How to Make Zoom Business Calls Clearer
For many of us, video calls are as new to our daily lives as the introduction of face masks or social distancing. With so many of us working from home for the first time as a result of COVID-19, they can be an ideal way of communicating with your team on a regular basis, not to mention helping to keep emails at a controllable level!
That’s not to say they don’t come with their frustrations, however! Whilst the idea of “jumping on a quick Zoom call” can seem like the perfect answer to any workplace discussion or challenge, often the reality can be quite different, whether it’s frozen screens, echoing voices, or lost connections. Here’s advice on how to make your Zoom team meetings that little bit clearer.
Mute your microphone – this might just be the most important advice to follow when it comes to sound quality on a Zoom call. Muting yourself (and getting colleagues to do the same), means you avoid multiple background noises, as well as the infamous echo.
A quick keyboard shortcut for muting and unmuting your audio is Command + Shift + A if you’re using an Apple device, or Alt + A on a PC. In fact, you can even change your settings to make this default. Go to Audio Settings and select “Mute microphone when joining a meeting.”
If you’re the host of the meeting, it’s also good to know that you have the option to mute everybody at the same time – just hit Command + Control + M (Apple) or Alt + M (PC) to mute all participants at once.
Minimize your own background noise – of course, when it’s your own turn to speak you’ll need to unmute your microphone. Try to keep your own background noise to a minimum by turning off radios and TVs, closing doors if possible, and shutting windows. It makes it easier for you to hear others, but it also makes your own voice clearer for your colleagues on the line.
Have a clear agenda – we’ve all been on a video call where two or three people have started to speak at the same time, then you all pause, only to talk over each other again. Add to this a time delay and echoes and it’s no wonder people get frustrated with video calls. If you’re on a call with a number of people, make sure you have a clear agenda, so people know what’s being covered and in what order. You may choose to assign certain points to specific people, or you may even wish to look at introducing a signaling scheme, whereby colleagues raise a hand when they’d like to speak.
Record your call – if this is an important call, with information colleagues will need to refer back to, or perhaps an interview that you don’t want to slow down by taking notes, Zoom gives you the option to record calls, so you can access the conversation later.
The keyboard shortcuts to start recording at any given time are Command + Shift + R from an Apple, and Alt + R from a PC.
Get your call transcribed – if your call is an AGM for example, or another important multi-speaker meeting, or perhaps an employee one-to-one that you need to document and refer back to, it might be worth getting it professionally transcribed. Group video calls are notoriously difficult to decipher and getting this professionally done means you can access it later without spending hours typing it up yourself. It’s also officially recorded so ideal for meetings that need to be HR-compliant, such as disciplinaries, as well as furloughing staff or making redundancies.
About the Author
Denise Elsdon, Founder & Owner of Alphabet Secretarial.
Denise commenced her training at British Aerospace. Having gained her RSA and Pitman qualifications, she embarked on her chosen career path as a personal secretary. Back in 1995, Alphabet Secretarial Services was born. Since then, Alphabet Secretarial has been providing professional transcription services for more than 25 years, working closely with HR and legal departments in organizations including the NHS, Shell and Chatham House.