ZOOM Instructions
HOW TO JOIN GROUP TALKS AND MEETINGS WITH ZOOM
Introduction
1. Zoom is a popular way to allow people to take part in talks and meetings from their
own home over the internet. It’s free, and you don’t need to open an account.
Bourton & District U3A is hosting a number of talks at monthly meetings this way
(including the AGM), and GOs can do the same for their groups.
2. Zoom works best if you download it before the meeting. You download it from here:
https://zoom.us/download
3. If you want to participate fully your device will need a camera, microphone and
speakers. You can switch these off at any time. Most recent laptops and
smartphones have these built in, but you can also attach them externally.
Joining the Meeting
4. The B&D U3A Chair will send members of the group an email a couple of days
beforehand, from chairperson@banddu3a.org.uk. It will remind you of the meeting’s
date and time and contain a link for you to click on at that time. It will also contain a
reference number and password – with some devices it is easier to use these instead
of the link. Please do not share this with anyone outside B&D U3A unless you have
asked the GO.
5. When you click on the link, one or several different message boxes may appear. Click
on any that say something like “Launch Meeting”, “Open Link” or “Allow this site to
open zoom meeting link”.
6. You should then see “Please wait, the meeting host will let you in soon”. You will be
sent to the “Waiting Room”, and in a few seconds admitted to the meeting. If you see
messages such as “Join with Video” and “Join with Audio”, click on OK: you can
always decline later.
At the Meeting
7. You will see a screenful of people who are also at the meeting, each showing their
name. There may be some blank portraits with only names – this is what you would
look like if you stopped your video.
8. Move your cursor over the bottom of the screen, and a bar with various icons will
appear. In the bottom-left corner is the Mute/Unmute icon: with Unmute you can talk
to the rest of the meeting and get help if you need it (you must also have your laptop’s
microphone switched on via the keyboard). The speaker may ask everyone to Mute
their sessions when they start the talk.
9. You can also ask questions or send messages by pressing the Chat icon (bottom
middle) and typing your question. Select who you want to send it to, and press Enter.
10. You can leave the meeting at any time by pressing the red End button in the bottom
right-hand corner. See you at our next meeting!