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| Bad Hair Day, Messy Hotel Room Day |
When is the last time you joined a Zoom meeting, only to realize the total disaster you were displaying to everyone? Maybe you're having a bad hair day, messy background day, or even a sun-suddenly-broke-through-the-clouds-and-started-blazing-in-through-the-window-directly-behind-you-as-soon-as-you-turned-on-your-webcam-day. Hey, things happen. But -- many of these little disasters are actually preventable.
You might already know there are settings you can use to allow or prevent your webcam from turning on automatically when you join a meeting. But what about when you're in a rush, or need to join from another device? Every remote meeting platform is different, but since we provide remote and hybrid trial hosting on the HIPAA-Compliant (extra security features) Zoom platform, we'll cover that one here.
So, let's say you have a Zoom invite, and when you click the link, you're fortunate enough to discover that the meeting has not yet started. Lucky you! You have a brief moment to check your settings before anyone else can watch you fumbling with it all.
Oh no! You can only check your computer audio! But what about the video settings? Although clicking on the above "Test Computer Audio" button will open to the audio settings, once you get there, you can also choose the video settings.
Ideally, you should do all of these pre-checks before jumping out there naked in front of the world, but if you forget, at least now you'll have time to grab a shirt.
Now if you're not so lucky as to arrive early to the party, you can still preview your image before allowing everyone else to see. Hopefully, when you first join, your webcam will default to "off." If not, you can quickly hit the "Stop Video" button, which will be right where the "Start Video" button is shown above, both of which are located in the lower left corner with a laptop. This is in the upper right corner if you're on an iPad. "Choose Virtual Background" is one more quick and easy way to get to your video settings, without turning your webcam on outside of your own little preview.
Select the "Background & Effects" tab and you will then see a preview of what you will look like with or without a selected background, or you may choose "None." The good news with this is that you're the only one who gets to see how you're going to look, until you actually hit the "Start Video" button.
PRO TIP 1: Do NOT use "Mirror my Video." Although it may seem more natural to you, as if you're looking in a mirror, other viewers will see it that way as well. Anything showing text, or maybe something as mundane as a clock will become the primary focal point of everyone else in the meeting. Don't use it. Just don't.
PRO TIP 2: PLEASE DO NOT USE THE ZOOM-INCLUDED BACKGROUNDS. It was okay two years ago when we were all learning, but we are (or at least we in the legal profession definitely should be) well beyond this.
For those who would like to try all of this before your next Zoom appearance, feel free to try the link below, which we normally include in our Zoom meeting invites. You can download and update to the current version (yes, you really should do that) or just run a test meeting to see it all in action and make sure you're ready to go online.
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IMPORTANT: We are hosting on the HIPAA-Compliant Zoom Platform, with enhanced encryption and security features.
1. Update to the current version of Zoom and log in with your FIRST and LAST NAME: https://www.litigationtech.zoom.us/download
2. Test your connection, camera, microphone, speakers. Check your lighting, and background: https://www.litigationtech.zoom.us/test
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