August 25, 2020 | Rachel Wagner Zoom favorite things, you ask? How can you have favorite things when most of the world is feeling Zoom fatigued? Like many of you, I’ve had to learn to do things in a ‘new way’ because of the ‘new day’ we’re currently in. I came into the Zoom world a bit late…not until May 2020, after removing my caregiving hat for a family member. I quickly realized it wasn’t going to be “business as usual” for my business etiquette firm, Rachel Wagner Etiquette, and Protocol. For the past 14 years, I have loved presenting live speaking and training events on various business and dining etiquette topics to the corporate and association markets. Playing Catch-up But, now I realized I needed to fast-track my own virtual learning. I needed to deep dive and play catch-up to be able to present virtually, as many of my colleagues were already doing. So, deep dive, I did and continue to do! I am excited to be learning about and practicing my new Zoom skills. A Few of My Favorites So, during this time of Zoom fatigue, I thought I would share a “few of my favorite things”… Zoom favorite things, that is. Consider enabling these features in your settings if you are not already using them. Here are my top three: The “touch up my appearance” setting: Ooh, love it! While it doesn’t take 10 years off your age and remove all your wrinkles, it does give you an airbrushed look so that you’re camera ready. You can toggle this feature in your Video Settings. Play music for participants as you open the Waiting Room for them to enter the Main Room. First, create a playlist. (As an Amazon Prime member, I used Amazon music). Pick upbeat tunes. I have pop tunes as well as a somewhat brisk Mozart piano concerto. (Different tunes for different “audiences.”) Next, click Share Screen, click on advanced (to play computer sound). Have your playlist ready to go in an open browser window. I also like to play music when I bring participants out of Breakout Rooms back into the Main room. Customize your Waiting Room. Do this in settings when you schedule your Zoom meeting. For example, when my dining etiquette participants are in the Waiting Room, they’ll see some dining etiquette tips in the notes area of the Waiting Room. When my Office Professionalism participants are in the Waiting Room, they’ll see some office etiquette tips. Raindrops on Roses ‘Raindrops on roses’ and ‘brown paper packages tied up with strings’ are still a few of my favorite things (via Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music). But, if Zoom virtual presentations must now be a part of my skill set in this Coronavirus world, it’s nice to have a few Zoom favorite things. Watch my 2-minute video on why your company may want to consider virtual presentations for employees’ professional development (even if they’re working remotely) and learn about my most popular business etiquette sessions that are now available, virtually. Rachel Wagner is a licensed business etiquette consultant, trainer and speaker, and owner of the Oklahoma-based business etiquette firm Rachel Wagner Etiquette and Protocol. www.EtiquetteTrainer.com Rachel provides onsite and virtual business and dining etiquette presentations for corporate clients in Oklahoma and around the country. She is often interviewed and quoted in local and national media outlets including Forbes, Business Insider, and The Washington Post.