Make the Most of Your Next Zoom Meeting: How to Make Co-Hosts

Introduction

Zoom meetings have become increasingly popular as a way to connect with people remotely. But with the large number of participants, it can be challenging to keep track of who is speaking and how the meeting is progressing.

One solution is to make co-hosts on your Zoom meetings. Having co-hosts is beneficial for a variety of reasons: they can help to monitor attendance, keep people on topic, and provide additional guidance or support to participants. They can also be used for more complex tasks such as setting up breakout rooms or scheduling additional meetings.

In this article, we will explain how to make co-hosts on your next Zoom meeting so that you can get the most out of it. We’ll cover what a co-host is, why you might need one, and how to set them up in Zoom. Let’s get started!

How to Set-Up Co-Hosts on Zoom

Inviting co-hosts to your next Zoom meeting is a great way to ensure the success of your meeting. Co-hosts can help you manage the guest list, chat, take care of technical issues and keep an eye on the participants during the meeting. Here’s how you can set them up:

1. Create a meeting in Zoom, just as you normally would.
2. In the Host Controls panel, click on “Manage Participants” and then select “Co-Host.”
3. You will then be presented with a list of participants that you can select as co-hosts. You can also type in their name if they are not already part of your meeting.
4. Once they are selected, they will have access to all the host controls, including managing participants and starting/stopping screenshare and recording options.
5. Finally, if you’d like to remove their co-host privileges at some point during your meeting, simply click on their name in the Participants list and select “Remove Co-Host.”

By setting up co-hosts for your next Zoom call, you’ll be able to ensure that it runs smoothly and effectively for all involved!

What Is a Co-Host?

A Zoom co-host is a shared role in a meeting designed to help the host facilitate the meeting. Co-hosts are able to manage participants, start and stop recordings, add alternative hosts, and can even initiate breakout rooms on behalf of the host.

It’s important to remember that a co-host is not a full host. They cannot delete other co-hosts or end the meeting. However, they do have access to several of the same controls as the host, such as muting and unmuting participants, removing participants from meetings, and locking meetings.

Co-hosts give you additional flexibility with managing your Zoom meetings. With more than one person controlling the flow of information and activities in a single session, you can provide more value to your attendees—such as break out sessions or interactive tasks—and ensure that no one person has their attention diverted from the discussion at hand.

The Benefits of Having Co-Hosts in Your Meeting

Having co-hosts can be a major benefit when hosting a meeting or event on Zoom. Not only can they help you facilitate the event by allowing you to focus on the discussion, they can also add their own unique perspectives and help with managing participants. Here are some of the benefits of having co-hosts at your Zoom meeting:

Increased Productivity

Having co-hosts means that you can divide tasks and responsibilities between multiple people. This allows for a smoother, more efficient process and makes it easier to stay on track. With tasks such as setting up breakout rooms, monitoring time limits, and engaging participants delegated to other hosts, you can stay focused on the main conversation and get more done in less time.

Increased Engagement

Co-hosts help keep your audience engaged with their own perspectives on the topic at hand and help provide guidance to new members of the group. They can also serve as moderators for questions and discussions by asking follow-up questions or addressing issues as needed. This ensures that everyone is heard and accounted for during your meeting, creating a more inclusive environment overall.

Improved Collaboration

Having multiple hosts enhances your ability to collaborate with each other by providing additional ideas or opinions which may otherwise be overlooked or unheard of in a one-person setup. Utilizing co-hosts’ individual skill sets allows everyone to tap into their strengths and ultimately come together as a team to accomplish larger goals.

Tips on Effectively Invite and Manage Your Co-Hosts

Sometimes, you may want to bring in additional people to help manage and make your Zoom meetings more effective and successful. Inviting co-hosts can ensure that all the necessary tasks are taken care of. Here are some tips for how to invite and manage your co-hosts:

1. Decide which roles you need filled. You may need a note-taker for an important meeting, or someone who will help control the chat feature. Deciding what roles need to be filled is a great first step in finding the perfect co-hosts for your next Zoom meeting.
2. Invite your co-hosts directly from the main Zoom application. This will allow you to access their contact information quickly, allowing you to easily verify their identity and confirm that they are available for the meeting.
3. Verify their identity before granting them co-host status on the call. Using a video call or phone call is recommended as email confirmation can be unreliable due to spam filters or other factors outside of control.
4. Make sure all of your co-hosts have read and understand the “Rules of Engagement” before they join the meeting, so everyone knows what is expected of them during the session.
5. Monitor your co-host’s activities during the call, especially if there are sensitive topics being discussed or materials being shared between participants on the call – this way, you’ll know if anything needs to be addressed with any of them before it gets out of hand!

What to Do When Things Go Wrong With Co-Hosts

Although co-hosts can make it easier to manage complex Zoom meetings, there may be times when something does not go according to plan.

If you are having difficulty with your co-hosts, here are some tips to help you get back on track:

1. Clarify roles and responsibilities prior to the meeting. Make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to the roles they should play in facilitating the discussion, leading and moderating activities, responding to questions, etc.
2. Monitor all co-hosts during the meeting. If a co-host is being too vocal or monopolizing the conversation, politely intervene and keep the discussion flowing in a productive direction.
3. Create an agenda prior to the meeting so everyone knows what topics will be discussed and in what order. This will ensure that topics stay on track and help keep your co-hosts from getting side-tracked or jumping ahead in their discussions.
4. Invite other participants who can provide expertise or offer an alternate perspective on the topics being discussed; this can help keep co-hosts from getting too entrenched in their own opinions and broaden the scope of the conversation beyond what one person might bring.
5. Give each co-host breaks from moderating or leading tasks during long Zoom sessions; this will give them time to rest and recharge so that they can come back energized for future tasks or discussions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Co-Hosts on Zoom

Having difficulty setting up co-hosts for your next Zoom meeting? Here are a few frequently asked questions about the process.

Who Can Be a Co-Host?

Anybody with an existing Zoom account can be a Co-Host for your meeting. You can invite someone who is not a member of your organization to be a Co-Host, as long as they have the account and the necessary privileges.

How Many Co-hosts Can I Have?

You can have up to 100 Co-Hosts assigned to your meeting. This is more than enough for most conferences and webinars.

What Rights do Co-Hosts Have?

Co-Hosts have full access to the administrative tools, such as recording, muting participants and adjusting audio settings. They also have Moderator rights, allowing them to move participants between Breakout Rooms and Live Polling booths.

How Do I Add or Remove a Co-Host?

To add or remove a Co-Host, click on their name in the “Participants” window and select “Make/Remove Host” from the drop down menu. This will grant them (or remove) access to advanced features like muting/unmuting all Participants or creating Breakout Rooms.

Conclusion

So, if you’ve been looking for a better way to manage virtual meetings, why not give co-hosting a try? With just a few steps and the right approach, you can maximize the productivity of your next call and keep your Zoom meeting running smoothly. By properly preparing ahead of time, you can ensure that all of your guests have the best and most seamless experience, making for a great Zoom meeting that all attendees can be proud of.