Best Practices for Zoom Use

As therapists, teachers, coaches, and facilitators are moving their classes to online platforms, we are all learning as we go. And what a learning curve! I have been on so many different platforms over the past few months, it’s overwhelming just trying to remember how to log on to what app for my next meeting!

Online therapy has much more stringent requirements, which may be different based on your licensure and your state. If you have questions about that, reach out and I’ll try to help. Webinars are also quite different, because they’re more of a presentation and less interactive- lots of info online about how to do an online webinar with screen sharing and Q&A chat interactions. This blog post is going to focus more on general etiquette and best practices for facilitating groups (including therapy groups, but also meditation and exercises classes, meetings, etc) on these online platforms.

Expectations
Let people know when they register what your expectations are as far as participation/being on film. If you are teaching an open course, some students may want to log on and just listen while you talk. If you’re teaching a class with required participation, those students will need to be on camera. Whatever the situation, people need to know what to expect so that they feel safe joining your call. Try to also let people know how long your meeting/group is going to last.

Etiquette
We’re all pretty new at this (unless you’ve been always worked from home), so of course we’re all doing the best we can adapting to a difficult situation. Kids might come running into the screen, pets might show up, distractions happen. As best you can, try to find a quiet place to set up your video meetings, and try to finish your meal beforehand (or turn off your video while you’re eating).

Know Your Platform
Whether you use Google Meet, Skype, Zoom, Webex, or something else, the platform will have different limitations and uses. Some will have a waiting room, which is a great idea if you want to avoid meeting-crashers. In addition to the waiting room feature, the password feature is a good one- but only send the password to people who are signed up, if this is a private group. Don’t just post these details on a public website.

Practice Using Your Camera
Whether you have a laptop, phone, or tablet; the image might look different depending on your setup. Try using your camera app before the meeting to see what you’ll look with the angle of your device. Even better, do a test run video chat with a friend before the meeting to make sure your sound is working okay, you’re modulating your voice appropriately into the microphone, and you’re not just sending them an upshot of your nostrils. One easy tip about sound: using headphones will reduce some of the feedback issues that create uncomfortable noise.

Make Use of Mute
If you’re not speaking, you should be on mute. If you’re facilitating, recommend that others go on mute. On some platforms, you can mute everyone at once. If you want people to take turns speaking, there are “raise hand” buttons and chat boxes folks can use - or you can call on people by name to see if they’d like to speak. It’s best to avoid multiple people trying to talk at once, because often the sound will just cut out entirely.

Take Breaks
Staring at a screen all day is tiring in itself, but when you’re on video all day you’re using up extra energy. Be sure to schedule a few minutes between meetings to stand up and stretch, or turn off your video during a meeting and stretch anyway. There are a ton of great videos online of breathing exercises and stretching exercises that can help prevent pain and exhaustion.

Recording
If you are planning to record your meeting or presentation, this should be shared ahead of time as well. I realize that in the age of technology, we are likely being recorded all the time without realizing it. But really think about your reason for recording, and make that known to the group. If you want to watch it later to learn and improve your presenting style, let people know that it’ll be recorded but not shared. If you want to record it so that others can watch it later, let people know that it’ll be recorded but that you’ll edit out the attendees faces and talking portions. If you want to record it for marketing purposes, I suggest having attendees sign a release. And whatever the plan, discuss this either at the beginning of the meeting, or better yet on the registration page. There is nothing worse than losing trust with your audience.

Screenshots
There isn’t a good way to prevent other people from taking a screenshot of everyone in the group, but one way to avoid this is similar to the way some orchestras prevent cell phones from ringing during the concert (by asking everyone to take out their cell phone at the start of the concert… and then turn it off). Before starting, say that at the end of the group if everyone is comfortable, we’ll all smile and take a screen shot. But until then, please don’t. Recognize that some people want to capture the moment to post about your fun group (hey, free marketing!) but some people would hate to have their face show up on social media without ever knowing it had been snapped. This gives space for both- allowing people who aren’t comfortable to turn off the camera for the photo.

Settings
Explore the settings of whatever platform you’re going to use- and read about whether those settings are different for users on different devices. On Meet, for instance, users on a laptop can see everyone at once, but on a phone can only see the active speaker. On Zoom, there is a chat box that can be used for private messages between participants- this is something you may want to turn off, to cut back on distractions. Make sure you’re familiar with all the possible settings of your platform before jumping in and hosting a big call.

A good practice is to consider what the group would feel like if it were in person. And then with each decision you make, consider whether that would make sense for the group in person. Communication is really key. If you know you need to take notes during the meeting, let people know so that they don’t just see you looking distracted. Let people know if you need to reset, or grab some water, etc. Overall, practice makes perfect! It can take some time to get comfortable hosting online groups, but once you’ve got it the world is your oyster! Online offerings can have a much farther reach than in-person groups, but it’s important to find the sweet spot that makes them feel the same as they would in person. Remember: They won’t remember what you said, but they’ll remember how it made them feel.