Zoom meeting techniques

bainbridge

bainbridge

bainbridge

Soldato
Joined
9 Dec 2009
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Location
Bristol
In boring zoom meetings I've found that sitting on the sofa with the laptop on my lap I can watch TV on mute with subtitles on quite unobtrusively. The camera lines up just below the TV image so it looks like I'm looking into camera.

Also holding the phone with my hand resting on the laptop next to the keys I can text etc but if I get too engrossed my zoom picture does look eyes down.

Others in my zoom group are clearly doing other stuff and are rubbish at disguising it, I reckon I'm up there with the best.

Anyone have other techniques?
 
If you aren't going to be engaged in the meeting, there is little point being there. Maybe raise this with whoever is organising these meetings.

Top tip: don't have your mic off mute for the 8am calls when you're prone to yawning! :D
 
Macky said:
If you aren't going to be engaged in the meeting, there is little point being there. Maybe raise this with whoever is organising these meetings.

Top tip: don't have your mic off mute for the 8am calls when you're prone to yawning! :D
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Of course there's a point in being there - to show enthusiasm and stay relevant!

Muting your mic when not talking is basic group call etiquette that too many people ignore though. I don't find it adorable that your newborn's crying in the background :p
 
I turn my camera off if I'm basically just there to make up the numbers or for the very small chance of them needing something technical answering.
On the other hand I'm quite often doing work on my other screen anyway so I rarely look like I'm staring into my camera.
 
tom_e said:
I turn my camera off if I'm basically just there to make up the numbers or for the very small chance of them needing something technical answering.
On the other hand I'm quite often doing work on my other screen anyway so I rarely look like I'm staring into my camera.
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Same here, i rarely have video turned on and generally i'm just on hand to either listen or provide input where needed, so i tend to just work and flick over when i need to.
 
A perfect illustration of everything that is wrong in the modern world of business in this country.

Meetings should have a purpose, and by limited to a maximum of 30 minutes with everybody fully engaged in the topic at hand.
Otherwise they just serve as something for middle managers to fill their day with, to try and justify the purpose of their job, which typically would change nothing if it didn’t exist.

A total pet peeve of mine, I hate to think of the weeks of my life that must have been wasted in pointless meetings, especially those ones that are about arranging another meeting.
 
Pointless meetings are fine as long as there are biscuits...I refuse to provide my own though.
 
Another technique I've developed is when someone makes a joke, I jiggle my knees so the laptop jumps around and it appears I'm laughing but I go overboard so my image on everyone else's screen is bouncing about wildly.

I also, very very slowly, adjust the tilt of the screen as the meeting progresses, so at the beginning of the meeting I'm in standard portrait and by the end of the meeting just my eyes and forehead are showing.
 
We were having weekly "check in" meetings where you could see a few people looking at their second screen and working. It wasn't to discuss work though, it was just as a general chit chat.
It would end up being the same 2 people talking for an hour about the same stuff but as work picked up they thankfully scrapped them.

Nowadays we only zoom when we need to otherwise we just use the chat function. Although I've been a tad lazy lately and not making a huge effort with my hair etc (who's gonna see me right) I got caught out yesterday though. I had just taken a phone call and ran my hand through my hair not realising it was then all static and sticking up. No make up on and big panda eyes.

A manager then called me over video when they were at one of our sites - cue me frantically trying to comb my hair back down with my fingers without being too obvious :o (I had pre thought to take the HD setting off of video the other day thankfully and the sun was shining through the window just enough to blur my face a little :D )

Lesson learned and hair and semi make up done today:D

People do need to be careful of their backgrounds though, yesterday I zoomed my colleague and saw her bf in his boxers (uhh) lol
 
secretspy said:
A manager then called me over video when they were at one of our sites - cue me frantically trying to comb my hair back down with my fingers without being too obvious :o (I had pre thought to take the HD setting off of video the other day thankfully and the sun was shining through the window just enough to blur my face a little :D )
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The advantages of being a bloke with a clipper cut :D

No guarantee I won't look like a total scruff if it's an unexpected video call though. I usually just go with what the other person is doing in terms of having the camera on or not.
 
secretspy said:
We were having weekly "check in" meetings where you could see a few people looking at their second screen and working. It wasn't to discuss work though, it was just as a general chit chat.
It would end up being the same 2 people talking for an hour about the same stuff but as work picked up they thankfully scrapped them.

Nowadays we only zoom when we need to otherwise we just use the chat function. Although I've been a tad lazy lately and not making a huge effort with my hair etc (who's gonna see me right) I got caught out yesterday though. I had just taken a phone call and ran my hand through my hair not realising it was then all static and sticking up. No make up on and big panda eyes.

A manager then called me over video when they were at one of our sites - cue me frantically trying to comb my hair back down with my fingers without being too obvious :o (I had pre thought to take the HD setting off of video the other day thankfully and the sun was shining through the window just enough to blur my face a little :D )

Lesson learned and hair and semi make up done today:D

People do need to be careful of their backgrounds though, yesterday I zoomed my colleague and saw her bf in his boxers (uhh) lol
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lol :D

At least he had his boxers on!

I do wonder if people get caught with office attire as the top half of the outfit and shorts or similar as the other half.

Perhaps you could try a hat if you cba to do the hair!
 
RandomMonkeH said:
A perfect illustration of everything that is wrong in the modern world of business in this country.

Meetings should have a purpose, and by limited to a maximum of 30 minutes with everybody fully engaged in the topic at hand.
Otherwise they just serve as something for middle managers to fill their day with, to try and justify the purpose of their job, which typically would change nothing if it didn’t exist.

A total pet peeve of mine, I hate to think of the weeks of my life that must have been wasted in pointless meetings, especially those ones that are about arranging another meeting.
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Echo'ing this wonderfully put post.
 
sigma said:
lol :D

At least he had his boxers on!

I do wonder if people get caught with office attire as the top half of the outfit and shorts or similar as the other half.

Perhaps you could try a hat if you cba to do the hair!
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Indeed! Haha

A couple of people have said to me that they tend to make their top half look smart for external meetings but would be sat in jogging bottoms or shorts lol.

My sister has been using her bedroom as an office and was retelling us the time we was on a call and my brother in law walked in and started undressing. Luckily she spotted what he was doing in time to cover the camera :D

I normally just tie my hair up but I had it cut short and the hairdresser went a little too short so now most of it won't stay up in a ponytail lol. I think I'll have to buy loads of hair clips until it grows out again :o
 
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