..or happy hours, or family get-togethers, or any of the virtual gatherings you’re attending these days.
Whether Zoom, Webex, or Microsoft Teams is your video conferencing app of choice, it’s fair to say we’ve all been in the same meeting a million times about now. As fun as your coworkers are, as much as you love a family get-together, at this point, we all need something to spice up meetings and happy hours.
Let’s start off with some video conferencing tips to make sure you’re putting your best face forward (literally and figuratively).
Camera angle
Your laptop is a better choice than your phone, and aiming the camera closer to face level is best. This prevents the double chin and doesn’t give your video conference friends any weird views from below your nose (if you get what I’m saying). This doesn’t need to be fancy; stack books, a laundry basket, or your latest Amazon box under your laptop to bring it to face level.
Virtual backgrounds
For when you haven’t cleaned your space or for just having fun. This feature will spice up the most monotonous of meetings. You can even put videos up. Some people have taken to recording themselves to play pranks on their video conferencing crew.
Be the host with the most
If this is your meeting, own it and have an agenda. Keep people on track and don’t be afraid to make sure you end on time. That being said, if you know your meetings are lasting a while, don’t be afraid to upgrade your membership. The 40 minute limit on Zoom gets old pretty quickly, whether you’re using it for business or for fun. Even if you’re just hosting an internal team virtual happy hour (we love these at KICKS), leading the group by having your favorite beverage ready at the start sets the mood and gets people going in the meeting.
Mute yourself
Don’t be afraid of the mute button. Making some coffee? Your roommate, spouse, or kids in the background? That button is probably the most courteous thing you can do while on one of these calls.
Now that we have some basics covered, let’s jump into some fun ideas to spice up your meetings. These are truly to invite some fun and spark some entertainment for your squad. If your meetings are a little more formal, save these ideas for your happy hour.
Goat-2-Meeting
Maybe the best and most fun thing to happen in all of this is Goat-2-Meeting. Want a llama to join your Zoom call? No problem. Sweet Farm in Half Moon Bay, California is here for all your farm animal zoom call needs.
Interesting Questions
Start your meeting with some fun questions to have your chit chat time be a little more off-the-wall than usual. Simply search for “road trip questions” or things of the like and plenty of lists will pop up. Games like ‘Would You Rather?’ or questions pertaining to deeper ideas will get you out of the usual weather talk.
JackBox Games
Any gamers in the bunch? They probably know what Steam is and how to hook this up for your group. If not, there are plenty of tutorials and instructions on their site. JackBox makes party games for online use, and you can play these over video conferencing pretty easily. Quibbage, Quiplash, and Drawful are a few of my favorites that I suggest you try!
Powerpoint Parties
Are your coworkers secret experts on random topics? Now is the time to find out. Whether pop culture is your jam, conspiracy theories, or even the history of a not-so-well-known event or person, put it all in a PowerPoint to explain to your friends, coworkers or family members. Ask them to do the same. This ends up being hilarious and informative. You’ll probably learn something new and find out what secret passions your coworkers or friends are holding in.
From Crazy Eights to Euchre, most card games are on this website. They even have one titled Remote Insensitivity that is extremely similar to Cards Against Humanity, so if that’s what you’re into, check this site out.
Our team is excited for trivia nights to come back, so I know there are others out there probably feeling the same. This website will generate trivia quizzes for you. You choose categories, number of questions, number of rounds, and get to answering to keep those trivia skills in tip-top shape.
Hopefully one or more of these ideas are helpful to spice up your typical meetings and hangouts you are having virtually. If you have any other ideas that we didn’t mention, head on over to our Instagram, we’d love to hear them!
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