Important Zoom Considerations

As with last year, if you are presenting, then it’s important that you set yourself up to succeed. Here are some of our best practices for presenters who are screensharing.

0) If you are screensharing and presenting yourself, we hope that you have come to a training over the last couple of weeks.  Please confirm with us your intentions (email tim.niiler@gmail.com) in this regards so that Natalie our Zoom tech can keep things running smoothly. 

• Monday, May 23rd at Noon EDT
• Tuesday, May 24th at 4pm EDT
• Thursday, June 2nd at 6pm EDT
• Friday, June 3rd at 10am EDT

1) Update your Zoom to the most recent version before the meeting:  see this:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362233-Upgrading-Zoom-to-the-latest-version

2) Close all other non-essential windows on your computer.  These run the risk of being shared by accident, and may cause you to take longer to find the window you wish to share.

3) Close non-essential tabs in the browser, especially any which have media playing.  These will eat up your computer’s CPU and possibly lead to slow downs.  Additionally, media tabs have the potential to block the microphone or camera if you need them.

4) Get a hard-wired connection if at all possible.  While most of us are on Wifi, it is still not as reliable as plugging a network cable into your laptop.

5) If at home, be the sole network user at the time.  Other people should not be using high bandwidth applications such as Zoom while you are presenting. NEW: Want to test your upstream bandwidth – you can do so here. Zoom lists the following: “For gallery view receiving: 2.0Mbps (25 views), 4.0Mbps (49 views)” for minimum upstream bandwidth considerations. Note that the more people who have their cameras on, the more bandwidth you need. This is one of the reasons the main room is in webinar format so that fewer people are onscreen at a time.

6) Use a headset if possible.  This can help cancel out extraneous noise, but also means that your microphone’s audio quality will be better. Also, keep your mouth near the microphone and pointed in its direction. We had several presenters last year who kept looking away from their microphone while they spoke, and as a result, people had a hard time hearing them.

7) Consider your background. Try not to choose anything too distracting if you are using a Zoom filter, and if not, plain walls (green or blue) work the best. Also consider illuminating your face indirectly so that people can see you.

8) Have your presentation queued up and ready to go before the next speaker finishes.

9) Don’t be afraid to text Natalie or the moderator using the private chat if you have questions ahead of time.

Last year, things went really quite well, largely due to presenters being prepared well ahead of time. We look forward to seeing your presentations in June and wish you luck in your final preparations for the conference.

All the best,

Tim Niiler