Using best practices for Zoom meeting participants

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This article provides some best practices for Zoom participants.

Getting Started

  • Review the System Requirements section of the Zoom Support Page.
  • Attend Zoom meetings where you have a strong internet connection.  A fast hard-wired connection or excellent Wi-Fi signal strength are key.
  • Public Wi-Fi hotspots are not usually strong enough for a quality connection.
  • Open a Zoom meeting ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the settings.

Audio and Video

  • A USB headset with microphone is best for sound quality.
  • The host controls the availability of participant microphones and webcams in the meeting.
  • A red bar across the microphone icon on the toolbar indicates that you are muted and other participants cannot hear you. Select the microphone icon to switch between Mute and Unmute (See Fig. 1).

    mute/unmute microphone button

    Figure 1: Mute and Unmute microphone

  • A red bar across the webcam icon on the toolbar indicates that your video is hidden. Participants cannot see you.  Select the webcam icon to switch between Start Video and Stop Video (See Fig. 2).

    stop/start video button

    Figure 2: Start and Stop webcam

  • Test your audio. Select the ^ icon next to the Microphone icon and select Test Speaker & Microphone in the menu (See Fig. 3).

    red arrows pointing to the arrow next to the mute button and the text speaker and microphone option

    Figure 3: Test Speaker & Microphone

  • Your computer may have more than one option for microphone and speaker. Select your preferred options in the Select a Microphone and Select a Speaker section of the menu (See Fig. 4).

    red box around the microphone and speaker input settings

    Figure 4: Set preferred speaker and microphone

Online Meeting Tools

  • Meeting hosts may allow participants to use the Share Screen feature to display content in the meeting. Content items can include slide decks, applications, webpages, etc.
  • Annotation tools — The meeting host may allow meeting participants access to Annotation Tools in the meeting.  With Annotation Tools, attendees may mark up and highlight information displayed during a Share Screen.
  • Breakout Sessions — Meeting hosts may create small-group Breakout Sessions within the main online meeting. The meeting host is in charge of starting and stopping the Breakout Sessions.

Share Screen Tools

Hosts and participants can use the Share Screen tool, if enabled. Hosts may also choose if Only one person can Share Screen at a time, or if multiple participants may share simultaneously.  (Each Breakout Session may have its own Share Screen activity.)

Mobile Apps

Attend a meeting on a desktop or a laptop for the best host or participant experience.

There are mobile apps available for both iOS and Android devices. Keep in mind that some features may not be available on mobile apps, including some options for the Share Screen tool.

Modified on: Tue, Oct 24, 2023 at 10:07 AM

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