Zoom and video-conferencing in SMEE

Zoom

Introduction

SMEE uses the Zoom software to provide video-conferencing facilities. This allows SMEE members living at a distance from Marshall House to join in meetings. For example, the Digital Group regularly holds all its meetings online (all participants, even the speaker, are typically at home) and Council members are able to join in Council meetings remotely. The Engine Builders’ Group meetings usually have a mix of attendees at Marshall House as well as members joining in remotely.

Getting started 

To join in a Zoom session, you will need to download and install a copy of the Zoom application. The quick way to do this is just to click on the link to the session that you will have been sent by the meeting organiser. If this is the first time that you have joined a Zoom session, you will be prompted to download the Zoom application; if you answer “Yes” then the process will proceed automatically. Make sure that you leave enough time before the meeting’s start time for this download and installation to occur. If you would prefer to download and install the Zoom software in advance, then go to this page where you will find full instructions.

At a minimum, you need a loudspeaker or headphones to listen to the session. A microphone is very useful if it is a “discussion” session and a web cam if you would like others to be able to see you.

Meeting etiquette

There are a few things to remember when you are in a video-conferencing session that make it a bit different to a round-the-table meeting.

First of all, it’s best to mute your microphone if you are not using it or actively taking part in a conversation. Any noise picked up by your microphone will be heard by others, and might block the sound coming from another participant. A cough, sneeze, someone sticking their head in the door and asking if you want coffee – all these can interrupt what someone else is saying and can be very disruptive. Especially when someone else is giving a presentation, please mute your microphone.

Similarly, the more video windows that are displayed on screen, the less space that is available for each one. Again, if someone is giving a presentation or sharing their screen with the meeting, please turn off your webcam.

Something that takes a bit of getting used to is that the video often lags the audio by some small amount. What this means in practice is that you cannot easily see when someone else is going to speak in the way that we do in face-to-face meetings and you often find that two people start speaking at the same time. Don’t worry about it as it is fairly inevitable, but just stop speaking for a moment to see what the other person does. It is something that you get used to fairly quickly. The meeting organiser/moderator might well step in and invite one or other participant to continue.

Finally, and this applies if you are in a face-to-face meeting which also includes a few remote participants, please be aware that if more than one person in the room speaks at a time, it becomes almost impossible for the remote attendees to hear what is being said. Please respect all participants and keep the background noise down when someone else is speaking!

If you have any further questions that cannot be answered from these notes or from the Zoom web site, please contact webmaster@sm-ee.co.uk