During these times, we all have to rely on Zoom and similar technology. The following Zoom tips will help presenters:
Looking your best
Before your session:
- Make sure you are in a well-lit area
- Put your camera at face level (use a stand, or stack of books if you are using a laptop camera), relatively close to you
- Explore Zoom setup options in the client. Select ‘Settings’ and consider using a virtual background, or ‘Touch up my appearance’ under ‘Video’ during your session
- If you look directly at your camera while speaking, your attendees will feel much more included in the conversation. Position the ‘active speaker’ window on your screen directly under the camera so that it is natural for your eyes to be looking towards the camera
Sounding your best
As long as you have a decent internet connection, you will get the best quality audio experience by selecting ‘use my computer’ for audio:
- Make sure you are in a quiet area
- Use a pair of ear buds (any that work with your computer) along with your computer microphone. If you can’t be in a quiet area, consider a headset with microphone
- Reserve using the dial-in number for times when you don’t have easy access to a computer or you have low quality Internet access
Present and moderate your session like a Pro
It can be overwhelming to present, manage your participants, and monitor chat, all while continuing to have a dynamic conversation with your participants. This can be particularly hard if you are using full screen options for presenting or sharing videos. There are a number of options to customize your layout that will help, the one below has been optimized for use on a laptop where you need to present and manage your attendees at the same time.
With this view:
- Remote participants are displayed right below the laptop camera, allowing for ‘eye contact’ with your participants
- Your shared content is visible as the application content only, removing the possibility of accidental sharing of incorrect content
- Open multiple applications (browser, Word, etc) and choose ‘New Share’ to switch between the content without your screen layout changing
- The ‘Zoom Chat’ and ‘Participants’ window remain open, allowing you to easily mute people and monitor nonverbal feedback throughout the session
- Your Zoom controls remain visible at all times on the bottom of your screen.
Before beginning, close all applications on your computer except for Zoom and those you will need to share during your session.
1. Sharing PowerPoint content
- Open your presentation and select ‘Set Up Slide Show’ in the ‘Slide Show’ menu o Select ‘Browsed by an individual (window)’ in the set up window o Put your presentation into presentation mode by selecting the icon on the bottom right of PowerPoint.
- In this view, you will be unable to view Presenter notes. Print these before your session for reference. If this will not work for you, consider sharing only a portion of your screen (available through ‘Advanced’ sharing). But be careful, it is easy to change your screen and accidently share incorrect content.
2. Once you are ready to present, launch your Zoom meeting.
- Exit Full screen mode by selecting the option in the top right corner
- Select ‘Share’ in the Zoom controls and share the application with your content, remember NOT to choose the option to ‘Share Desktop’
- From the Zoom control bar, select ‘Manage Participants’ and ‘More’, then ‘Chat’ to open those windows
3. Now layout your screen by dragging your components to the locations you prefer.
- You can ‘dock’ Zoom video and controls by dragging them to the edge of the screen
- Resize your content, chat, and participant windows to make them fit your display
- If you like these settings, customize your Zoom clients to not use ‘Full Screen’ automatically every time you are in a new meeting. To do this, when not in a meeting, open your Zoom client and select the gear icon to customize your settings
- From there, uncheck all options related to full screen
Please consider these Zoom tips for your next meeting to avoid embarrassing situations.
Thanks,
PS. And, I again thank Duke IT for these valuable Zoom Tips.
