5 Tips to Prevent Your Zoom Meeting from Being Zoom bombed
Zoom meetings are great, but we’ve all been in meetings where the participants either miss important information because they were chatting with each other, or they’re drowned out by the loudest person in the meeting. As annoying as these kinds of meetings can be, there are ways to prevent them from happening to you and your colleagues. Here are five tips on how to avoid being Zoom bombed during your next video conference call.
What is a zoom bomb?
A zoom bomb is the unfortunate interruption of a video conference. Whether it’s at the beginning, during, or even after your meeting, all parties are unaware of what’s happening. Luckily for you, there are five easy ways to keep a zoom meeting rolling smoothly!
What are some examples of zoom bombs?
A zoom bomb occurs when one person overpowers a meeting by talking and talking without any intention of listening or considering others’ ideas. When that happens, it’s likely that the conversation will move in circles, eventually becoming too intense for the other participants to think about adding their input. Zoom meetings can also be blitzed if multiple people try to get in on the call at once and ask questions one after another without waiting for anyone else to finish speaking.
5 simple steps to avoid the bomb
- Schedule your meeting so it doesn’t take place at the busiest time of day – 9am, 10am, lunchtime or 4pm are best.
- Announce to all participants when the meeting is going to start before you start up Zoom. This way, people are more likely to know what time it is and if they want to join in with a little warning.
- Stick to a one-hour limit per person and move on quickly to the next speaker – this helps you avoid some of those awkward moments where everyone wants their say without realizing that no one else has had their turn yet!
- If someone does jump into your meeting unannounced, don’t worry too much about it
5- just politely ask them to wait until there’s an opportunity for them to speak as well (maybe they were waiting for a specific question).
Things you can do before the meeting starts
*Know how the feature works. Zoom provides a demo video that explains how the app works, but it’s also useful to read about common ways people use the app. *Select your meeting time wisely and consider if you want to exclude certain attendees due to their timezone. *Arrive early and familiarize yourself with the layout of the room before guests arrive. Make sure you have all of your materials in front of you and ensure there is a monitor in view for everyone who joins remotely.
Things you can do during the meeting
- Set up a sign-in process that locks after 5 minutes of inactivity. This will help prevent anyone who hasn’t actually attended the meeting from joining.
- Share your screen with a privacy setting so only people invited can view your screenshare or document.
- Invite participants, not attendees. Inviting one person won’t allow them to invite other participants for you.