen through a speaker/ headset would make me want a Remington 870 haircut.
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Nothing Conan Obrien GIF by First We Feast
 
skyhighZJ said:
All of you that spend so much time in these “meetings” what do you actually accomplish through the day? I like my job but it’s frustrating at times (Maintenance Super for a specialty aggregates Co.) Being in a position I had to sit and listen to other people on a screen through a speaker/ headset would make me want a Remington 870 haircut.
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Most of the accomplishments come out of those meetings. I try and not schedule anything that doesn't produce a tangible result. Other meetings that I'm required to attend but not speak, I usually work on other things while listening.

On the other hand, I have some people that just want to schedule a meeting to talk and not produce anything tangible. I avoid those at all costs...
 
skyhighZJ said:
All of you that spend so much time in these “meetings” what do you actually accomplish through the day? I like my job but it’s frustrating at times (Maintenance Super for a specialty aggregates Co.) Being in a position I had to sit and listen to other people on a screen through a speaker/ headset would make me want a Remington 870 haircut.
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Nothing, we have meetings to talk about more meetings, to then talk about what we need to meet about next.

Honestly our biggest problem is that too many people think they need to be included in everything. I build our roadmaps and strategy, so most of my time is spent in meetings understanding/defining what our strategy is based on different things going on in the org, build that into a roadmap, and make people execute on it.
 
skyhighZJ said:
All of you that spend so much time in these “meetings” what do you actually accomplish through the day? I like my job but it’s frustrating at times (Maintenance Super for a specialty aggregates Co.) Being in a position I had to sit and listen to other people on a screen through a speaker/ headset would make me want a Remington 870 haircut.
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I start going nuts being on meetings for extended period of time, luckly my current job it's not bad zoom/meeting wise. My pervious employer was terrible for that, they would load your day up with mandatory meetings and then wonder why you couldn't get anything done. I started declining meetings with no agenda for non mandatory meetings, then when they sent one, would answer all their questions, email it back and decline it again :laughing:. I think some people want to load up their calendars with BS so they can say they are busy and not get stuff done. What drives me nuts is the host spending the first 22 mins of the 30min meeting summarizing why they are having the meeting, and what they want to accomplish, OOPS we ran out of time, let's circle back later in the week, put a gun in my mouth please.
 
I had a boss about 10+ yrs ago that scheduled two recurring 1 hour group meetings for each week. He would come to the meeting with 10-20 minutes of information, but then talk for the full 60 minutes. It drove me nuts.
 
If I ever get another job where much of my day is consumed by meetings, I will:
#1 be very disappointed
#2 schedule 3-4hrs of recurring meetings every day with the same group of acquaintances, and with the understanding that no one shows up and nothing happens because these are just placeholders so noone else can fill my calendar.
Great Job Reaction GIF
 
jeepinmatt said:
If I ever get another job where much of my day is consumed by meetings, I will:
#1 be very disappointed
#2 schedule 3-4hrs of recurring meetings every day with the same group of acquaintances, and with the understanding that no one shows up and nothing happens because these are just placeholders so noone else can fill my calendar.
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Ooooorrrrrrrr

Those meetings should be held at a restaurant, with a bar. Better known as a brewery where you talk shop for 5 mins so your drinks are expensable....

These meetings typically yield the best results in my experience.
 
skyhighZJ said:
All of you that spend so much time in these “meetings” what do you actually accomplish through the day? I like my job but it’s frustrating at times (Maintenance Super for a specialty aggregates Co.) Being in a position I had to sit and listen to other people on a screen through a speaker/ headset would make me want a Remington 870 haircut.
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This is where the camera is very important. DO NOT USE THE CAMERA
This way you can still take calls, continue working on other shit, go TAKE a shit, or just leave.and you're still counted as attending.
I've been doing zoom/teams way before COVID and I can't recall a single meeting that couldn't have been an email
I take that back...I've had several very productive 1on1 zoom calls where I shared my screen to show the architect how his monumental tribute to themselves could NOT be conditioned without seeing the actual mechanical systems.. but that's a rare exception
Typically these meetings are to stroke an ego of someone who believes they are far more important than they actually are, and could be accomplished with an email or 2 minute call.
 
Noel said:
Pro tip. Put your bourbon into a coffee cup. Blow on it from time to time and they will think your just drinking coffee
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Fify
 
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