Zoom: Five Essential Hacks to make your Video Conference Better

Surely, we are midway through strange times. And these times of Social Distancing have increased the demand for Zoom Video Conferencing.

Zoom is being used for streaming in education, corporate video and meetings, government proceedings and more. While using Zoom, it is important to produce at a high quality to engage your audience.

Mashable recently posted a great article, containing five tips for creating a high quality output for your Zoom call. We're going to go over some of those tips, below.

5 Tips for Creating a High Quality Zoom Call

1. Change your Zoom Background
2. Know Zoom Hotkeys
3. Copy and Share your Zoom Meeting Link
4. Upgrade for no Time Limits
5. Make your Settings Smooth

Change Your Zoom Background

Changing your background on Zoom has a variety of functions. The most important of these functions is confidentiality. If you are in a meeting with a lot of participants and don't want your location- or just a messy room- to be revealed, changing your background will ensure that only you are seen on the call.

Changing your background is also a great way to inject some levity into your Zoom call. For teachers and students participating in remote learning for the first time, this can be a great way to put some fun into your Zoom call.

So, what steps need to be taken to change your background?

1. Next to the "Stop Video Button", there is a little arrow. Click on it!
2. Select "Choose Virtual Background"
3. Click the plus sign to add an image or video in your background.

Know Zoom Hotkeys

Zoom has a selection of Hotkeys to make navigating the platform a little quicker. Of course, the hotkeys change from Mac to PC, but being familiar with them will make navigation much more convenient.

Share Your Meeting by Copying the Link

This is the easiest way to add friends or coworkers to your Zoom call. Rather than sending your meeting participants through the invitation process, and sharing the ID and password, a direct URL will let other party's click directly into your call.

Upgrade for No Time Limits

Zoom is a great free service, that allows you to contact a massive amount of people at once. However, it will cap your call at 45 minutes. This can be a problem for longer conferences or virtual classes.

The solution to this, is to upgrade. When upgrading Zoom, your calls now will have no limit, and you can add even more participants. Another great feature of Zoom is that only one party on the call needs an upgraded account for your call to get these advanced features.

Make your Settings Smooth

In the "Video" section of your Zoom call, you'll find a variety of settings to best fit your call. Your settings must match the capabilities of your computer or device, so as not to overwhelm it. Being familiar with your settings will make for the smoothest call possible.

Check out the full article from Mashable to learn more.