The reason for this is the built-in cameras of most devices come with a wide-angle lens that tends to distort shapes that are really close to it. If one or more participants join the meeting, you will see a video thumbnail in the bottom-right corner. See also: The six most common Zoom issues and how to fix them Zoom events and webinars Zoom events and webinars make it possible to organize larger virtual events.
 
 

How do you host a free zoom meeting

You can choose to start your meetings immediately, or schedule them for an upcoming date as a meeting host. You can then invite other participants to your Zoom meeting. Starting a meeting as a host is extremely easy on any version of Zoom. We break down how to host a Zoom meeting below so that you can set up a meeting. To host a meeting, you will need to have the Zoom app desktop or mobile installed and will need to have created a Zoom account. If you have been invited to join a meeting and have never installed the app before, you will be prompted when attempting to join the meeting.

The meeting will start and you can now invite participants to join your meeting. After the host has set up a meeting, they will need to invite attendees. You can invite attendees during the meeting and for an upcoming, scheduled meeting.

Across all versions of Zoom desktop client, mobile app, and web portal , there are three main ways of inviting participants to your meeting. These can all be accessed slightly differently depending on the client or app you are using. We break down instructions for each platform below, and give you images to show you where your different invitation methods are located in the process. If you choose one of the alternative sign in methods, you will need to sign in to those services before proceeding.

Zoom desktop client, Zoom mobile app, OR Zoom web portal; a third-party-messaging service email, calendar app, instant messaging, text messaging. With a meeting running, you can still invite participants. Simply start a Zoom meeting and follow the steps below to invite participants to your meeting depending on the method you prefer.

Participants can be invited by:. You can also simply click the small arrow next to the Participants button , and then Invite. Click the Email tab. Click the email service you want to use. You will need to sign in to the respective account you choose such as Gmail or Yahoo Mail. Zoom will use an automatically generated email invitation, that includes the meeting ID and password, the email link, and any other information about the meeting.

Simply enter the email addresses of the people you wish to invite, and then send the email invitations off! Zoom lets you add and manage contacts within the app. You can interact with these contacts, inviting them to your meetings and using the chat function for direct messaging and file sharing. You can add contacts to Zoom and use this list to interact with users when you host a Zoom meeting.

Make sure the Contacts tab is clicked it should be selected by default. Click to select the contact s that you want to invite to the meeting. Anyone that receives this link can either click it or enter it into a browser address bar, connecting them to the meeting via the desktop client, mobile app, or browser version.

Use a third-party messaging service text message, email, instant messaging service, etc. Mobile versions of the app are designed to be almost identical. There will be small differences between iOS and Android. Our example uses Android images and buttons, so some buttons may be named slightly different, but the general process will be the same on both versions. A Zoom meeting host key is a 6-digit number that can be used by a meeting participant to claim host controls.

A host key is applied to any meeting you schedule so that someone can claim host controls and manage the meeting administration.

A Zoom meeting host has full permissions to manage the meeting. The host is the user that scheduled the meeting, although another person can claim host privileges in some scenarios.

There can only be one meeting host at a time. A Zoom meeting co-host has access to most of the host meeting controls, allowing them to manage the meeting. A co-host must be assigned by the host during a meeting. Co-hosts cannot start a meeting. To start a meeting in the hosts absence, hosts can assign an alternative host. If you join a meeting and there is no host, you can claim host controls using the host key. This can be great for meetings where participants can join before the host, to ensure a secure and safe meeting environment.

The Zoom host key associated with a meeting is the host key that is required to claim host controls for that meeting. So you need to enter the host key of the person who is the creator and original host of that meeting; entering your own host key will not grant you host privileges. After your host key has been verified, you will be assigned as the meeting host and will gain access to host controls.

A host key is essentially a safety feature for controlling meetings and managing participant actions. If someone has gained access to your host key, or you suspect your host key has been used without your permission, you may want to change your key. You may also simply want to change your host key to a sequence you can remember easily.

However, be careful not to make the host key too simple for other people to guess e. For example, if you have someone who regularly hosts meetings that you have scheduled, you could leave the host key as is so they can easily do this when you need.

Click Edit to make changes to your host key. To make sure you are prepared to run your Zoom meeting, learn how to use Zoom and the main meeting controls that will be available to you as a host. As a meeting host, you can set up meetings , schedule meetings for the future , and invite participants.

You also have additional security and administrative controls to manage the meeting and keep it safe for all participants. What is covered in this article How to host a Zoom meeting: set up the call How to invite people to attend your Zoom meeting How to invite participants during a Zoom meeting How to use a host key for your Zoom Meeting. Requirements: Zoom desktop client, Zoom mobile app, OR Zoom web portal; a third-party-messaging service email, calendar app, instant messaging, text messaging.

Click Show to display your host key. More Great Related Articles.

Free Video Conference Calls | Zoom.Hosting a Basic Zoom Meeting – Janelle Durham

Before you get going, figure out which subscription type adjusts better to the needs of your organisation. The most affordable paid Pro subscription also gives you the freedom to host meetings of up to people, but also allows you to keep going without any time constraints.

If you know you can keep your group meetings short and concise, then you can do perfectly well with the free plan. Remember to add a photo to your profile and an appropriate username. If at some point you turn your video off, your profile pic will be displayed on screen -such a nice touch!

Getting yourself familiar with the options the software offers is fundamental. It will also allow you to test the quality of your wi-fi. A test-call round will relieve the stress of trying to make things go smoothly without knowing how to. Highly recommend you to give this a go.

Also, as you are getting ready, allow a few extra minutes to go to the restroom, have a snack, brush your teeth and show up as the pro you are -more on that on Tip 4. Get your Zoom ready, and try to avoid re-starting your device or opening huge files that can drive your tech crazy. Always welcome the participants. Provide clarity in regards to the duration of the call, and stick to it -believe it or not, people have lives outside Zoom.

All these little details will make a big difference when it comes to setting the standards for professional calls. You could also have someone on your team taking notes of the main points, or you can create a file to share once the meeting is over. Considering you are representing your organisation, showing up looking fresh and neat also sets the tone for the meeting. It meets major carrier standards and offers secure communications and encryption.

See also: The six most common Zoom issues and how to fix them. Zoom events and webinars make it possible to organize larger virtual events. You can use it to host single-session, multi-session, and concurrent session events. It can handle hubs, registration, and ticketing. You can have well over 10, attendees. It also includes a lobby chat for all users, live streaming of sessions, event reporting, attendance reports, and more.

Zoom: What is it, how much does it cost, and is it worth it? Zoom Meetings could be the only solution for all your remote work needs. By Mitja Rutnik.

The main features of Zoom Meetings: Record meeting: Make a recording of any session with the push of a button. You can save a recording locally on a device or upload it to the cloud. Screen sharing: Participants can share their screens with others, which comes in handy for various presentations and educational workshops. Chat : Every Zoom Meeting has an integrated chat feature, allowing participants to communicate during a meeting and ask questions. Virtual hand-raising: When you want to speak or ask a question, you can signal it to the host by raising your hand virtually.

This improves communication during a meeting, preventing multiple people from talking simultaneously. Polls: A host can create a poll and share it with participants in the meeting to gather their responses and opinions on a given topic. This comes in handy for voting on various business-related decisions, for example. Mute participants: The host of a meeting can mute the mic of any participant. Use the Zoom support guides for more information.

One on one calls are unlimited minutes. Group calls, for up to people, are limited to 40 minutes. For info on free calls vs. Sign in. Go to the participant list. You can then email or message this link to someone. You can also schedule a meeting in advance, so you can send out the links in advance. Set the date and time. People can join a meeting before the start time — like days before the start time. The meeting also will NOT end when it hits the scheduled end time.

It will keep going till the host ends the meeting or till the last participant leaves in a meeting with no host. You want to take steps to prevent this. You could also require that people pre-register for a Zoom meeting to get the link. Then, when you start a meeting, check your security settings by clicking on the shield in the command bar. For a meeting with known people, I usually set security so they can rename themselves, and unmute themselves and use chat, but NOT share screens.

It lets you just quickly check to be sure you recognize the name before you let them in. For meetings of over 30 people this may be challenging for one person to manage, so consider having a co-host help you admit folks. You can send a chat message to them. Pinning their video makes their image large as if they are the speaker. For example, here’s a photo of my team during a Zoom Meeting. We were all attending the meeting remotely, but sometimes, we attend the meeting via our company’s conference room, where we pair Zoom with the Meeting Owl Pro to create an inclusive meeting experience for all attendees.

A Zoom Room is the physical hardware setup that lets companies launch Zoom Meetings from their conference rooms. Zoom Rooms are a software-defined video conferencing hardware system for a conference room that allow users to schedule, launch, and run Zoom Meetings with the push of a button.

Zoom Rooms require an additional subscription on top of a Zoom subscription and are an ideal solution for larger companies with many employees holding Zoom meetings on a regular basis. Now that we understand what Zoom is and the key terms for using it, let’s walk through the steps to get set up with Zoom. Zoom offers four distinct pricing tiers for your business subscription not including a Zoom Room subscription. Zoom Free: This is the best option if you’re testing out Zoom, or if you work solo or with only one or two other people in the same location as you and do the brunt of the meeting scheduling and coordinating.

With the free version of Zoom, users can hold an unlimited number of meetings, but group meetings with multiple participants are capped at 40 minutes in length. Zoom Pro: This is the best option if you’re using Zoom with a small team with at least one member working remotely full-time or part-time so you can collaborate effectively, no matter where the meeting is hosted.

Zoom Business: Zoom Business is best-suited to small to medium-sized businesses with multiple teams regularly scheduling Zoom meetings. Zoom Enterprise: For businesses with 1, employees or more, this tier of Zoom offers unlimited cloud storage for recordings, a dedicated customer success manager, and discounts on webinars and Zoom Rooms.

Once you’ve selected the Zoom plan you’d like to start using, you can sign up and download Zoom onto your computer to start using it. Users can sign up using their work email if they’re signing up for an individual free account, or if your system administrator is signing up for a Pro, Business, or Enterprise account, you’ll be invited to sign up for Zoom as one of your company’s hosts.

If you’re setting up a Zoom Room , you’ll also need to download “Zoom Rooms for Conference Room” on the in-room computer and “Zoom Room Controller” for the tablet in the meeting room.

Next, you’ll want to sync Zoom to your calendar so you can schedule Zoom meetings that appear on your calendar, or so you can easily add a Zoom Meeting link to events on your calendar so remote participants can join. To do this, when you’re signed into Zoom, navigate to “Settings,” then “Meetings,” then “Synced Calendars. By doing this, you can sync calendars with Zoom in both directions, so your calendar client will offer an option to add a Zoom link, and your calendar will show Zoom Meetings you schedule in the Zoom app.

If your business sets up Zoom Rooms, you can sync those rooms to your company’s shared calendar so employees can see which meeting rooms are available when they go to book.

Zoom Rooms can also be set up to display upcoming meetings so employees are cognizant of when they need to start wrapping up, or when they can sit down in a drop-in meeting.