Zoom: Preparing for a large group meeting or presentation

Are you planning on hosting a meeting in Zoom where you would like to have more control over your attendees? Here are some important settings to check and be familiar with.  If you have any questions please contact the Tech Desk and let us know if you need assistance preparing for your Zoom meeting! 

Zoom account settings to select before scheduling meeting

1. Go to stthomas.zoom.us and sign in with your St. Thomas credentials.
2. Click on the Settings tab from the left-hand menu. (Note: there is a search bar at the top of the settings page to help find the following settings)
3. Click on Meeting at the top and scroll down to the In Meeting (Basic) section and ensure the following settings are setup:
   1. Under Screen sharing and Who can share, select the bubble for Host Only.

2. Scroll down to Annotation and check the box for Only the user who is sharing can annotate.

Settings to check when scheduling your meeting

• Check the box to enable the Waiting Room.
• Click Show next to Options to see the following:
  • Uncheck Allow participants to join at any time.
  • Check Mute participants upon entry. 
  • If your attendees all have St. Thomas accounts, then check Only authenticated users can join. This is the best way to prevent Zoom bombers. It will limit your meeting to only allow participants that have @stthomas.edu accounts to join.
• Add anyone who will be speaking, screen-sharing, or helping run the meeting as an Alternative Host. This will allow them to unmute themselves and share their screen.  For any non-St. Thomas participants, this will need to be done during the meeting (see below).

Settings to change when the meeting is started

Chat options ("..." button in chat window)

• Allow participants to Chat with host and co-hosts (optional). This will prevent participants from chatting with one another or sending messages to the entire group.

Participants window

• If the Participants window is not already open, open it by click on the Participants button on the Zoom toolbar.
• When you are ready to begin your meeting, click the Admit all button in the top-right of the Participants window.

• If there are any participants who will be speaking and are not already set as alternative hosts, make them co-hosts by hovering over their name and clicking More > Make co-host. Note: This is the only way to make a non-St. Thomas user a co-host, as they cannot be set as an alternative host when scheduling the meeting.

Spotlight for everyone

If you would like to have only your presenter's camera visible to your attendees, you can enable Spotlight for everyone.

1. Hover your mouse over the presenter's video, and click on the three dots in the upper-right corner.
2. Select Spotlight for everyone. This will make your presenter full screen on your attendees' screens.

General Tips

• Consider having a PowerPoint slide shared before participants join that lets the incoming participants know the meeting will be starting soon.
• When all participants are admitted at once, it may take up to 30 seconds for everyone to be let into the meeting. Start the meeting with a greeting and allow time for participants to enter before starting the introductions or presentations.
• Use Microsoft Teams for back-channel communication between hosts and co-hosts during the meeting.

Settings to know during the meeting

Participants Window

• Mute a participant: If someone in your Zoom meeting has their microphone on and is making unwanted noise (whether intentional or not), you can mute their microphone. Hover over their name in the Participants window and click Mute.

• ​​​​​Remove a participant: If a participant is being disruptive, you can remove them from the meeting. Hover over a participant's name and click More > Remove . This will remove them from the meeting and prevent them from re-joining on the same device.