Guide for Online
RC Workshops and RC Webinars on Zoom
updated August 2021
Muting & Unmuting
On a group call (especially large groups), it may help to mute everyone to avoid distracting noises. If you decide to mute, ask everyone to mute themselves unless they are talking. The meeting Host or Co-host can mute everyone in a single click, but it is usually better if people mute and unmute themselves. Note: in general, nobody else (including the Host or Co-host) can unmute a participant (for privacy reasons) - however Hosts and Co-hosts can “Ask to Unmute”, which prompts a participant to unmute themself.
At the start of the meeting, make sure participants know how to mute/unmute and remind everyone to mute themselves when they finish talking. When acting as Host, it is useful to keep the “Manage Participants” window open so you can see whose mic is muted and unmuted. The host can also mute all participants at once.
It is not uncommon for someone to forget to mute themself while in a noisy environment, or perhaps when interrupted by someone else at home, and the Zoom Operating Team may well need to mute individuals at points during a workshop. The Participants list is helpful here - it shows whether people are muted or not, indicates which people are making an unmutes noise, and regularly re-orders itself to place unmuted people nearer the top of the list.