Esther
Good morning and welcome to the Monday morning marketing podcast. I'm Esther and today I'm being joined by Barbara Edwards. How are you, Barbara?
Barbara
Hello, Esther, and delighted to be a guest on your podcast. Thank you so much.
Esther
Thank you for being here today. We're going to be talking about Zoom, and Barbara has been using Zoom since before it was popular isn't that right, Barbara?
Barbara
Yeah, I've been using it for the last few years actually when it was in its infancy, and if I'd known what was coming down the road I would've bought shares.
Esther
You missed the boat on that one.
Barbara
I did.
Esther
So why did you start using Zoom? What was one of the benefits that you saw in it?
Barbara
Well, actually, for me was one of the easiest things, and even though I know we've had loads and loads of updates and even a couple of years ago when I was using it online, I still found it to be safer and more secure when it came to data, and particularly when you're dealing with a client, and it was much more secure linked to the lines then, like I'm in coaching, so I need to make sure that I'm chatting to somebody online face to face by screen, that the connection is secure. So the other things that we would normally use for the office we would have on our phone, and we're more social media type apps, so to me, those connections just I wasn't happy, it was just a personal thing a couple of years ago, obviously, now things have changed and we moved on an awful lot from that, and we're now on Zoom version five, I think I was one point five or two or something like that when I started, and whenever I see five, which is, by the way, I recommend everybody get it was updated on the first or you're going to have problems in the days coming down the road, so yeah, it just the security of the connection and now we can actually lock the meeting and leave the waiting room and all of these things now have been improved, so that's why and it's a great platform, so simple.
Esther
Yeah and that's even true for the free version right? Because you're in the paid version, but there is a free version of the app for those who don't want to be spending, I don't even know how much it is per month.
Barbara
Yeah, there is the free version of Zoom is really flexible and the paid version is working out, I think it's seventeen or eighteen euros per month, and I suppose because I do so much it's well worth that extra, it's well worth the cost for me.
Esther
But, what would you get extra with? What would the difference be between the paid version and the free version?
Barbara
Well, I suppose on the paid version, when you when you're going in to set up your account, you're going into the settings there are more options for how you invite people and settings and even being able to stream, say if I want to stream onto my websites, you know, at the moment it's a while since I've been looking at the free version, maybe they have brought this on since, but I could do a live stream into my websites or I can do a live and into my LinkedIn if I want to, or any other platforms, and as it is, I would do a live every week on Facebook, so that is definitely one of the things and I don't know what I'd actually have to fill up the settings now because I'm a long time on the page version, but it's definitely down to how you set up your meetings, how you invite people and the different options that they have as a recipient and of accessing the meetings as well, so there are just a few more security measures built in that suit me better being on the paid platform, but I like it, you know. Yes. Carful. Thank you.
Esther
I'm sorry I didn't mean to throw you a curveball there, but there are other advantages as well aren't there? There are the ones of extra time on the paid version, the free version gives you so many minutes of recording.
Barbara
Thank you. Thank you. Yes, that's is that I know this. I couldn't think because it is a long time since I've been on the free one, you get thirty-five is a forty, forty-five minutes I think forty to forty-five minutes on the free version, but I could do twenty-three-hour lines if I wanted to a meeting, you can run your whole multiple meeting for twenty-three hours, there's no time limit, and you can add, also on the free version, there's a limit on the number of participants, but once you start going into the paid versions, then you can increase that too. Now there is and I would be on the first level of payment, which is rich, and most people, if they're going on the paid version, that's what it is, because the next level after that, which is a bit of a downside, you have to have a minimum of 10 hosts, so you kind of go either you're on a paid version for one person, one host or 10, there's no standing in between, which is a feast or famine, although there are options that you can add on a once-off, like if I decided to do or anyone decided to do a three-day webinar series you can buy for just two or three days that you're running the webinar series and they make it again, but to do that, you have to be on the individual payment plan, you cannot get that from the free library.
Esther
So there are advantages and as you said, a lot more security has been added recently as well, because a lot of people, whenever the lockdown started and we're still in Corona time and everyone just jumped on disownment and platforms like it, there are other options out there everybody we're not just promoting Zoom, but it's one of the ones that has been most used recently, everybody just jumped on and then there were hackers and zoom-bombers and everything.
Barbara
And as a result of that, you know, in fairness to them, I have to say, you know, there's been an update after update after update after update, and one of the things that I did find, and it is negative on it, was that for a period there, I discovered that it was duplicating the ID number I used Gsuite for all my and Google stuff, and what I discovered was that when I was scheduling my meeting, it was going through the Gsuite login as well, so I would go onto Zoom, schedule a meeting, the meeting to add it to my calendar was actually this is how I just kind of work it out of my head, somebody else might have a more techie, but I think it was putting it through the Gsuite plugin and in the same meeting two ID numbers were being created, so that was common, so I had to resign eventually anyway that I removed the plugin and we're back to square on, it's fine, and it was a down side, and the other thing I discovered was that when you're holding a meeting and you change your screen and you want to share your screen, that you and the host move to a thumbnail sized image up on the top of the screen in the corner so they can share everything, but actually, it will only retain that with the thumbnail if you recorded to cloud to the actual cloud, and so that when you play it back, you see yourself in the thumbnail, but if you record it to your computer, the thumbnail is gone, so that's the difference, too, in a recording, so people need to kind of be aware of things like that on the recording their meeting if it's something that's being recorded and if you want to hang onto your thumbnails of speakers or whoever it is, it's appearing on the screen, make sure you do the cloud and to your hard drive.
Esther
And would you have to get everyone's permission before recording your meeting?
Barbara
Yeah, absolutely. Without a shadow of a doubt, and you know, the GDP or regulations, I mean, you have to have permission from anybody or from everybody, should I say, if you are recording, there are very, very few I would record, the only thing I record is the live stream that would go out on my Facebook, and after that, no, unless I'm a participant in something that I know is being recorded, but then you can turn off your camera, you can still see that they can't see you, so you have the option of your camera being off if you don't want your face recorded, but you have to tell everybody that it is possible, this is being a particularly a training one, if you were doing an in-house company training, you'd say, right, guys, this is the training we're going to show to the other departments, we're going to be recording it, so they have to know they have to be made aware of that. Yeah.
Esther
And there is a chat box along the side, right? There's a chatbox as well. Can everybody see what's been written in the box?
Barbara
Yeah, it's up to the host whether they allow us to be shown in the first place or not because, in eurozone settings, you might decide to know what I don't want any, it just wants there are other non-verbal communication options you can put in, like your thumbs up or thumbs down or little hand claps, and so there are all these emojis that you can use to rather than have a full chance because it can be quite distracting, but that's down to a host and their personal choice.
Esther
So at the minute, there's been a lot of talk about Zoom fatigue and webcast fatigue in general, just being on-screen constantly because a lot of businesses that have just moved on to the working from home concept seem to want to watch their employees day in, day out, watch them sitting at the computer or watch that hey're always on screen. Is there any way to combat the fatigue, is there anything that you could say to those employers that want to constantly be looking at their employees? Is there a reason? You know.
Barbara
Zoom fatigue is and I mean, it is very, very real, and if it's a case, that's what I would find, if an employer is working, if their employee, the chances are, is that the employee is actually logging into a company system so they know that their employee is online and has logged in and they know their employees will work, hey have to be able to trust their employees that they are there, and as a call to say, you know, give them the trust because it will come back, Zoom fatigue is like mentally we're actually chatting now, like, I cannot see you, I'm in Donegal, you're Down, so this is the kind of thing that's going on, but mentally, you have to be so focused and physically that can drain, so whereas when you're face to face with a person, your whole top to toe, mentally and physically is engaged in the conversation, so what's not coming across menti? You're showing with a hand sign or you shift your shoulders, you tilt your head, so you have the body language is helping with the conversation, but on Zoom and on audio when like if it's a case that the camera's off and they're even just chatting via the mic link and that's actually where the tape because you're looking for the language because the body language is not there to also counter with the conversation if you will, and that's what makes it so exhausting.
Esther
So in a way, video calls are a happy medium between not being able to make up a person's presence, and maybe this will continue on for a long time, but it could also be the new norm where instead of having a face to face meetings with clients or with prospects or with coaching clients, then you would be meeting online like this and just using the hand signals and using your eye movements and using that to direct the rest of your body language that people can see from the screen door.
Barbara
Yeah, so, yeah, I mean, like, I could be sitting here in my pajama bottom for all of this going to impact on my work, you know, just slow down, so to me and I would be a very expressive person, so why would I need to use my hands? So if I'm given a choice between, look, we just do the mic only or we do the video on a please give me the video because I can use my hands, you can react with my face the same, and, you know, because the tone of voice without an expression is just to tone down irritation.
Esther
Yeah. OK, so Barbara, just wrapping up a story. That's OK. Barbara took forever, forever, forever, talked about Donegal in the whole of Ireland, the whole of Europe wrapping up some Zoom etiquette, what are the some of the do's and don'ts of Zoom if somebody is just starting to use it recently?
Barbara
OK, dos and don'ts. Absolutely. Make sure that if it's business that you already have your business and your colleagues or whatever and they know you well enough that you're what we expect from you, if you're meeting someone, you what I would suggest is please try and clear either all the clutter from behind your camera and it's not great looking at someone's storeroom, is that where you happen to be? You can use a virtual background, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, it can just be a plain picture, you know, dropped into your settings for a virtual background just to block out your home, you want, t to look like that space that you're sitting in where you are working or where you were delivering your training or whatever, that's definitely one thing. Don't be afraid to smile, look straight into the camera, block off your screen, if you happen to be on a laptop or a PC monitor or even if you're on the phone for the most part across the screen of your phone and look straight into the camera because what that means is actually you are looking into the eye of the person on the other side and if you put a sheet in front of your screen or your monitor under your camera, it means your eye is not drawn down to look at that person, because actually, all they see them is your forehead and practically closed eyelids and that, so they will be my top three.
Esther
Great, thank you very much for that, Barbara, thanks for joining us today. You can find Barbara Edwards at BeCoached.ie and at WellExpo.ie, you can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Barbara, it has been a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you very much. See you again next week.
Barbara
Bye bye.