JFCS Zoom Etiquette Tips

Use the video option when possible. It lets people see you and confirm you’re the right person on the call.

Dress appropriately. Times are tough for those working from home, and wearing sweatpants all day, every day is one of the few silver linings. When you are on a Zoom call, you should wear something more professional-looking.

Stage your video area. Keep in mind that people aren’t just seeing you, they are also seeing whatever the camera is pointed at behind you.

More light is better. Video quality is dramatically improved with more lighting. Just make sure the light is in front of you, not behind you as being back-lit makes you harder to see.

Look into the camera when speaking. If you’re presenting or speaking to a group, looking into the camera will give the appearance of eye contact with whoever you’re talking to.

Do your own tech support before you start. Make sure you do a test run at some point, and that you’re aware of your audio and video settings before you start. Most video conference services allow you to see a test of what your camera is recording before you start broadcasting it to everyone else, so have it arranged the way you want it. Zoom, for instance, has a feature that lets you test your settings before your meetings begin: just go to zoom.us/test. Stay on mute if you’re not talking. Background noise can be really distracting. If you aren’t sharing anything at the moment, hit mute until you do. Even shuffling papers can be heard by others.

Don’t eat or do other private things during a meeting. Please refrain from texting or reading other emails during a meeting. It is distracting to the other participants and may seem rude. If you must respond to an urgent text, please turn off your video first.

Stay focused. Keep your comments brief and to the point. Don’t talk when others are speaking. It can be very hard to be productive or hear when several people are all talking at once.

The host should be the last one to leave. If you are the host, it is polite to wait for everyone to leave before you end the meeting.

Adapted from Penn Live 04/22/20