A lot of things have changed in the past few months, including how staff meets to conduct business—virtual is now the norm. Meetings taking place in a virtual room on a computer does not mean that professionalism and formality are abandoned.
Zoom has a series of recommendations on how to keep meetings professional, friendly and productive.
First, keep in mind the age-old guidelines that apply to meetings whether in-person or virtual: be on time, maintain eye contact, pay attention, dress professionally, avoid eating and drinking, mind your body language, and be respectful to whoever is speaking to maintain a productive business environment.
Additional tips from Zoom include:
1. Make sure to introduce everyone at the beginning.
Just like a real meeting or social event, you wouldn’t initiate a conversation between two acquaintances who haven’t met without introducing them. The same practice applies to a virtual meeting. If there are participants who don’t know each other, make sure to introduce all parties you are hosting at the beginning to create a welcoming environment and stimulate engagement.
2. Ensure that you have a clean, work-appropriate background.
You want your attendees’ focus to be on the meeting content, not your messy office or your amazing art collection. By having a clean setting with work-appropriate art and decorations, you reduce the chance that attendees will get distracted. You should also try to attend the meeting from a quiet area that has minimal background noise and movement. Zoom’s virtual background feature is an easy way to eliminate background distractions when you have to meet in a messy or busy location. Dallas ISD has created virtual backgrounds to be used in meetings. https://www.dallasisd.org/virtualbackgrounds
3. Look into the camera when talking instead of looking at yourself.
If you’re looking at yourself on the screen while you’re talking, it will seem like your attention is elsewhere. Direct eye contact into the camera while speaking gives attendees the impression that you are looking at them rather than off to the side, which creates an environment where everyone feels engaged and present in the conversation. Be sure to position your web camera and monitor at eye level so you can look into the camera and simulate that eye-to-eye connection with other attendees.
4. Eliminate distractions and focus on the agenda.
Notifications from messaging applications, ringtones, and applications running on your desktop can be distracting, which can make your attendees feel disrespected and undervalued. Mitigating these distractions helps keep the meeting focused and free from interruption.
5. Be aware of your audio and video settings.
Check whether your microphone is unmuted and that your camera is on to ensure that all attendees can hear you and see you when you speak.
6. If you’re the host, stick around.
The general rule for meeting hosts: Wait until everyone else has left the meeting before hanging up so attendees can leave at their own pace and get any final words in before disconnecting.
For additional tips from Zoom, visit https://blog.zoom.us/category/how-tos/.
Meet Sunny and Skittles! These two parakeets are our class pets. They are playful and funny, love to sing along to whatever is happening in music class, and they never fail to cheer up a sad or new student.
Mini came into our life during COVID lock down. My twin sister and I live together, and a former client contacted her and asked if we would foster a sweet dog. We thought “why not”? Mini has the best personality ever, and she was house-trained. Mini is always dressed to the max with a bow and matching collar.
My dogs, Rocco and Beau, make me happy because they are always excited to see me!
This is my girl Lola. She is the Texas state dog, a Texas Blue Lacy dog. She has been my running partner for 9 years. She is the goodest girl.
I’m Crazy Cat Lady proud! Meet Frances Houseman (aka the Moustache) and Ellen Ripley, two orphans who made their way to us during the early pandemic last spring. While neither has exactly taken on the characteristics of her movie namesake, they rule our roost and never, ever let anyone forget that they know where we keep the treats.
This is our little angel, Sophie! She is a 13-year-old poodle mix. We rescued her at 5 months from terrible conditions, including having her mouth taped. She has been such a joy to us. She is the most loving, kind, and loyal baby. Although she is older, she still runs around like a puppy, yet will lay around with you for hours. She has even assisted me in my after-hours counseling private practice. Pets are so good for mental health, especially during these difficult times with COVID.
Bentley King is my daughter’s baby, but I call him Pup and my husband calls him Woof Woof. She bought him from a family in 2019 just before Christmas. He is the family entertainment. Just like a baby, he has toys all around the house from the bedroom, living room, washroom, under the kitchen table, etc. I’m always stepping on them at the worst times. His favorite activity is when we say go pup, go pup, go pup, go. He runs in circles around the kitchen to the office, to the living room and off my footrest in the living room that he knows it off limits, but he does it anyway. We love him and he is the king of the house.
Moose is my 2-year-old German Shepherd, and until I have a child of my own, I will spoil him like he is my son. He is goofy, obsessed with the strangest things in the house and has the best personality. I keep pictures of him around my room at school, and all the kids know him by his name. Their favorite thing to do is ask about Moose’s many shenanigans.
Monkey and Jon Snow are both rescues who were found feral and sick as kittens. As a result of his rough start in life Monkey, now 2 years old, is blind, but he doesn’t let that slow him down! Jon Snow is now a healthy 4-year-old cat and my best friend. I still volunteer with rescue organizations and occasionally take care of foster kittens, so if anyone is looking for a fur-ever friend reach out and let me know!
Trix was adopted from an animal shelter by the Falcon Family. She is our only pet and rules the house. She loves to cuddle and always wants to be with her human “pets.” We believe she is part dog because she stands on her hind legs and claps her front paws when she really wants something.
My daughter got Jojo, the cat, to be her companion in College Station. He is such a talkative cat.
This is my adorable cat, Luna. I’ve had her since she was a teeny, tiny 5-week-old kitten. She’s three now, and her favorite things are salmon, rattles, and Christmas lights.
Whoever said money can’t buy happiness never paid an adoption fee. We rescued our sweet Charlie boy from Paws in the City, an all-volunteer, no-kill organization with the commitment to ending the overpopulation, abuse, and neglect of Dallas-Ft. Worth area dogs. Charlie is a Catahoula Leopard mix who loves being outdoors chasing rabbits or squirrels. He is an excellent snuggler and enjoys going for car rides.
Both Shredder and Vader were adopted. My daughter found Shredder when people were trying to find his owners. His owner couldn’t be found so my daughter took him in. He’s a great dog. He’s loving and my daughter’s protector. Vader has been with us since he was a kitten. He’s very independent. He likes to cuddle on his own time. Shredder and Vader love each other. They are a perfect match for brothers. They’ve made our family complete.
Chauncey makes me happy because he always reminds me how to live carefree and in the moment. His kisses when I’m not myself and the cuddles while we watch TV are the best. Each day I cannot wait to come home to see him.
Callie was a shelter cat that we were so fortunate to come across. She brings so much light and love to our lives. Callie is a sweetheart most days, but do not let that cute face fool you. If she is feeling hangry, you will see a sassy side of her. We adore her so much.
Ramen is our tarantula. He may not be everyone’s idea of cute, but he was a great learn-at-home companion in early spring of last year. We love it when he comes out of his den to say hi, and he is a great listener, it would have been lonely working without him.
Summer is our 5-year-old German Shepard and Husky mix. We often refer to her as “Summer Lovin” from the 1978 movie “Grease.” Her name fits her well because she’s a huge fur ball of energy and happiness every time. She brightens the room and gives our children wonderful childhood memories. Her Mommy is my sister’s dog, “Daisy.” My sister now calls Summer her “grand-puppy”.
I adopted Zelly from a rescue over winter break. She is the sweetest dog and brightens my day. She doesn’t just wag her tail she wags her entire body.
Zoey is the Queen of our home. Everything revolves around her whims and attitude. She is a great traveling companion, and her destination choice is Colorado. Her favorite activities include eating, napping and lying in the sun.
Milo treats me like I am his dad. When I come home, he is very excited to see me and immediately falls asleep on my lap whenever I sit down. He is the most affectionate cat I have ever known. When I go to bed, he is laying on me and when I wake up, he is still there. Throughout the day he will follow me all over the apartment.
Oscar and Pepper light up my life. Oscar, the smaller one who is sleeping, is always down for snuggles and is pretty sure that you can’t be upset when he is yelling at you to play with him. Pepper, the big one, is always on the hunt for her next meal. Here she is pictured patiently waiting for anything to fall from the giant charcuterie board we put together. They both care and love so deeply and make life so easy. They are the best reason to get out of bed.
Sandy Anderson, my 12-year-old Yorkie, is most dear to my heart because she is a sweet and loving part of the family. Sandy makes me feel a sense of comfort when around her because she loves to get and give affection. Sandy is extremely friendly with everyone and loves to play fetch the monster.
Lola is a 5-year-old shepherd-pit bull mix we adopted from Operation Kindness in 2016 after her first two strikes. A year later came Ella Fitzgerald (“Ellie”), a 5-year-old Treeing Walker Coonhound, also from Operation Kindness and also with two strikes, because whatever Lola wants, Lola gets, and Lola wanted a puppy. While they have proved many times why it took three tries to get it right, we are so glad they waited for our family to take them home. They make us laugh, keep us fit, and protect us—mostly from squirrels and rabbits, but probably from other things, if needed. Here they are supervising Mom while she works.
Geoffrey is a Westie mix who was abandoned over five years ago on a school playground. He was rescued after being left outside in the pouring rain by my husband Forrest Oliver (Dallas ISD retired teacher). He has been such a joy and is loved and adored by all. Geoffrey is very affectionate but fiercely independent. He enjoys his daily walks and meeting new people as well as our neighbors. The neighborhood children love petting him and giving him treats, which he frequently buries to be enjoyed at a later time.
Emerald is a female iguana I have had for a year. I also have Brownie, a rabbit I have had for a few months and that came from the Environmental Education Center, and Shadow, a chicken that is a few weeks old.
Layla and Ava came into my life in 2018, a few months after my sweet dog passed away. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to open my heart for two more dogs, but they really made it hard not to! They are so sweet, and I love the bond they have with each other. Everyone in my family loves these two, even my stubborn dad.
We adopted three cats over the summer. First, we got the sweetest little sisters, Rosemary and Vera, and a few days later, we adopted our big, handsome boy, Dasche.
Here is my very sweet dog, Rai (pronounced “rye”) snuggling on me while I try to work. When I’m on my laptop is her favorite time to seek attention and put her head on my keyboard!
The majestic feline you see above is Princess Snowbelle. As a former dog person, I never imagined I’d fall in love with a cat, but here we are. She loves expensive, grain-free treats and being brushed, particularly under her chin. As her appearance would indicate, she’s a bit of a diva and loves to act as my own personal alarm clock on weekdays and weekends alike. She isn’t a lap cat but deigns to sit near me instead. She was adopted from Operation Kindness two years ago and celebrated her 11th birthday in August.
These are Angel and George, they both turned 6 years old this past summer. We rescued them from DAS and are now a bonded pair. They love to go to the park and chase tennis balls on the weekends and ride along during errands in the car. They also have helped foster many of the bottle baby kittens we have had over the past few years by being stand-in parents and showing the ropes to the babies. We are so thankful for these snuggle bugs.