Smile! You’re on Camera

Smile! You’re on Camera! 40 P EOPLE of G OD may2020

By Leslie M. Radigan, Office of Communications/Social Media

May 2020 finds us well into our “new norm,” and yet we are still working to figure out how to navigate these rocky waters with little more than water wings. With us sheltering in place, it’s still important to maintain personal connections with those we love. We may not be able to spend physical time with our loved ones, but we can still maintain that personal connection and spend quality time with them. If you haven’t already, give Zoom or Google Meet a try – they’re not just for business meetings or school. In order to make the most out of your Zoom-sperience, we’ve compiled some Dos and Don’ts:

Zoom and Google Meet Etiquette • Use the video option when possible – people want to see your face! • More light is better.

Video quality is dramatically improved with more lighting. And don’t you want everyone to see your beautiful face, now that you’ve gone to all of the trouble to put on actual clothes and stuff? An extra nearby lamp is usually helpful. Just make sure the light is in front of you, not behind you - being backlit makes you harder to see. • Try to look into the camera. If you’re presenting or speaking to a group, looking into the camera will give the appearance of eye contact with whoever you’re talking to. It’s also definitely better than being forced to stare at your own face and realizing how badly you need a haircut. • Do your own tech support before you start. If you are going to present, make sure you do a test run at some point, and that you’re aware of your audio and video settings before you start. Most video conference services allow you to see a test of what your camera is recording before you start broadcasting it to everyone else, so have it arranged the way you want it. Zoom, for instance, has a feature that lets you test your settings before your meetings begin: just go to zoom.us/test. • Stay on mute if you’re not talking. Background noise can be really distracting. If you aren’t sharing anything at the moment, go ahead and hit mute until you do. That way, no one has to listen to the car alarm that goes off in your neighborhood or your neighbor’s perpetually barking dog. • Don’t do other private things while on a meeting. Speaking of gross: have you heard any horror stories about people being caught picking their nose or using the bathroom while on a video conference, thinking they were muted or had their video off? Don’t become a statistic. It can be easy to forget that people can hear or see you if you’re in a group of 30 coworkers, so don’t risk it! • Stage your video area. Keep in mind that people aren’t just seeing you, they’re also seeing whatever the camera is pointed at behind you. Maybe arrange it so that your camera isn’t facing

towards a pile of unfolded laundry?

You can either Zoom or Google meet from an app on your desktop/laptop/ phone, respond to an invitation sent to your email, go to the website, and you can also telephone dial in. Google meet requires a Google account, Zoom just requires you have an email account. With Zoom’s free version, you can have up to 100 participants in the meeting for a maximum of 40 minutes. Google meet is free for schools and businesses (up to 100 participants) through September 30, 2020. There are also other video-conferencing platforms available, and these are in no way endorsed by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Do a little research and find the one that will best meet your needs.

Adams, Sean. “Zoom Meeting Etiquette: 15 Tips and Best Practices for Online Video Conference Meetings.” Pennlive, 22 Apr. 2020, www.pennlive.com/ coronavirus/2020/04/zoom-meetingetiquette-15-tips-and-best-practices-foronline-video-conference-meetings.html.

“Start a Google Meet Video Meeting - Computer.” Translated by Google, Google Meet Help, Google, 2020, support.google. com/meet/answer/9302870?co=GENIE. Platform.

Peters, Jay. “How to Get Started with Zoom.” The Verge, The Verge, 31 Mar. 2020, www.theverge.com/2020/3/31/21197215/ how-to-zoom-free-account-get-startedregister-sign-up-log-in-invite.