Zoom Etiquette

Below is a list of some of the most important things to take into consideration when planning, hosting, and attending a zoom meeting.

1. Introduce Yourself at the Beginning
   1. Just like an in-person meeting, you wouldn’t initiate a conversation between two acquaintances who haven’t met without introducing them. The same practice applies to a virtual meeting. Be sure to introduce all parties you are hosting at the beginning to create a welcoming environment and stimulate engagement.
2. Ensure You Have a Clean, Work/School Appropriate Background
   1. You want your attendees’ focus to be on the meeting content, not your messy office or your amazing art collection. By having a clean setting with work-appropriate art and decorations, you reduce the chance that attendees will get distracted. You should also try to attend the meeting from a quiet area that has minimal background noise and movement. Zoom’s virtual background feature is an easy way to eliminate background distractions when you have to meet in a messy or busy location.
3.  Look Into the WebCam When Talking
   1. If you’re looking at yourself on the screen while you’re talking, it will seem like your attention is elsewhere. Direct eye contact into the camera while speaking gives attendees the impression that you are looking at them rather than off to the side, which creates an environment where everyone feels engaged and present in the conversation. Be sure to position your web camera and monitor at eye level so you can look into the camera and simulate that eye-to-eye connection with other attendees.  
4. Eliminate Distractions
   1. Notifications from messaging applications, ringtones, and applications running on your desktop can be distracting, which can make your attendees feel disrespected and undervalued. Mitigating these distractions helps keep the meeting focused and free from interruption.
5. Be Aware of Your Audio/Video Settings
   1. Check whether your microphone is unmuted and that your camera is on to ensure that all attendees can hear you and see you when you speak. If you notice that someone in the meeting is speaking but their microphone is muted, you can alert them that they are muted by requesting that they unmute their audio in the Manage Participants tab. You also can manage how you start and join meetings — with video on, entering a meeting muted, etc.
6. Only Invite Participants Who Need to Be There
   1. Inviting co-workers who don’t need to participate or make decisions can be detrimental to the quality of the meeting. Because you can send other stakeholders a summary of the meeting via Zoom Chat, you can limit the attendee list and keep the meeting streamlined. As an invitee, make sure to review any meeting invites you receive to determine whether you actually need to attend. If not, request a recording of the meeting or a summary to get the info you need.
7. Stick Around
   1. The general rule for meeting hosts: Wait until everyone else has left the meeting before hanging up, so attendees can leave at their own pace and get any final words in before disconnecting. Zoom will assign an alternate host if the original host exits first, but it’s not a good look. A host leaving everyone else in the meeting is much like bailing on your own party.
8. This is a Real Meeting
   1. You don’t want to be the person known for scheduling lots of unproductive meetings. Practicing good video meeting etiquette is critical to ensuring that your meetings are professional, efficient, and valuable. You should not record a meeting without notifying all participants ahead of time or explicit approval during the meeting due to Maryland privacy laws. While you’re on a Zoom call, you should adhere to the same expectations that you would during an in-person meeting (this relates to confidentiality)