The Zoom social etiquette guide

• Video chats with multiple participants have a lot of cross-talk and people talking at the same time. This problem is compounded by dodgy internet speeds.

• It is possible to listen to only one person at a time, so one has to learn the art of the pause. Stopping and staying silent will allow others to calm down.

• Zoom also has a raise hand feature, which helps facilitate the meeting in an orderly fashion.

Zoom has a side chat feature, where you can send a direct message to the host or any participant. Just make sure the text message is only sent to that person, and not to the whole group. And then check it again.

Zoom backgrounds allow you to hide those distracting visuals from behind, like a dirty room, pizza boxes or other members of the household coming and going.

To avoid being late (even if you’re always online), take a few minutes ahead of the call (or party), especially if you’re the host, to test your settings and re-check your internet.

It’s also essential to be extra considerate of the time of other; though people are at home, they may be having other calls and commitments or may be functioning on another time zone.

• Make sure you keep the conversation alive by returning the ‘tennis ball’ of the discussion back to the other person.
• Make your webcam on eye level or higher.
• Make sure you have head-on natural lighting to appear good on screen.
• Be respectful, positive, polite and inclusive.