The purpose of virtual icebreakers for large groups is to provide a way for people who don’t know each other very well to introduce themselves. They are also an incredibly effective tool to engage a team, of any size, and make them feel comfortable and established.

To help you create a budding workplace team over Zoom we have compiled a list of 11 of the very best Zoom icebreakers for large groups.

Shivering with excitement (pardon the pun)? Then let’s get started.

How do you create an icebreaker game and virtually host with a large group?

Anyone who has managed a virtual team will know how impersonal and unfriendly Zoom calls can feel, especially when there are members who are new to a team or when a completely new team has just been formed.

To get over this tension, fun icebreakers can be used to start conversations and rule out any nervousness. They will add an element of excitement and relaxation to a virtual meeting and will lay the foundations of a strong and cohesive team.

If you’re wanting to host icebreakers virtually then here’s our top piece of advice: don’t overcomplicate it. Act as though you were hosting these icebreakers in person, find ones that you know you and your team will enjoy, ensure that they can be carried out on Zoom… and then sit back and watch the magic unfold!

And another top tip for icebreakers: make them short and sweet. No one likes to spend hours asking each other questions and it’s at this point ice breakers can become boring, tedious, and a tad cringy. If you want to learn about other virtual games to play with large teams, not just icebreaker games, then check out our comprehensive list of virtual team building activities.

What are good icebreakers over Zoom?

Zoom has taken top place as the most popular communication platform for large, virtual teams. As a result, it is incredibly likely that you and your team will be using Zoom and looking for an excellent way to break the ice. Check out the 11 very best virtual icebreakers for large teams that we have listed below.

1. Keep it simple: traditional icebreakers

Simple icebreaker questions are not to be overlooked when finding fun ways to introduce a new team or engage and motivate a new one. They can be as complicated or as simple as you like, and they take very little time to plan and organize (a win-win for you).

To host a traditional icebreaker activity on Zoom, think of a number of questions that you can go around the virtual room and ask the team members. Questions can be easy and free from intimidation, such as “What did you eat for breakfast?”, “Are you an early bird or night owl?”, or “Do you prefer sweet or savory foods?”

However, if you want something juicier you could ask “What’s your most used emoji?”, “When you die, what do you want to be remembered for?” or “What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done in the workplace?”

You’ll be incredibly surprised at how much you can learn about people from simple questions like this. They are great introductions and can really make your team feel at ease.

If you want more examples of icebreaker questions, check out our list of over 160 excellent icebreaker questions you can ask your team (I know, we’re so kind doing all the work for you!).

Although the above icebreaker method is easy and great to use in many situations, we think this method is a little simple and that there are plenty more exciting icebreakers that you can use… hence why we’ve written a list of 11 of them! Read on to find out more.

2. Repeat Performance 

As one of our favorites, this icebreaker activity allows you to give a motivating and inspiring speech to your employees, whilst ensuring that they remember the values of the company and/or the purpose of the meeting.

Breaking the ice in this manner is incredibly effective for team building, as research has repeatedly found that a good speech will increase employee empowerment and motivation. Employees will walk away feeling empowered to adhere to the words you have chosen for them to learn.

Instructions to play Repeat Performance:

·  Pick two specific words or phrases that you would like participants to walk away from the speech remembering. For example: cohesion, fulfillment, training, bonding, finance, or compassion.

·  Set up a Zoom meeting and explain to your team members that they have the exciting opportunity to participate in your speech.

·  To participate in the speech, team members can shout out a word when you point with your right hand and a different word when you point with your left… Make sure your hands are in clear view on your Zoom call!

·  For example, if you picked the words “success” (left hand) and “proactive” (right hand) you might say “here at (company name) we thrive on” and point your left hand. Team members will shout out “success” and will remember the word for a long time after.

·  Carry on playing until you think you have delivered an empowering speech and made your point.

3.   Simon Says

If you’ve ever been to a child’s birthday party or been present at a school break time, you are likely to have played a thrilling game of Simon Says. As an adult, this game is just as simple as the ones 5-year-olds play (and it’s just as fun!).

The rules of Simon Says are pretty simple, but just in case you’ve forgotten how to play it or are a little confused about how it would work virtually, here’s how to play Simon Says on Zoom:

·  Spend some time planning what actions you would like to get your team to do.

·  Set up a team meeting and then send an email to your team explaining that for this meeting they’ll probably want to be at home (although it could be entertaining for other people in a café to watch) and that they’ll need to be standing up in front of the camera.

·  Once online, get your team to stand up and explain the rules.

·  When you say “Simon Says” followed by an order, the group should obey the order. You can make these orders as complicated or as simple as you like. For instance, you might say “Simon Says point upwards with your right hand” or “Simon Says spin around”. Or you might say “Simon Says do a handstand” or, “Simon Says find an object related to work”.

·  To make this icebreaker even more inclusive and really break the ice, you can take it in turns to allow team members to give out the instructions.

4.   Two Truths and One Lie 

This Zoom icebreaker is a fantastic way for the whole team to get to know everyone on a more personal level. It allows members to open up to each other and creates trust within a team.

As the name suggests, team members will state two truths and one lie about themselves. The other members of the team must then guess which is the lie.

For example, I would say “I am left-handed (truth), I have a pet dog (truth) and I have three sisters (lie)”. To play, you would take turns asking each person in your pre-scheduled Zoom meeting to say their truths and lies. Then, the other team members will get to vote on what they think is a lie and what they think is the truth.

5.   How to play “Guess the Acronym” icebreaker on Zoom

We all use acronyms in our daily lives. Whether it’s a classic ‘LOL’ when we find something funny, or more business-related terms such as ‘B2B’, ‘SMART’, or ‘CPU’. Guess the acronym is a simple, and work-related, way to get people giggling and having fun.

Over Zoom, ask your large team members to put acronyms into a chat channel or say them over video chat. Other team members can then guess what the acronym means. If you want to make this icebreaker more competitive, you can play it so that team members must race to say the acronym correctly first. The person who gets the most right first is then crowned the winner.

Top tip: to get more for your money, make the acronyms work-related. For instance, if you work in finance, use related ones. The same goes for marketing, sales, or science.

6.   Trivia 

Playing trivia with a virtual team is a fantastic way for remote colleagues to showcase their knowledge, learn some new skills and have a good time. Trivia is an easy-to-coordinate, ‘DIY’ game that you can tailor to your unique team. This means that literally anyone can get involved in… and that’s why we love it so much!

How to play DIY trivia on Zoom:

·  Schedule a date and time with your team members and set up a Zoom meeting

·  Randomly split your team into even groups (they will compete whilst also learning about each other!)

·  Create a list of questions that you want to ask your team. You might ask them general knowledge questions, such as “What is the largest continent?” or “Who is the prime minister in the U.K.?”. Or (now this is where it gets really fun) you might ask them more personal questions about other team members. For instance, you might ask “How many children does Jane have?”, or “What is Peter’s job title?”

·  You will then call the questions out to the team and the first person to guess the answer wins a point for their team (note: personal questions can be answered by any team, but Jane or Peter would not be allowed to answer the question).

·  Offer prizes if you want to make it competitive.

7.   Good Old Times 

Designed to bring back childhood memories of our nostalgic teenage years, this icebreaker game is designed to help people bond over deep and meaningful memories.

In your Zoom meeting, ask childhood-related questions for your team to discuss and bond over. Popular questions include “What was your favorite candy?”, “Which band was your favorite growing up?”, “What was your favorite childhood holiday?” or “What was the name of your childhood pet?”

There will be loads to talk about and people can really get to know each other with a deep personal connection, as opposed to just on a surface, more corporate level.

8.   Rank Your Favorites

Like the previous icebreakers, you can engage your team members on a much more personal level by asking them to rank their favorite options out of a list of things. Whether their favorite things are from their childhood or favorite foods, your team members can learn a lot about each other and use this newfound knowledge to bond!

Playing this icebreaker game over Zoom is incredibly stress-free. Pick a genre and then pick five options that your team members must rank from their favorite to their least favorite. They can submit their responses in a chat channel, or over video. Once the responses are submitted for everyone to see, expect some lively conversations about why people think x, y, or z is their all-time favorite.

 Some examples of genres you could use:

·  Rank these 90’s movies: A Time to Kill, Jurassic Park, The Shawshank Redemption, Clueless, and Notting Hill

·  Rank these pasta dishes: carbonara, bolognaise, lasagne, cannelloni, and ravioli

·  Rank these animals: dog, sheep, cat, horse, and hamster (this one will definitely get your team talking!)

 9. Waffles vs Pancakes

Fun, engaging, and designed to get your team hungry to know more about each other, Waffles vs Pancakes is one of our all-time favorite icebreakers.  

It can be played very easily over Zoom and here’s how you do it:

·  Start by asking one team member whether they prefer waffles or pancakes.

·  The team member must say which one they prefer and replace the other one (their least preferable one) with an alternative item. For example, they may pick waffles and then swap in cheese.

·  The next player must then say whether they prefer waffles or cheese. If they picked cheese, they would replace waffles with an item (e.g., mangos).

·  The next player must say if they prefer cheese or mangos (I know what I’d pick… you can’t have mangos on pizza…)

·  Carry on the game until every play has had a go.

10.   Work from home fails 

Perhaps one of the simplest icebreakers to play, but incredibly relevant to remote teams, all you do for this game is ask everyone on Zoom what their biggest working from home fails have been.

We’ve all had one. Maybe one colleague didn’t turn off their Zoom camera when picking their nose. Someone else thought they were on mute when they sighed. Or, maybe they accidentally spilled water over their keyboard mid-meeting? Either way, I am sure they will find something to laugh about!

11.   Desert Island

The last on our list, desert island icebreakers are not new, we’ve been playing them for years. And as modern is not always best, we think you should include this icebreaker at some point in your team building process to help connect and bond your team members.

At the start of a Zoom meeting, simply ask each team member to name five items they would bring with them if they were stranded on a desert island. After, open the floor up for discussion so that each individual can find others who share the same thought processes.

What are some other fun virtual icebreakers (if not using Zoom)?

Although Zoom is popular, it is not for everyone. Some virtual teams like to use other platforms to communicate, and other teams aren’t always virtual and have the opportunity to meet in person. As a result, we’ve made sure we’ve included some fantastic icebreakers to meet the needs of these teams. 

If the games on the list below take your fancy, then check out this list of 47 virtual team building activities and icebreakers that don’t have to be done on Zoom! 

1. Pass the Buck 

This is an icebreaker game that you can’t really play over Zoom as it requires in-person interaction. But don’t let that put you off. If you can get your team together in person then this icebreaker game can add great value to their interactions and connections.

Instructions:

·  Ask team members to take a coin out of their pocket (or purse/wallet) and hold it in the air.

·  Team members walk around the room and find someone who has presented the same money as them.

·  Partners share one piece of information with each other that they think is valuable. This information can be personal, or general knowledge.

·  They can decide whether they think the information is of value, if it is they give them their money. If they don’t, they can keep it!

2. AirBnB Experiences with Your Team

Airbnb doesn’t just have to be for staycations. Surprisingly, you can use it for a productive team building activity for your large teams. If you can’t meet in person, then this method is a great way to mimic in-person interaction.

Hosted by experts from all over the world, you can pick categories, from light-hearted to educational, and a host provides a fun and realistic icebreaking activity. Then all you have to do is sit back, relax and watch as your team creates unbreakable bonds by doing tasks that are designed to bring any team together. For the Airbnb team building and icebreaker games that we love the most, check out our full list of Airbnb virtual experiences here.

3. Virtual Escape Rooms 

Escape rooms are great ways to get your employees excited, adventurous, and everything in between! You can play these in real life, or you can play them virtually! 

To play a virtual escape room from the Team Building Hub (the best of the best) simply: 

• Choose the escape room adventure that you’d like to play with the team (options include research laboratories, a prison, an art museum, and more!) 
• Follow the link sent by your host and log on
• Work through the puzzles and clues with your team until you have successfully broken out of your room!

3. Musical Chairs

Another childhood classic, Musical Chairs is a great way to get everyone up, moving around (perfect for teams who are sedentary all day), and having fun. 

The rules don’t change between an adults game and a child’s game, so here’s how to play: 

• Play some fun music that you know your team will like.
• Set some chairs out in a circle. You need one less chair then you have people playing.
• Have your team members walk around the perimeter of the chair circle. 
• When the music stops, everyone must immediately sit in a chair and the person left standing is out. 
• Remove another chair from the circle and continue to play until only one person is left. 

That’s a wrap!

We hope you’ve liked our list of the best Zoom icebreaker activities for large groups. This list of icebreakers for large groups on Zoom will undeniably provide your virtual team with ways to get to know each other, unwind during stressful times, and have some fun.

If after reading this you’ve tried one of these icebreakers, then let us know how you’ve got on. Did you manage to break the ice with a new team? Or did your long-standing team manage to connect on a deeper level?

The post 11 Zoom & Other Virtual Icebreakers for Large Groups appeared first on Team Building Hub.

However, the problem arises in knowing exactly which virtual team building activities are worthwhile, and which are just a waste of your time and resources. That’s why we’re here to help. In this post, we will cover 11 different virtual team building games that can be used on Zoom and off Zoom. This way you can spend less time researching the best games for your large virtual team and more time playing them!

  How do you engage a large team virtually?

Poor team engagement, whether in person or over the internet, can have drastic consequences on the performance of an organization. Poorly engaged employees can lead to a high turnover rate, increased costs, and organizational stagnation.

As I am sure many modern-day leaders know, engaging employees in an office is hard enough. You can round them up and force them to listen, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be engaged. So, how do you go about the even harder task of doing it online? Here are some ideas:

• Stay connected. One thing that doesn’t change whether a business is online or in-person: things should be kept consistent, streamlined, and organized. When using virtual platforms, such as Zoom, schedule staff meetings, incorporate video calls, and set up ways in which people can easily share work, thoughts, and ideas.
• Encourage health and wellness. Whilst some people enjoy rolling out of bed and straight into work in the morning, working online most definitely isn’t for everyone and it is crucial to look out for and support the mental health and well-being of those employees who find remote working tough. Encourage your team to do yoga, take daily walks, or take some time out for therapy.
• Be sociable. You might not be able to pass a fist pump in the office as you wander by your favorite colleague or pop in for a 5-minute weekend catch-up, but you can find other ways to socialize. Channels for pointless chit-chat or adding in regular video calls is a great way to keep things social. However, the best way to be sociable online? Get the team involved in some virtual team building activities for large groups (more on this below!)

What Zoom games can you play on Zoom with a large group?

As you read above, making remote work as sociable as possible is undoubtedly one of the best ways to get your large group engaged virtually. However, according to this team building statistics survey, only 20% of companies team build monthly or more often. Sadly, this means that business leaders are missing crucial opportunities to develop strong and trusting relationships.

One of the largest online platforms used for business operations, and for team building activities, is Zoom. Today it is estimated that Zoom registers over 3.3 million annual meeting minutes. That’s a lot of minutes, so it’s likely that you, our dear reader, are using Zoom and frantically looking for ways to engage your large virtual team.

Designed for teams of over 100 employees to play online, these are the instructions on how to play the best online games that can be played on Zoom, for large groups (and trust us, there’s a lot on there!).

1.   How to play trivia on Zoom with a large group?

Trivia is well-known for testing your knowledge whilst being incredibly fun and providing an exciting way to create trusting bonds. Trivia is played with a prepared list of questions and the aim of the game is to answer the most questions correctly (emphasis on the correctly, otherwise we’d all be winners).

Due to the simple nature of the game, Trivia can easily be played using Zoom to create an engaging game for large teams. Here’s how to play Trivia on Zoom:

• Write your own trivia questions on a piece of paper before play starts. Questions should test the general knowledge of your team and can include anything from “Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?” (Answer: Marie Curie) to “What is the earth’s largest continent?” (Answer: Asia).
• As you will be playing with a large team, it’ll be quicker to divide your team into smaller even groups and let them compete against each other.
• Read out the questions and the first person to shout out the correct answer wins a point for the team.
• Play for as long as you want and then tally up the scores and award the winning team!

Note: Alternatively, you can play as single players but to avoid it taking forever, cap the play at around 50 questions.

2.   How to play jeopardy on Zoom with a large group?

Much like the popular TV show, team building Jeopardy will challenge your team to showcase their general knowledge in a friendly competition. A bit like trivia, you are challenged to answer multiple questions in a specific category.

Here’s the easiest way for teams to play Jeopardy on Zoom:

• Download the Jeopardy slideshow template from Jeopardy Labs and input your questions and answers (Tip: You could throw in a few work-related questions to really keep your team on their toes!)
• Set up a Zoom meeting and share your screen so that everyone can see the Jeopardy Labs template.
• Divide your large team into smaller teams.
• Begin playing Jeopardy by clicking on a square to show the question.
• Players can win points for their team by answering the question correctly before anyone else. Once they’ve answered click on the box to reveal the answer.
• Play through all your pre-made questions and then tally up the scores and award your winning team.

3.   How to play online game shows on Zoom with a large group?

We’ve all seen a group of strangers walk onto a television game show barely speaking to each other and leaving with lifelong friends. The excitement and team spirit encourage flourishing relationships.

Game shows don’t have to be just for watching on the television. You and your team can have all the excitement of a game show, and reap the benefits of producing life-long bonds, from the comfort of your own homes.

Team Building Hub offers the best online game show for just $28 per player, and here’s how to play it:

• Follow the Zoom link sent to you by Team Building Hub.
• Log into the call where you’ll be greeted by a host.
• Answer a few icebreaker questions, split into breakout rooms, then compete for points and badges. There’s also an expert host there the whole time to keep everyone engaged and make virtual team building fun!

4.   How to play icebreaker question games on Zoom with a large group?

Designed to be quick, fun, and interesting, icebreaker questions will get your team so excited that they’ll be unable to keep as cool as ice (pardon the pun).

There are numerous ways to ask teams icebreaker questions, but we think the simplest is to DIY over Zoom. Here’s how to set up an icebreaker team building session to get your team to know one another a little better:

• Create a list of icebreaker questions. Ideally, you should have as many questions as you have number of people in your team. Here is a list of 160 best ice breaker questions you can use.
• Go around the (virtual) room and ask each team member a different ice breaker question. If you have time, you can open the room up for discussions after each question.
• Extra way to play: At the end, you could ask employees what their teammate answered to a certain question. For example, “Jane, I asked Erica whether she prefers Apple or Microsoft, what did she answer?” This is a way to build bonds (and check if they were paying attention!)

5.   How to play online murder mystery games on Zoom with a large group?

Murder mystery is often associated with dinner parties for adults seeking a bit of entertainment. However, these fantastically fun social events can be carried out on Zoom. Participants will act out a murder story and will have to figure out which character is the killer!

We believe when it comes to slightly more complicated games, such as murder mystery, you should leave it to the people who know how to do it best. Here at Team Building Hub, we’ve developed online mystery games with different themes, and this is how you play them:

• Log into a Zoom call with your team and meet your guide who will ensure everyone is ready to participate.
• Answer some icebreaker questions and have your team split up into smaller teams of 8 players.
• Review surveillance footage, evidence reports, and much more to solve the mystery before the other teams!

6.   How to play scavenger hunt on Zoom with a large group?

Whether played in person or over the computer, scavenger hunts provide amusing and out-of-the-box ways to engage a team. They are sociable and require some moving around, which can be incredibly beneficial after a day of sitting at a desk!

To play a traditional scavenger hunt with only a Zoom meeting, pen, and paper:

• Create a list of five household objects you want your team to collect. Examples include a toilet roll, a book, a pair of matching socks, or a rolling pin.
• Set up a Zoom meeting and explain the object you want each team member to come back with.
• Send them away with a 2-minute time limit.
• The first person to come back with ALL the correct items wins (you can award second and third place if you like).
• Carry on for as many rounds as you like. We recommend 3 to 4 rounds for the ultimate scavenger hunt fun!

7.   How to play a virtual escape room on Zoom with a large group?

Escape rooms are heart-raising and thrilling ways to get your employees racing against the clock to be crowned the winning team. For just $32 a player, Team Building Hub has developed a virtual escape room that will be sure to wow your team. It has plenty of themes to choose from, including an undersea research laboratory, a prison break, and an art heist.

To play any of these compelling games, just:

• Follow the Zoom link sent by Team Building Hub and log on to meet your host and room guide.
• Complete the game with access to your teammates, a 360-degree view of the room, a live feed from the host, and an inventory of everything you’ve examined so far.
• Work through the puzzles and clues until you have successfully broken out of your chosen room!

8.   How to play charades on Zoom with a large group?

I’m sure you’ve all spent many family occasions playing charades. If you have, you’ll understand the fun and excitement it creates. Why not bring this cheer onto a team Zoom meeting? Ridiculously incorrect guesses will lead to great laughter and team bonding.

It’s a great game as it enhances creative thinking and encourages the quieter members of a team to work to step out of their comfort zone. This is far less intimidating on Zoom rather than in person, so it’s a win-win situation.

To play charades online:

• Get your large team to join a Zoom meeting and split the team in half to form two teams that are competing against each other.
• Pick a theme that the player must act out, for example, animals, household objects, movies, television series.
• Alternating between the teams, each team member will act out a different object (without speaking!)
• The first person to guess the correct object wins a point for their team.
• This game can carry on for as long as you like. We suggest carrying on until every player has had the chance to act out their object!

 What are good games to play with a large group online outside of Zoom?

Although Zoom is an incredibly popular way for teams to communicate, there are other ways in which team building activities can be carried out. Using another platform, whether that is a phone application or online website, to play team building games can help to keep things fresh and exciting. In return, this should keep your team members engaged and eager to get involved.

There are various games that can be played online and we’ve included the very best of the best below. And hey, if the games we’ve listed below don’t quite grab your attention or you want to know more about team building activities, there are a number of virtual event planning companies that you can contact directly to see what they can do outside of Zoom for you and your large team.

1.   How to play Trivia online with a large group?

Playing trivia over an application or website makes it quick-witted, fun, and saves a lot of time trying to find a variety of questions like you would have to do in the DIY version.

Places like Trivvy allow teams of any size to play trivia in a simple, complication-free fashion. Everything is in the one place: you get a trained quizmaster to keep things fun and engaging, and you’ll get access to themed rounds, quickfire modes, and even visual questions. But don’t limit your search for the best non-Zoom trivia game here. There are plenty of virtual trivia games. Here’s a list of the 23 best virtual trivia options that we love, and we’re sure you will too. 

Whether your team is filled with trivia whizzes or those who just want to get to understand their colleagues a little better, there will be a virtual trivia game for you.

2.   How to play Pictionary online games with a large group?

Having a creative mind forces us to think differently and from new perspectives. What better way to get those creative juices flowing than with a friendly game of Pictionary?

Get your virtual team members to download Skribbl, one of the most popular virtual Pictionary games there is. Available in many languages, Skribbl will ask team members, who can be based anywhere in the world, to take turns drawing something. The drawing is based on 1 of 3 word options that players are given, and they have only 80 seconds to draw something. Teammates must then guess what has been drawn and whoever has the most of their drawings correctly guesses wins. Whether you’re a budding Picasso or not, Pictionary is a fun game for all.

3.    How to play crossword online games with a large group?

Crosswords aren’t just for geriatrics, they are excellent ways for people of any age to tease their brains, learn new things, and create a bit of friendly competition between workplace teams.

I am sure you have completed a crossword before, even if it was only to pass time. But just in case you haven’t, a crossword is a puzzle consisting of a grid of squares in which words are arranged vertically and horizontally and are guessed according to clues, which can sometimes be very hard!

A fantastic way to engage your team in a crossword is to incorporate websites such as Fun Trivia. Team members can all complete the same puzzle in the fastest time, and then scores can be emailed in or posted on a communication channel (i.e., Slack).

Using a virtual app for crosswords is a great way to get your team competing to be the crossword king. Whether you have it as a singular team building activity one afternoon, or a leader board that runs over a few weeks, you should consider incorporating crossword challenges into your team building experience. 

4.   How to play scavenger hunt online games with a large group?

We outlined the DIY scavenger hunt earlier in this post. Although a great (and free) way to play scavenger hunt, it can be testing to the imagination having to come up with all the objects yourself.

Applications such as Scavify, which allows groups to complete various scavenger hunts and track their progress, can save you from endlessly having to come up with new scavenger hunt items. Other applications allow teams to play scavenger hunts without even leaving their seats. With the flick of their thumb, they will find things hidden in various landscapes or pictures… a bit like Where’s Waldo.

If this way of scavenger hunt gets your taste buds tickling, then here’s a list of 25 virtual scavenger hunt games that can be enjoyed by everyone in a large team.

That’s a wrap!

There you have it, the very best virtual team building activities for large groups, that can be played on Zoom and off Zoom.

Some activities, such as Zoom icebreaker questions, are free, easy to use, and don’t take very long. Others, such as Team Building Hub’s virtual escape rooms or murder mystery games are more involved and come with an experienced host to guide you through. As a result, these virtual team building activities come with bags full of amusement and fun and will get your virtual team engaged and involved.

The post Large Groups: 8 Zoom Games & Other Virtual/Online Team Building Activities appeared first on Team Building Hub.

Executive presence may be difficult to define, but we all know it when we see it—or don’t. People walk into a room, and heads turn. They speak and people listen. They lead and people follow. When they leave, the party winds down.

The mysterious “it” of executive presence includes how you look, how you talk, how you think, and how you act. Working remotely and appearing online to deliver your ideas shouldn’t diminish your personal presence. 

But unfortunately, for some people, that’s exactly what happens. 

When you’re sitting toes to toes and nose to nose, you have physical space to present a “larger than life” image. But when technology reduces you to a thumbnail (okay, maybe slightly larger if the Zoom gallery shows only two or three people), you simply have to compensate in other ways to connect and build credibility.

If you can’t explain and gain support for your work—the reasons behind it, the results achieved, the impact it has on profitability, and the opportunity it holds for the future––you have figuratively fallen out of the chair. You’ve failed. 

So let’s talk about succeeding—how best to convey expertise and a powerful executive presence when working remotely and hosting effective meetings with others via Zoom or other online platforms.

How You Look

1. Light Up Your Life

A big part of trust and rapport-building involves reading body language—facial expressions, eye contact, smiles, posture, shifting of positions as you listen or speak. 

Yet reading your body language depends on proper lighting. Linda Swindling, a speaker colleague of mine, uses humor to coach her virtual attendees out of the darkness. One of her favorite quips as attendees come online without having lighted their room and themselves properly: “Hey, Jerry, are you in the witness protection program? Come out of the shadows so we can see you!” 

Her good-natured teasing makes the point: Unless you’re trying to hide, pay attention to proper lighting. The light should be streaming toward your face—not from above your head, not from behind you, and not from the side. 

Celebrity photographers make the big bucks because they understand that improper lighting creates unflattering shadows in the wrong places. They’ll be the first to tell you that great results depend on proper framing and proper lighting.

Your colleagues and customers should see you in the best light—figuratively and literally.

2. Beware of Background Breakthroughs and Settings

Artificial (virtual) backgrounds don’t always work well. The green-screen technology has not been perfected, so often weird things happen to your face, head, hair, and hands when you move around in front of a virtual background.

So prefer a stable, simple background that doesn’t distract. Never load your background with so many objects that viewers become obsessed with your setting rather than impressed with your comments.

3. Keep Your Posture Positive

Slouched posture communicates disinterest. Not the impression you want to give colleagues, customers, or your boss. Leaning backward, away from the camera may convey arrogance and a judgmental mindset. To show interest, sit up straight, with shoulders relaxed but slightly forward at about a 15-30 degrees angle.

In other words, look and listen attentively––as if your doctor is about to report test results.

4. Gesture Inside the Frame

Polished presenters use gestures to add emphasis to their message. But those natural gestures should be appropriate to the virtual setting. Keep hands inside the frame—within camera range. Also, take care not to wave your hands toward the camera, which can make you look frantic and aggressive.

5. Dress for the Impression You Want to Create

Granted, today’s audiences may accept and expect a more casual dress for online versus in-person appearances —but not disheveled or sloppy. One of my weekly coaching clients living in another country and time zone looks as if he’s just crawled out of bed without a mirror check.

After a tech check as a video podcast guest on a show streaming from a major university, I watched the host stand up from behind his interview desk and walk toward a closet door in the back of his bedroom. He dropped his pants down around his hips, changed shirts, and then tucked in his shirttail. While I appreciated his inclination to dress for success, watching the process did not instill confidence in his interviewing style!

Keep in mind that you’re “on” at all times. You may not be looking or listening to a colleague’s comments during the meeting, but that doesn’t mean others are not watching you at any given moment. Twirling a thread of hair, scratching a splotch off your tie, or adjusting your jewelry or bra strap does not instill confidence.

How You Talk

The “talking” component of executive presence involves word choice, grammar, clichés or their absence, speaking rate, volume, pitch, pausing, inflection, and so forth.

6. Be Brief

Nothing makes you look more inarticulate than rambling, repetition, and irrelevancy. Enough said.

7. Pause to Add Emphasis 

Talking too quickly conveys nervousness. If you naturally talk quickly, all the more reason to add pauses before or after key points. Pausing builds suspense for what you’re about to say or adds emphasis to what you’ve just said.

8. Avoid Patronizing Phrases

When someone asks a question, never start your answer by uttering clichés like this: “That’s a good question,” “Thanks for that question,” or “I’m so glad you asked that.” 

Comments like these sound as if you’re assuming a one-up position—that you alone know what is or isn’t a good question. A prospective employer will quickly tire of that refrain during a job interview.

9. Hold the Floor Until You Finish

You can avoid having others interrupt (whether intentionally or not) by setting yourself up to hold the floor until you complete your point. An example: “I agree with Nick, and I’d like to add three reasons for this cost increase: First, blah, blah, blah.” 

At this point, if someone interrupts you, add, “I’d like to finish with my three reasons, please.” Then resume at the point you were interrupted. To continually permit yourself to be interrupted communicates timidity.

10. Look at The Camera

Shakespeare was right when he said, “The eyes are windows to your soul.” That willingness to make eye contact conveys openness and honesty and, as a result, builds trust and rapport. 

Looking at a person’s image in the gallery rather than at the camera is THE most common mistake in online conversations. Avoid letting your eyes wander up or down as if reading answers from the ceiling or the floor. 

With inexperienced TV guests and multiple cameras on a studio set, producers typically tell their guests where to direct their comments. “When the green light flashes on this camera, you’re on. 

Imagine other people in your meeting standing behind the camera. Dragging an individual’s image up on your screen (directly under the camera) may help you remember where to look.

How You Think

Your thinking process enables you to communicate clearly and persuasively—even under pressure. 

11. Make Your Bottom-line Your Opening Line 

When giving a presentation or simply responding to a peer’s comment, overview and then elaborate. Summarize your point before you launch into the details. 

The classic “Once upon a time” opens many bedtime stories, but marks a meeting amateur. If you’re writing a movie script or telling a joke, your audience will give you a few minutes to interest them before they flip the channel, check text messages, or nod off. 

But in a virtual meeting, listeners aren’t always that patient. They want your bottom-line up front for two reasons: It’s hard to understand the details if you don’t first have the big-picture framework. Second, listeners expect immediate relevancy. 

Many people insist that they always start their conversations, emails, presentations, and proposals with an executive overview.  But having heard thousands of such briefings in client coaching sessions, I disagree. They don’t.

Instead, most start with a purpose statement—a warm-up drill, stating what they intend to say—later. In a virtual meeting, the comment sounds something like this: “Let me share my experience with what we’ve been talking about. I know our situations may be entirely different. But when I think of the real cost of a survey like this, I’m inclined to . . . .” 

All lead-in details. Not a real summary. Instead, start strong. Summarize your key point or conclusion. Then circle back and elaborate with details.

12. Sort the Significant from the Trivial

Squelch the urge to “speak your truth” in every meeting on every topic. 

To gain buy-in from colleagues, know how to sift the significant from the myriad information you may have at hand. Your reputation rests on what you choose to say, how you allocate your time, and what data you decide to share. 

13. Ask Thought-Provoking Questions

Executive management teams insist that a key value advisory boards offer is asking the right questions. Questions guide discussions and prevent missteps. Consultants provide their clients the same service. Going into a new organization, they listen to stakeholders, learn the situation, analyze data, and ask questions. Their value most often lies not in the answers they provide but in the questions they ask.

The more provocative your questions, generally the stronger others consider your contribution to the outcome. Your questions showcase your distinct way of thinking about an issue. 

14. Make Your Points Memorable

How do you know if you’ve been successfully persuasive?  Are your colleagues using your illustration or phrasing at the next meeting?  Have you heard your slogan bandied about in a hallway chat?  Did others quote you in a later presentation? If so, your slogan or illustration “stuck.”

Analogies and metaphors can turn ordinary explanations into eloquent ones.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, used this analogy in a report to shareholders: “Long-term thinking is both a requirement and an outcome of true ownership. Owners are different from tenants. I know of a couple who rented out their house and the family who moved in nailed their Christmas tree to the hardwood floors instead of using a tree stand. Expedient, I suppose, and admittedly these were particularly bad tenants, but no owner would be so short-sighted. Similarly, many investors are effectively short-term tenants, turning their portfolios over so quickly they are really just renting the stocks that they temporarily ‘own.’”

Such comparisons don’t exactly solicit an emotional response; they simply clarify a complex concept. Metaphors, on the other hand, imply a comparison and typically evoke an emotion. Both types of comparisons can be succinct, yet powerful ways to manage how well your listeners remember what you say. 

How You Act

“How you act” refers to personality traits, values, character, and competence. Do you have a sense of humor? Are you courteous? Empathetic? Approachable? Do you exude confidence—but not arrogance? What’s your reputation and track record for competence in your job? 

How do these characteristics come across online? Much the same way as they do when you’re together in the same room.

15. Forget Multitasking

Multitasking (reading text messages, responding to email, working on a document) while others are interacting says to the group, “You’re boring me.” And that’s not a good way to build rapport or credibility. 

Turning off your camera so that others can’t watch you multitask does not serve the purpose intended. The “video off” and “video on” tactic simply draws attention to your inattention. When you show up to a meeting, show up with the intent to participate fully.

16. Master the Technology

Be mindful of when to mute and unmute yourself. Others in the meeting grow impatient when they see someone’s lips moving and arms gesturing, but are unable to hear them. 

Another thing: Practice until you can smoothly and quickly share your screen to show a slide or a document. Having the group wait on you while you figure things out in real-time leaves an impression—a negative one.

17. Avoid Interrupting

A friend mentioned this behavior to me just yesterday after a Zoom meeting with seven of his colleagues to improve a new process for hiring and performance reviews. “Man, Chris is really becoming annoying in these meetings. It seems like every time a thought flashes in his mind, he just blurts out. No matter who’s talking and what they’re talking about. Bam—Chris throws the discussion in a totally different direction. Did you know he was like that?”

I didn’t. I’ve never worked closely with Chris. But now I have a totally different impression of his personality and competence—or incompetence. Timing is a clear “tell” about personality and values. 

18. Exit with Manners

As a party-goer, you’ve learned to politely excuse yourself from a conversation rather than just slip away unnoticed. The same is true online. If you need to leave the meeting early, you don’t want to create an interruption but neither should you simply disappear from the screen without notice.

An appropriate exit technique is either to tell your colleagues up front that you’ll be leaving early or add an exit line in the chat: “I apologize for having to leave early for another meeting. I’ll catch up with Deepak later to see what I’ve missed.”

To repeat: Executive presence flows from how you look, how to talk, how you think, and how you act. Adapting to today’s technology, you can convey your credibility online as powerfully as when you’re physically present. Small changes can make a big impact.

The post 18 Ways to Increase Executive Presence in Zoom Meetings appeared first on Team Building Hub.

Team building games are an important element of the workplace. They help groups find common ground, learn to work together and establish trust. If your team is currently working from home, you can use virtual team building games for Zoom to take advantage of the benefits of team building without even leaving the house! Read on for Zoom team building ideas and activities!

Although most people around the world assumed that we would all be back to living life as usual by the beginning of 2021, it’s pretty clear that isn’t the case. An Upwork survey revealed that 25% of working Americans will be working from home through 2021, and more and more people will transition as the years go on.

As the transition happens, we’re also seeing a shift in the way that people communicate. Because remote workers don’t often, if ever, see their team in person, they use video conferencing software like Zoom.

Zoom is a great tool because it’s completely free and can host up to 100 users at a time. No matter how large or small your group is, you can all see each other on your computer screen, listen, and communicate with one another! This not only makes it perfect for virtual team meetings, but it’s also great for virtual team building games.

In this article:

• How to use Zoom
• Team building activities
• Team building benefits

If you’ve been thinking about hosting a virtual team building event, but aren’t exactly sure where to start, we are here to help! The following are twenty of the most fun virtual team building games for Zoom. These are all affordable options (some are even free!) and they can all be done from the comfort of your own home. Before we get into the list, let’s go over how to download and use Zoom.

How To Use Zoom For Virtual Team Building

You’ll need Zoom to try out these Zoom team building activities! Good news – downloading and using Zoom is very easy – anyone can do it!

1. Go to https://zoom.us/download 
2. Click the Download button under “Zoom for client meetings”
3. Once the download is complete, install the application on your computer
4. Make an account – you can either use your work email or utilize the single sign on feature through Google or Facebook
5. Host a meeting – click on the button that reads “Start A Meeting”
6. Add participants – once the meeting starts, you can invite people to join by clicking “Participant” in the bottom toolbar and then “Invite”
7. Share meeting details – Zoom will provide you with a unique link to your meeting which you can share with anyone you would like to join! The details back be sent through email, text, or a messaging app.
8. Join a meeting – to join a meeting that is already in progress, open the Zoom app and click “Join.” Enter the meeting ID that was shared with you, type in your display name, and you’re good to go!

Scheduling an Event

You can also schedule a meeting for a specific time in the future. This could be very helpful when planning a virtual team building event.

• Open up the Zoom app and click “Schedule”
• Enter the meeting details – date, time, topic, etc.
• Once you’ve entered the meeting details, you will receive your unique meeting information that you can share with everyone who is invited to attend.

That’s pretty much everything you need to know about using Zoom for virtual team building! So, without any further ado…

21 Virtual Team Building Games For Zoom

1. Virtual Escape Room

A virtual escape room is a fun activity that requires a group to communicate with each other in order to complete the tasks at hand – this makes it a great option for virtual team building! If you aren’t familiar with an escape room adventure, it’s a timed activity in which your team has to complete a series of tasks with an ultimate mission in mind. The mission can only be complete if the group can work as a cohesive, communicative team! Find other virtual escape room options here.

2. Online Mystery Games

Online mystery games from Team Building Hub are a great option for larger groups, even teams over 1,000! After everyone gets signed into the meeting, participants are broken up into smaller groups, each competing to solve a mystery the fastest. The team that exhibits the best collaboration and communication skills will finish their mission first and beat the other teams!

3. Online Game Shows

Online game shows are the perfect way to experience some friendly competition and have fun together as a team! In Team Building Hub game shows, players compete in five unique rounds where they’re challenged with puzzles, word games, and brainteasers. Teams earn points and badges, working towards the top spot on the leaderboard. The team with the most points at the end wins!

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4. Virtual Murder Mystery

Murder mystery games are classic “who dunnit?” games with a modern twist. In fact, there is actually a company called WHOdunnit and they host murder mystery games over Zoom! They have many different options for your team to choose from, so you can select whichever adventure sounds the most fun to you. Murder mystery games are perfect for virtual team building because they require creativity, communication, critical thinking, and they are a blast!

5. Trivia

There are a couple of different ways to play trivia for a virtual team building activity. First, you can come up with your own questions and frame them around your co-workers and employees. For example, you might ask, “Where is ___’s favorite place to get coffee?” or “How long has ____ been working here?”

6. Pictionary

Teams that exhibit more creativity are proven to have better problem-solving skills than those without. You can promote creativity within your teams with a team building game on Zoom like Pictionary! Use Skribbl to create an online drawing room, break your team up into pairs, and have one person draw while the other person guesses what they are drawing. Take turns until everyone in the team has gone a few times (you can set the number of rounds you’d like to play) and keep score. The team with the best communication and creativity wins!

7. Virtual Bingo

Bingo is such a classic game and a real crowd-pleaser. You might not have realized but it’s actually incredibly easy to play bingo on Zoom! All you have to do is email a bingo card to everyone along with your unique Zoom meeting link and use a service like QuizBreaker to select random bingo numbers. Before you use QuizBreaker, ask if anyone on your team has a traditional bingo ball spinner and ask if they would like to be the one who announces the numbers.

8. Baby Photos

Sharing photos can be a great way for people to get to know each other on a deeper level. Ask everyone in your group if they would be comfortable sharing baby photos, prom photos, or just funny childhood photos in general! Give each person the opportunity to share their stories and ask questions about the lives of others. This might not seem like it promotes teamwork and collaboration, but just communicating with each other and growing more comfortable speaking to one another can be a great team building game for Zoom.

9. Cooking Class

Plan a few virtual team building events and have one team member give a cooking class each time. Or, if it would make everyone more comfortable, invite a professional chef to join the zoom call and have them guide everyone to a finished meal. Once you’re done cooking, everyone can share notes on the dish and have some great conversation over dinner (and maybe a glass of wine!)

10.  Cocktail Party

This virtual team building game for Zoom is kind of like a virtual happy hour. Happy hour can be a great opportunity for team members to get to know each other in a casual setting. You can transform happy hour into a team building game by giving everyone something to follow along with and do together. For example, since this is a cocktail party, you might have everyone recreate a fancy cocktail video or choose one person to whip up a recipe and teach the rest of the group how to make it.

11.  The Pitch

If you are a larger company with many employees, and you are looking for a virtual team building game for Zoom that everyone can participate in, The Pitch is perfect for you! Break everyone up into smaller groups and have each group come up with a “pitch”– they can either come up with the idea themselves or the host will do it for them. The tasks should be generally easy and fun – nothing that has to be taken too seriously. For example, you could ask everyone to write a company jingle or pitch a commercial idea. Whoever pitches the best idea wins! Once they have their pitch all sorted out, they will pitch their idea to a designated “boss” (usually the host).

12.  Mock Shark Tank

Mock Shark Tank is similar to The Pitch, but it’s a little more challenging. Each team will come up with a product or idea that they want to pitch to an “investor.” Their creative, persuasion, and presentation skills will be put to the test here! Mock Shark Tank is a great virtual team building game for Zoom because your team very well may have to apply the scenarios they’re acting out in real life! Give the teams a set amount of time to design their product and business plan. Whoever pitches the best plan is the winner!

13.  Virtual Open Mic

Discover your team’s hidden talents and get to know them better with a virtual open mic night! Encourage each member to bring whatever they want to the (computer) microphone – poetry, singing, dancing, party tricks, magic…whatever they want as long as it’s work appropriate. But that’s up to the host to decide. Make sure you have everyone mute their microphones while someone is performing so everyone can be respectful! And don’t forget to unmute when they finish so they can get a round of applause.

14.  Movie Night

Although movie night doesn’t have everyone interact with each other, it does create a shared experience which is still great for team building. Teleparty allows users to connect with each other through Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, or Amazon Prime Video. Once everyone is connected, you can communicate with each other via chatbox on the movie screen! Take note that you might only be able to have a watch party on a laptop – not all streaming devices will let you connect through the app on a television.

15.  The 5-Minute Personality Test

This is a quick virtual team building game that you can fit into the workday and then discuss with each other at the end of the day! Not only does the 5-Minute Personality Test help team members get to know each other better, but it can help them get to know themselves better, too! Learning more about how people think, work, and feel can help you discover their strengths and weaknesses so you can understand how to work with them better. Once you understand a person’s personality type, you may be able to find a better position for them within their team at work!

16. Virtual Coffee Break

Take some time out of your day for your employees to chat with each other in a casual setting. This is a great virtual team building activity because it gets co-workers interacting with one another, but it’s also a great way to break up the workday. Working from home can be all-consuming and exhausting! Sometimes a 15-minute break to think about something other than work is all a person needs to finish the rest of the workday strong.

17. Mario Kart Tour

Everyone loves a throwback video game! Your team can play Mario Kart right from their smartphone by downloading the free Mario Kart Tour app, so no one has to worry about having a gaming console or purchasing the game. Mario Kart is sure to ignite a little bit of healthy competition and maybe even get some team members talking to each other about things that make them nostalgic for their youth!

18.  Daily “Get To Know Your Team” Questions

This is a great virtual team building activity if your team has daily meetings. Send out an email prior to your Zoom meeting with a simple question. Something like “What was your first job?” “Where is your favorite place to travel to, and why?” “What sports did you play when you were a kid?” Keep the questions light and breezy – nothing too deep or personal. You don’t want to make anyone feel like they are obligated to divulge personal information that they aren’t comfortable with sharing.

19. Stopots

Remember the game Stop? Well, Stopots is the virtual version! A letter pops up on screen and participants must quickly think of a word for each of the given categories that begins with that letter.

This is a free game that you can host through a video conference tool and share laughs at the bizarre words teammates come up with! It’s a perfect virtual team building activity for decompression, especially in creative departments with your copywriters, marketers, and designers. Who knows? Maybe your next successful campaign will emerge from a Stopots session!

20. Explore The Louvre

You won’t need a passport needed for this virtual vacation! With YouVisit.com’s virtual tour, you and your crew can take a look inside this Parisian icon and one of the world’s largest art museums. Now’s your chance to check out The Grand Gallery, Napoleon’s apartment, and several other favorite spots!

21. Museum Scavenger Hunt

Speaking of the Louvre, you can virtually explore museums worldwide with a virtual museum scavenger hunt! In this team building game for Zoom, your group can explore famous galleries online. To make it a little competitive, see who can find all the scavenger hunt checklist items first!

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What Virtual Team Building Can Do For Your Team

Virtual team building can help mitigate some of the detrimental effects that working from home can have on your team.

• If you begin to notice that your team has a few members that are feeling unsupported, lonely, or isolated, virtual team building can help remind them that they have a solid group of people that is there for them.
• Sometimes, remote workers may feel burnt out or like they’ve hit a wall in the work. A virtual teaming building exercise can help bring an element of fun and excitement that your team could be desperately missing.
• Working from home may cause employees to feel as though their work is consuming their life. Virtual team building can help those who are missing autonomy by helping them to gain trust from their other team members.
• Communication is extremely important when you work in a group of people but working miles and miles away from your co-workers can make communication difficult. Virtual team building activities give team members an opportunity to communicate with each other in a low-stakes, stress-free environment that can open the door for better communication when it’s needed: at work.

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When Should Virtual Team Building Activities Be Utilized?

Virtual team building activities are great to integrate new employees as well as bond co-workers and help them get to know each other more, among other benefits. There’s hardly ever a “bad” time to utilize virtual team building exercises, but here are a few significant opportunities.

Recruitment – Hiring and integrating team members, whether in person or remotely, can be a daunting task. Remote team building exercises can be an effective way to introduce new recruits and get them acclimated to the team!

Leadership development – Placing someone in a leadership position during a virtual team building exercise gives them the opportunity to sharpen their skills in a low-stakes environment. It also helps team members learn their leader’s style of work, develop trust, and provide feedback.

Culture and team building – Every company has its own culture that influences how team members work and interact with each other. Virtual team building exercises allow teams to positively establish that culture by taking a break from work and re-evaluating what the organization values for success. Many companies like to show employees that they are the most important contributing factor to their success!

Special events/conference – If your company is preparing for an event or special conference, this could be a perfectly opportune time to have fun with individuals outside of your immediate team, but who share the same company values! 

Employee appreciation – Virtual team building exercises can be a reward for a team’s hard work! It’s very important to remind your employees that you appreciate their efforts and everyone enjoys a little affirmation!

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Go Have Fun!

These virtual team building games for Zoom are sure to get your team working better together while having a bit of much-needed fun. Working from home can be an isolating experience and team members that feel supported by their co-workers are likely to be happier and perform better at work. Hosting regular virtual team building exercises will show your team that you care about their well-being as much as you care about their performance at work. No, go plan out your virtual team building event calendar and check back here for more ideas!

The post 21 Online Team Building Games for Zoom (2022) appeared first on Team Building Hub.

In a post-Covid world, Zoom has become part of everyday life. People, ranging from teachers and employers to students and small businesses, have had to adapt and learn new professional best practices to ensure things continue like normal. However, not everyone has learned how to use Zoom and take advantage of its features! Here we’ll break everything down to help you maximize Zoom for all your needs.

Fast Facts

• You do NOT need an account to use Zoom!
• You can use Zoom on both a computer and a mobile device

• Zoom is free to use, but there are paid options for more features!
• With an account, you can personalize Zoom calls to your taste

Finding The App

The first step to using Zoom is downloading the app! Look below to see how to do this both on a computer and a phone/mobile device.

FOR A COMPUTER

From a computer you can either log into zoom directly from a browser or download the app onto your computer!

To Download The Desktop App

1. Go to https://zoom.us/download and from the Download Center, click on the Download button under “Zoom Client For Meetings.”
2. Once the download is complete, proceed with installing the Zoom application onto your computer.
3. You’ll have the option to keep Zoom on your desktop screen or toolbar for easy access!

FOR A MOBILE DEVICE

The only way to use Zoom on a mobile device is to download the app.

To Download The Mobile App

1. Go to the App Store (for iOS) or Google Play (for Android) and download the app. You can find the app by typing “Zoom” into the search bar.
2. After the app downloads, click on it. You will see the above screen.
3. From here you can create an account, sign into a pre-existing account, or join a scheduled meeting.

Accounts — Do I Need One?

You do not need a Zoom account to use Zoom!

All you need is a link to a meeting, or the meeting ID and password. However, if you would like to host or schedule a meeting on your own and invite participants, as well as personalize settings, you will need an account.

First Time Users

After creating an account, your screen will display the the image on the right.

From here you can join a meeting, schedule a meeting, or start a new instant meeting.

You can also access your contacts list, meeting notes, chat functions, and account settings.

Adjusting Your Settings

To adjust the setting on your account, click the cog in the upper right corner of the Zoom home screen.

From here you can personalize a number of settings, such as your name, screen sharing, background choice, and accessibility settings. The options are endless!

Need To Touch Up Your Appearance?

You can use the HD camera setting, smooth the camera feed to diminish the appearance of any imperfections, and adjust the screen to adapt to low light settings!

Having Audio Issues?

From the settings tab, you can test out your microphone and speakers, choose to use headphones or the computer audio, and specify your mute settings. You can even set your Zoom ringtone!

Filters + Backgrounds

Zoom allows users to use a custom background in order to hide what’s actually going on behind the screen.

This options is perfect for those working from home with kids or other people around!

Using the backgrounds work best against a blank wall. There are also downloadable filters to add a fun, personal touch to videos.

Joining A Meeting

Joining a meeting on Zoom is easy and can be done in multiple ways! For both of these options, you do not need an account, or to be logged in. You simply need access to the Zoom app!

Clicking A Link

When you’re invited to a meeting, you can simply click the link under “Join Zoom Meeting” and you’ll access the meeting.

Meeting ID

This is a specific numerical code that is sent to participants with the meeting invitation. You can use this to log into a meeting when prompted. It also comes with a passcode.

Scheduling A Meeting

To set up a meeting, you first need to create an account and log in. After that, click “Schedule” and follow the prompts from there!

As Meeting Host, You Can:

• Set the meeting date, time, and length
• Automatically generate a meeting ID number or use a specific ID number
• Determine when users can join a call
• Allow participants to share their screens in a meeting
• Choose which calendar the event gets automatically scheduled to
• Determine group audio settings
• Pick breakout room groups
• Choose whether or not hosts and participants have access to a video feed

The Chat Feature

In meetings, participants can chat with the entire group or directly with one another.

If you would like, you can save in-meeting chats to your computer either manually or automatically.

If you save the chat locally to your computer, it will save any chats that you can see—those sent directly to you and those sent to everyone in the meeting or webinar.

Reactions + Hand Raising

Emojis and symbols can be used by call participants to provide non-verbal feedback without disrupting the meeting.

An emoji reaction icon appears on the user’s video panel for 10 seconds once used. However, reactions like Raise Hand, Yes, No, and Slow down stay on screen and must be manually removed by either the participant or the host.

In class, these are a great way to alert the teacher that you have a question or something to say. For participants in professional settings, these can be used to cheer on coworkers or express joy about big company news!

Breakout Rooms

Breakout rooms allow hosts to split their meeting up into 50 separate sessions. These rooms are great if you’d like to facilitate a team building activity or allow individuals in smaller departments to discuss a topic concerning the larger group!

The meeting host can choose to split the participants of the meeting into these separate sessions by using the option along the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

Hosts can have users split into different rooms automatically, manually, or they can allow participants to select and enter breakout sessions as they please. The host can switch between sessions at any time.

Photo Source: University of Illinois

Recording

Zoom videos are not automatically recorded, but meeting hosts can choose to record and save them without participants’ consent. However, participants do receive a notification when a host starts to record. Recording a sessions could be particularly useful for teachers and professors who would like to give their students the ability to hear lessons and lectures again.

Pricing

Zoom is available free of charge to anyone and the free version offers all the features most users will need! Free Zoom offers and supports:

• Video conferencing for up to 100 participants
• Chat functions
• Virtual backgrounds
• Unlimited one-on-one meetings
• Screen sharing
• A 40-minute meeting length, at which point attendees are ejected from the call. However, the host can simply start another call and participants can dial back in.

The paid version of Zoom extends the time limit for group video conferences to 24 hours and also allows the host to record meetings to the cloud or an on-device storage and schedule repeat meetings. Learn more about Zoom’s pricing plans.

Virtual Escape Rooms

One of the most distinct uses for Zoom calls is virtual team building. Virtual team building gives remote teams the opportunity to bond and connect with each other, even from a distance.

Virtual escape rooms from Team Building Hub allow teams to create memorable experiences with friends and family, no matter where you’re all located. These online adventures are real escape rooms you can play from your home or office over Zoom! All games are live and hosted by a Game Guide. With our virtual escape room experiences, you can laugh, problem-solve, and work together as you make your way through one of our challenging adventures! Find other virtual escape room options here.

Split Screen

Virtual escape rooms work best when players utilize split screens on their computers. That way you can see the live escape room video feed and your team on Zoom all at once. However, split screens are useful for various Zoom scenarios, not just online escape rooms!

To Utilize Split Screens: On A Mac

1. Click and hold down on the green circle in the upper left corner of your browser window
2. Click on “Tile Window to ___ of Screen.” You can choose whether the window appears on the left or the right of your screen.
3. Then click on the other active browser window you would like to appear on the opposite side of the screen.

To Utilize Split Screens: On A PC

1. Click and hold down on the title bar of your browser window
2. Drag the window all the way to either the left side of the screen. Once the window can no longer move, release the mouse.
3. Other active browser windows will appear on the opposite side of the screen. Click the one you would like to see in split-screen view.

Want to do team building activities on Zoom? Here are some options!

• Online Zoom Games
• Zoom Icebreakers for Large Groups
• Virtual Company Celebrations
• Virtual Awards Ceremony

The post The Complete Guide on How To Use Zoom (2022) appeared first on Team Building Hub.