Video Meeting Host Coach

Schedule a Zoom meeting

1. Sign in at zoom.us. Click "Schedule a Meeting".
2. Topic ("Sunday Family Call"), date, time.
3. Optional: Recurring meeting — "Every Sunday at 5 PM".
4. Save. Zoom gives you a link.
5. Email or text the link to family.
6. Two minutes before the meeting, click "Start".

During the meeting

• Mute people who aren\'t talking — tap their name → Mute. Stops echo.
• Spotlight a speaker — pin on screen for everyone.
• Screen share — show photos, recipes, or an article. Tap "Share screen".
• Chat — type in the chat box for things you don\'t want to say out loud.
• Record — Zoom can record the meeting. Useful for grandkids who couldn\'t make it.
• Reactions — clapping or thumbs-up emoji without interrupting.

Managing chaos

• "Mute on entry" — Zoom setting that mutes everyone joining. Saves echo chaos.
• Waiting room — you approve people one by one. Stops Zoom-bombing.
• Co-host — promote one tech-savvy family member to help mute and manage.
• "Speaker view" vs "Gallery view" — speaker view shows whoever\'s talking big. Gallery shows everyone.
• Set a soft "wrap-up" time 10 min before the 40-min limit. Family hate it when calls cut off mid-conversation.

For older relatives joining

• Send the link 5 minutes before, not days ahead — they\'ll lose it.
• Add a phone number they can call IN to (Zoom and Meet both have toll-free dial-in numbers).
• Walk them through joining once on a separate test call.
• Suggest they\'ll need to "Allow" microphone and camera the first time.
• If they freeze, ask them to leave the meeting and rejoin — fixes 80% of issues.