In this brave new cyber-world, many of us have become well-acquainted with Zoom; others haven’t had much interaction with the platform. Whether you’re new to Zoom or just hoping to brush up on it, this post will guide you through using this tool to participate in a webinar, as an attendee or a presenter. For any specific aspects of Zoom that are troubling you, click the point below to review that section.

Downloading Zoom

Joining a Webinar

Joining through a Phone Call

Viewing the Webinar

Sharing your Screen (Presenters)

Participating in Q&A

Answering Q&A (Presenters)

Accessing Webinar Recordings

Downloading Zoom

While you can attend Zoom meetings and webinars directly from your browser, some features, such as interaction with polls, are only available through the Zoom application. To install the Zoom app on any desktop or laptop computer, click this link. Zoom can also be installed on tablets or phones through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, but some features will be unavailable.

Joining a Webinar

After you register for a Hawkes Zoom Webinar, you will receive a registration confirmation email from the Marketing Team with the link to join. You can also find this link on the webinar registration confirmation page. Either way, simply click on the link, and when your browser prompts you to open your Zoom application, click on “Open.”

If you join the webinar before the host, you will be met with a waiting screen like this. Although you may test your audio here, you do not need to do anything until the host joins and opens the webinar for attendees.

Once the webinar begins, you will be prompted to click “Join With Computer Audio” or choose “Test Speaker and Microphone” to ensure that your audio is working. For more information on how to join a Zoom Webinar, see the Zoom Help Center.

Joining through a Phone Call

If your computer audio is not working, you can still listen to the webinar audio through your phone. Check the bottom of your registration confirmation email and dial the number provided. When prompted by the recorded message, with your keypad, enter the unique Webinar ID number, located directly beneath the audio phone numbers, and you will be connected shortly. More information on this process can also be found on Zoom Help Center.

Viewing the Webinar

Once the webinar begins, you can see live video of the host(s) or presenter(s) on the top right of the screen and presentation slides in the middle of it. Unlike in a Zoom meeting, on a webinar, you will not share your video or audio and the chat feature will be disabled. If you must leave the webinar early, click on “Leave Meeting” on the bottom right of your screen. If you are able to return before the webinar ends, you can rejoin with the same link as before. We also send the recording of the webinar to all registrants within a few days of the webinar.

More information on Zoom Webinar attendance can be found on Zoom Help Center.

Sharing Your Screen (Presenters)

If you are going to present with a visual aid such as a PowerPoint, charts, or video, then you will need to share your screen. First, make sure that you have all of your visual aids loaded and ready before sharing the screen, in order to avoid any unanticipated technical difficulties during the presentation. Turn off push notifications also to avoid interruptions. Then, once you are in the webinar, click the green “Share Screen” button at the bottom of your window, and select the screen you want to share. If you are playing a video and want attendees to hear the audio, check the “Share computer sound” box at the bottom left. Once you’ve chosen what screen to share, press “Share.”

While in the share screen, you can mute yourself, stop your video stream, pause your current shared screen, or show a poll through the meeting control bar. For more information on each of these actions, refer to the Zoom Help Center. When you are done sharing your screen, press the red “Stop Share” button directly under the meeting control bar.

Participating in Q&A

You can ask the presenters questions and engage with other attendees through the Q&A feature. To open the Q&A box, click the Q&A button on the bottom of your screen, and then type your question or comment into the box. You may receive answers or follow-up comments in text, or the host(s) could answer you verbally during the webinar.

You can also “like” or respond to other attendees’ questions. To “like” a question, click on the thumbs-up icon below it. To reply to a question, click “Comment” and then press “Send.”

Answering Q&A (Presenters)

If you are a presenter and want to answer an attendee’s question, click the Q&A button. Once you see the question, you can either press Type Answer to respond, or you can indicate that you will answer the question verbally during your presentation by clicking on the Answer Live button.

Accessing Webinar Recordings

If you missed a Hawkes webinar, had to leave early, or are interested in browsing previous webinars, all of our recordings can be found on the Hawkes Learning blog, categorized by subject. You can also email marketing@hawkeslearning.com for a specific link or to ask any other questions.