10 Zoom hacks to get the best out of your online meetings

With the rise of COVID-19, the demand for communication services has grown notably. We use these mediums to hang out, or video call friends and business addressees every day. Especially in the pandemic when work from home has become the norm, the necessity of programs like Skype and Discord is felt more than ever before. However, in the arena of video communication, Zoom stands out. Although it was released in 2011 by Zoom Video Communications, it was not globally heard of until the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics show that by the end of 2019, there were around 10 million Zoom users. The number multiplied to reach hundreds of millions of users almost six months later, in 2020, when the pandemic intensified. One of the reasons people started replacing other software with Zoom is that they could no longer meet their needs. For instance, it is impossible to hold more than 100 people in a Skype call, while Zoom calls can take up to 1000 participants. Thanks to Zoom’s strapping features and the pandemic, its reputation escalated to reach 300 million in April of 2020, when the app was cleverly monetized (in Czech: aplikace byla chytře monetizována ).

Having said that, we tend to optimize our meetings and calls to influence ourselves and the people we communicate with. Accordingly, there are some features in Zoom that can increase the quality of our experience. Here’s our pick from the most feasible Zoom tips and hacks:

1. Use virtual backgrounds

Suppose you have a meeting ahead, but your room is a haphazard mess. In such chaotic situations, you might not have the time nor the energy to clean up everything in time, for whatever reason. Zoom offers handy virtual backgrounds to make it look like you are elsewhere. You can select static images from nature, famous landmarks, outer space, and pictures in infinite loops, like stunning northern auroras. Moreover, you can upload your custom pictures to set as the desired background depicted to the other participants.

Go to Settings - Virtual Background to enable it.

2. Touch up your appearance

If you have just gotten from bed and look somewhat too unkempt to attend a Zoom call, you don’t need to panic. Although it is not robust, it still allows you to smoothen your appearance while sparing you the makeup.

Head over to Settings and select the Video tab. You can see the Toch up my appearance option. Click to observe the instant results and changes on your face.

3. Skip a meeting with a bogus presence

Not having to go to a group call is often desired, specifically when there is a webinar with hundreds of participants. In that case, one might say that nobody would notice if you skipped the meeting. Nevertheless, whether you have more important things to do and need to put your attention elsewhere or you don’t feel like sitting behind your desk and listening to hours of speech, Zoom has got you covered. To pull this off, you need to record a looping video of yourself first. Then select the video file as your background the same way you choose a virtual background. This hack can be a lot of fun when performed at informal gatherings, like friends and family video calls.

4. Share screens simultaneously

Zoom’s screen sharing is praised because of its multiple-sharing option. By default, Zoom only allows one user’s screen at a time. Still, if you click Share Screen from the bottom of the page, supposing you are already in a video call, you can allow multiple participants to share simultaneously. In addition, you can use the dual monitor option to put your video layout and screen share on two different monitors/ screens.

Go to Settings and select the General tab. Locate the Use dual monitors option and enable it.

5. Quickly invite contacts

You can invite contacts to join your meeting by email quickly. Even if your Zoom account is not connected to your email, you can still copy the invite link. You can also copy the invite link to your clipboard automatically. In the General tab, select Automatically copy invite link once the meeting starts.

Press Alt + I (PC) or Command + I (Mac) to bring up the invite window in a video call.

6. Start annotating

Drawing always helps understand ideas better. One of the best features in Zoom that puts it in the highlight is the option of annotating a screen share or a whiteboard by the participants in a video call.

Under the General tab in Settings, click View more settings. A browser tab will open. Head over to In Meeting (Basic) and enable Annotation.

7. Record a meeting

It often happens when we try to go through all the points mentioned in a meeting. Nonetheless, we may not recall everything since either there were too many comments in the session or we were distracted at a particular timestamp. Hence, recording a video for future use is always a practical option.

By clicking Record in a video call, the session starts recording. To access the recording settings, navigate to Settings - Recording.

8. Schedule meetings

Zoom offers a hands-on integration with other third-party services. By linking your zoom account to such apps, you can practically adjust and schedule invite links and Zoom meetings, for instance, from your calendar app.

Navigate to Settings - Profile - View Advanced Features. In the opened tab, click on Profile. You can schedule a meeting in Calendar and Contact Information.

9. Use keyboard shortcuts

Imagine you are in a different app or are reading an article simultaneously as you are in a Zoom meeting. It could be annoying to alternate between apps to activate the microphone to talk. By enabling Global Shortcuts in the settings, you can fix common issues even when Zoom is not the focus tab. Plus, think of constantly muting and unmuting yourself by clicking on the option in the meeting. The push-to-talk functionality is one of these shortcuts to start talking by holding down a key on the keyboard and blocking your voice when releasing it.

There are some handy hotkeys in Settings. You can see a list of these options in the Keyboard Shortcuts section.

10. Lock a meeting

An excellent security layer of Zoom sessions is the ability to lock a meeting once the desired users have joined.

To enable this feature, click Manage Participants in an online meeting, and select More. Other participants can no longer join the call by turning on the Lock Meeting.

Bonus pick: Snap Camera

To add additional entertainment and laughs in friendly Zoom meetings, Snap Camera provides some fun filters to change your appearance on a video call. You can turn yourself into an alien, a potato, toilet paper, and many more cartoon filters and figures.

Once the program is installed, select Video in Zoom’s client Settings. Choose Snap Camera as your current input. You can also switch to Snap Camera in a video call by clicking the arrow icon next to the Stop Video option on the bottom left.