Zoom is a great platform that you can use to grow your business. Unfortunately not everyone uses it right and they end up with Zoom events that do not achieve their goals. In this article I will discuss the most common mistakes that people make with Zoom meetings so that you can avoid them and get the best results.
1. Not Planning your Zoom Event
While it is sometimes OK to just have a one to one Zoom call with someone without any planning, it is a different story if you are scheduling a meeting with a number of participants or a webinar.
You need to decide what you want to achieve with your meetings before you hold them. If you don’t do this then it is very easy to wander all over the place leaving your attendees totally confused.
Make sure that you have all of your materials prepared prior to your Zoom meeting. This includes presentation slides, web pages that you want to use, applications and so on. A good tip is to have web pages and applications already open on your computer so that you can quickly bring them up when you share your screen. Nobody wants to see things loading.
The best Zoom events are always well prepared for. You can practice your event on your own before you go live as well and record this so that you can identify weak areas that need to be addressed. If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.
2. Get rid of Distractions
There is nothing worse than a major distraction in a Zoom event. If you are explaining a complex concept and suddenly your phone rings then you are going to lose your audience. You must do everything that you can to eliminate distractions.
If you are hosting your Zoom event from home then keep your children and your pets away. Screaming kids and barking dogs are not conducive to a good Zoom business meeting. We get it that you love your kids and your pets but they can be a real distraction so do the right thing here.
Check your background prior to launching your Zoom meeting. Does the room you are using look totally cluttered with stuff? If it is then this will distract your audience and they will quickly form a bad opinion of you that you want to avoid at all costs.
3. Be Interactive
Nobody wants to attend an hour long Zoom event where the host just rambles on the whole time. This is very boring for the participants. Make your Zoom events interactive by getting your audience to participate as much as possible.
One of the best ways to do this is to allow them to ask questions which you will answer. You can either have questions and answers at the end of each section (if this is appropriate) or at the end of the meeting. Ask your audience questions as well to test for understanding. Use surveys and polls for even greater interactivity.
4. Not Timing your Zoom Event
The attention span of human beings is getting less and less. Studies have found that people will digest information best in 7 minute chunks so bear this in mind with your events. If you tell your audience that your event will last around an hour then try and stick to this as much as possible.