
Our WFH – work from home – series looks at how to best work from home.
By now Zoom has become a common household name. You probably have heard of it, you may even use it (perhaps more than you ever thought possible). This post is for those who are working from home, who are using Zoom often and who want to level up their Zoom game with some extra tips.
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I was already using Zoom daily a few months into the pandemic, when I also started having to use it to teach my journalism courses at USC. That’s when I started understanding breakout rooms and backgrounds. Now, I want to share these tips with you in the hopes of making your Zoom experience the best it can be.
change your Background
Yes, you can check your background on Zoom! How’s that for a cool extra Zoom tip. Here’s how you do it. Navigate to your settings by clicking your name or icon, and then find Virtual Background. You can pick an option here or even upload your own.

sharing your screen
You can also share your screen when on Zoom with others in your meeting. Select the Share Screen icon bottom center and select which screen you wish to share. Just know that when sharing it everyone can see exactly what you see on that screen. If you don’t have this option then the host will need to give you permission to share your screen.
Also, when you click this option you will see a Whiteboard option to select instead of your computer screen. This is a feature that creates a whiteboard which you can draw on as though you were using an actual whiteboard in a classroom.
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using Breakout rooms
Another extra Zoom tip is to use breakout rooms. They’re a great way to create smaller conversations within a large group meeting. The host has the option to assign people into smaller rooms manually or automatically, and can call you all back to the larger group once done.

other zoom tips
You can hide your self view on Zoom if you don’t want to see your image during a meeting, while still allowing others to see you.

You can also ‘touch up’ your appearance!
At the bottom of the Zoom controls you should also see options to chat with others on your Zoom call or even use a polling option to ask a question to the group.
And check out this post for what you need to know when it comes to recording on Zoom.
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Have an extra Zoom tip we didn’t cover? Share it below!
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