PPB January 2021

everyone’s doing it these days. You can read our step-by-step guide to changing your Zoombackground on the desktop andmobile app, but basically you go to Settings > Virtual Background and select or upload the image you want from there. However, you do have to make sure that your systemmeets all of the requirements to do so. Read the step-by-step guide here: cnet.com/how-to/how-to-change- your-zoom-background-just-like- everyone-else. 2 Mute your audio and turn off your camera by default. Diving for the mute audio and camera buttons as soon as you enter a meeting can get old. Keep your coworkers from seeing your bedhead or hearing your cat screeching by turning those off by default. To do it, go to Settings > Audio >Mute microphone when joining a meeting, and then Settings > Video > Turn off my video when joining a meeting. 3 Mute and unmute with the space bar. When you are called on to speak, stop scrambling to click the microphone button. You can press and hold the spacebar to quickly mute and unmute your mic, right from your keyboard. 4 Turn on the beauty filter. At this point, if you know all of the work-from-home advice about getting dressed and ready like it’s a regular workday, but still don’t think you’re looking your best, Zoom’s Touch UpMy Appearance feature may be for you. The filter aims to smooth over your appearance, making you look dewy and well-rested. If you’ve ever used beauty mode on your phone’s selfie camera, you knowwhat you’re getting. To turn it on, click the up arrow next to Start Video. Click Video Settings, and under My Video, check the box for Touch Up My Appearance. 5 Set up a waiting room for added privacy. You’ve probably heard about “Zoombombing”—when uninvited guests crash your Zoommeeting and disrupt it. One way to help prevent this fromhappening is by enabling the Waiting Room feature, so you can see who’s attempting to join the meeting before allowing them access. To do so, go to Account Management > Account Settings. Click onMeeting, then click Waiting Room to enable the setting. 6 Create breakout rooms for smaller group discussion. Split your big Zoommeeting into up to 50 separate smaller sessions with breakout rooms. The meeting host can choose to split meeting participants into separate sessions automatically or manually, or can let participants select and enter any breakout session they like. The host can switch between sessions at any point. To start a breakout room as the host, go to Account Management > Account Settings. Under the Meeting tab, go to Breakout Room, andmake sure the setting is toggled on. You’ll also see the option to allowmeeting hosts to preassign participants to breakout rooms. (If the Breakout Room option is grayed out, that means it’s been locked, and you need to contact your Zoom administrator.) From ZoomTo Vroom Now that Zoom and other types of video conferencing have become the accepted stand-ins for in-of ce presentations, face-to- face meetings and hallway conversations, the learning curve on using these technologies is attening pretty quickly. PPB asked a few who use Zoom regularly to share their favorite tips. KimReinecker, MAS Regional Sales Manager/ Texas and Oklahoma, Starline. Zoom meetings really took some getting used to but they have become pretty routine. Unfortunately, we are now experiencing a lot of customers who are suffering from “Zoom fatigue,” so these “calls” are not as easy to schedule as in the past. I do believe Zoom meetings will still come in handy when the world opens up a bit more and we can make more “ Formore tips and related videos, visit cnet.com/ how-to/how-to- use-zoom-like- a-pro-15-video- chat-tips-and- tricks-to-try-now. continued on page 59 | JANUARY 2021 | 57 THINK