Speedify LIVE: How to Make Zoom Work for You

The 43rd episode of Speedify Live is all about Zoom as we’re joined by Alec Johnson, entrepreneur, Master Class mentor and the brains behind the Take One Tech YouTube channel, which focuses on various tutorials regarding Mac productivity, using Ecamm, mastering all the features Zoom has to offer, and more.

Alec shares with us what his Zoom Master Class is all about, his experiences making YouTube videos, and a couple useful tips for anyone using Zoom.

Here are our 5 takeaways from our talk with Alec Johnson:

1. Alec emphasizes the need to learn Zoom’s keyboard shortcuts, as it can make your flow more seamless, help avoid distractions and make you seem more professional. And if you use a Streamdeck, you can program it for the Zoom shortcuts and make things even easier!
2. According to Alec, whenever streaming, doing Zoom calls, or making videos, audio is the most important thing to get right first! Sounding better can make a huge difference in your experience and how you’re perceived. Then, you can focus on lighting, because good lighting can even make a bad camera look good.
3. Zoom allows you to record your call either locally or to the cloud, and you can even stream the call directly to YouTube! You can set whether the call becomes public or unlisted, and later you can edit the description, add time stamp chapters and captions.
4. Instead of just using the virtual backgrounds available in Zoom, Alec says getting an actual green screen, which you can do for cheap, is a much better option. It allows Zoom to do a much better job of keying out the background so you can avoid distractions on your call. Just make sure the green screen is well lit and pulled tight so it’s flat and has no shadows on it!
5. If you’re running a big meeting, Alec recommends having everyone start on mute by default, which you can set up if you’re the host. You can also assign people to be co-hosts so they can help moderate members, let them in, or mute them if needed.