Zoom Participant Quick Start Guide
Best Practices
- Prior to the meeting, check your computer setup to ensure both microphone and video (if needed) work. Zoom has a guide on how to check your hardware.
- Please mute your microphone when you are not speaking! Background noises such as typing, shuffling papers, turning pages, and distant conversations will be picked up and amplified by Zoom.
- Use chat to ask questions and talk with other participants. This gives the presenter and the co-hosts more time to see your question and respond.
- Check your internet connection! Hotel and airport internet are notorious for poor video call quality, where possible use a strong connection. If the audio quality is too poor, use the Zoom call-in number to join the conference by phone.
During the Meeting
- To prevent distracting sounds, please mute yourself when not speaking. Click the microphone icon at the bottom left of the toolbar to mute. A red slash through the microphone indicates when it is muted.
- Click the microphone again to unmute yourself when you would like to speak.
- Computers often have multiple audio devices. To select the correct microphone or speaker, click the chevron next to the microphone icon. If in doubt, choose “Same as System.”
Chat
- Click the chat icon to join group chat. Here you can type questions to the presenter, chat with participants, or message the host or specific participants.
- To message a specific person, click the chevron next to “Everyone” and choose the person. Or click the person’s name in chat.
- If you want to speak, but not interrupt the current speaker, click “Raise Hand” to signal to the facilitator that you have a comment.
Last modified: March 13, 2018