Become a Zoom Pro: Insider Tips and Tricks for Flawless Video Meetings

By Snigdha | Last Updated on April 9th, 2023 12:54 pm

With remote meetings becoming a norm, Zoom has gained critical importance for the smooth functioning of any organization. However, getting your team on board the platform and helping them understand how they can leverage its potential to the maximum.

One of the most effective ways to expand the power, potential, and functionality of the leading video conferencing tool – Zoom, is through workflow automation and meaningful integrations on Appy Pie Connect.

Introduction

Though Zoom is one of the most popular online meeting applications, only a few are familiar with all the advanced features of the platform. Apart from the features, the tips and tricks for Zoom are even more important if you really want to improve your next video meeting on Zoom.

Ahead in the post, you will learn a number of Zoom tips, including how to set the desired privacy levels, advanced screen sharing options, and multiple other Zoom tips that you can use to improve the overall video meeting experience.

Zoom Tips: Before the meeting

1. Begin with the Mute On

You don’t want to be that guy who joins the meeting late, only to be interrupted by the hissing cat. It is important that you start the meeting on mute. When you are scheduling new Zoom calls, just go to your Advanced Options and check the ‘Mute participants upon entry’ feature. If, however, you want to do it just for yourself, follow the steps below:

• Log in to Zoom.
• Go to settings
• Click on Audio, then click the checkbox opposite ‘Mute my mic when joining a meeting’.

2. Set the desired Privacy Level

What if someone ended up joining your Zoom meeting a little early while you were still in the middle of the previous meeting? What if you were discussing sensitive financial data? There are multiple things you can do to prevent that from happening, e.g.,

• End-to-end encryption
• Be careful with where you share the meeting link
• Separate the private Zoom meeting rooms from the public ones
• Do not let participants join before the host.

3. Schedule meetings automatically

This point is especially important for those who have multiple meetings to schedule, probably back to back. You can use Appy Pie Connect to create connects between Zoom and your favorite calendar app.

• Connect Zoom and Google Calendar so that whenever you create an event on Google Calendar, a corresponding Zoom meeting will automatically be created on Zoom.
• Integrate Zoom and Calendly so that whenever an invitee schedules an event on Calendly, a new meeting registrant is added automatically on Zoom.

4. Create recurring meetings with the same URL

Let’s say you have weekly meetings with every division in your company. Do you really want to repeatedly answer the question, “Where’s the Zoom link?”? You can avoid it easily and save a lot of time in the process by scheduling recurring meetings with the same URL.

• Log in to Zoom.
• Go to Meetings, Schedule a Meeting, and edit the meeting option as needed.
• Under the Time Zone field, check the box against Recurring Meeting.
• Change the recurrence frequency as per your needs.
• Click Save.

5. Gather information from attendees

Sometimes, it is a good idea to get some preliminary (qualifying) information from the attendees before they attend the Zoom meeting. You can do this by integrating Zoom with other event management software. Here are some of the most effective ways to do this.

• Connect Zoom and Eventbrite so that whenever someone from your organization creates an event on Eventbrite, a corresponding Zoom meeting is created automatically.
• Integrate Zoom and Typeform so that whenever a Typeform form is submitted, a new meeting registrant is automatically created in a Zoom meeting.
• Establish a connect between Zoom and Gravity Forms so that whenever a new specified Gravity Forms form is submitted, a new meeting or webinar registrant is automatically created on Zoom.
• Create a connect between Zoom and Google Forms so that whenever a new response row is added to the bottom of a spreadsheet through Google Forms, a new meeting registrant is automatically created on Zoom.

6. Learn the Zoom shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can really be a lifesaver by helping you save time on repetitive, mundane tasks. Zoom, too, has some amazing shortcuts that you can use to save time. Here are some of the most common shortcuts you can use with Zoom.

• Send quick invites: Type in ​​⌘Cmd+I (PC: Alt+I) to open the invite window. You can copy the URL and send it via email or click on contacts to invite someone to your contact list.
• Turn video on/off: You can turn the video off/on by typing ⌘Cmd+Shift+V (PC: Alt+V).
• Mute Audio: Type in ⌘Cmd+Shift+A (PC: Alt+A) to mute/unmute your audio.
• Screen sharing: You can start a screen share by typing ⌘Cmd+Shift+S (PC: Alt+Shift+S). You can also pause/resume a screen share by typing ⌘Cmd+Shift+T (PC: Alt+T).
• Record meeting: Type ⌘Cmd+Shift+R (PC: Alt+R) to start recording a meeting. You can use the shortcut ⌘Cmd+Shift+P (PC: Alt+P) to pause/resume the recording.

Zoom Presentation Tips: During the meeting

1. Use Zoom waiting rooms

Failing to set the right privacy levels may result in undesirable situations. For example, people may end up in your common meeting room even if it’s not their time yet. This can jeopardize sensitive company information and even disturb ongoing meetings. Hence, it is important to set up a waiting room from which the host can then approve each participant individually to join the relevant meeting.

2. Raise a hand

The best way to indicate that you have something to say in a virtual meeting is by raising a hand. You can enable non-verbal cues by going to Settings, clicking on the Meeting tab, scrolling down to the In Meeting (Basic) section, and turning on the Non-verbal feedback capability. Once you do this, all the registrants will see a Raise Hand button under the Reactions option, helping people voice their ideas and opinions.

3. Record meetings

All Zoom plans, including the free plan, let you record your Zoom meeting in an MP4 format. This recording is great if you want to upload it later on video-sharing platforms like YouTube or keep it as reference material for a project, case study, etc. You can also use some of the following integrations should you need to.

• Connect Zoom and Slack so that whenever a new Zoom recording is completed, a new message is automatically posted to your chosen Slack channel.
• Integrate Zoom and Gmail so that whenever a new Zoom recording is completed, a new email is automatically drafted and sent through your Gmail account.
• Establish a workflow between Zoom and Microsoft Outlook so that whenever a new Zoom recording is completed, an email is sent through your Outlook account.

Tips for Zoom: After the meeting

1. Check who attended the meeting

If your Zoom meeting was a mandatory event for the attendees, you can ensure that you do a final check after the meeting is over. You can find this information in the report you get at the end of your meeting.

2. Gather feedback or review from all attendees

As the meeting organizer or host, you can send out a feedback form to all the attendees to get genuine feedback about the experience or the topic of the meeting. You can, of course, send it manually, but integration is definitely the better way to go with.

• Connect Zoom and Gravity Forms so that whenever a new registrant is added to a Zoom webinar, a new form entry is automatically created on Gravity Forms.
• Connect Zoom and Google Forms so that whenever a new registrant is added to a Zoom webinar, a new response is created automatically in a specific spreadsheet through Google Forms.

Best practices for using Zoom

• Test your equipment: Before a meeting, make sure that your webcam, microphone, and internet connection are working properly.
• Choose a quiet location: To ensure a productive and focused meeting, select a quiet location with minimal background noise.
• Mute your microphone: When you’re not speaking, mute your microphone to avoid unnecessary background noise.
• Use video whenever possible: Video meetings are more engaging and effective than audio-only calls, so use video whenever possible.
• Share your screen: If you need to present a document or slideshow, use the screen-sharing feature to share your screen with others.
• Use the chat feature: Zoom’s chat feature is a great way to communicate with others during a meeting without interrupting the speaker.
• Take breaks: If your meeting is long, take regular breaks to help prevent fatigue and maintain focus.
• Record the meeting: If you need to refer back to the meeting later, record it for future reference.
• Protect your privacy: Be aware of Zoom’s privacy settings and adjust them as needed to protect your personal information.
• Update your software: Make sure you have the latest version of the Zoom software to ensure a smooth and secure experience.

Conclusion

Despite Zoom being one of the most popular video meeting platforms, many people still do not know how to use the platform for efficient communication before, during, and after a meeting. The Zoom meeting tips mentioned in the article above can be a great starting point for you as a step in the right direction. However, as we mentioned earlier in the article, integrating Zoom with other third-party applications can be one of the most effective ways to use Zoom and improve your video meetings.