How to be Welcoming on Zoom

A few years ago, I was joining a Zoom with David Nebinski; he and I had just discovered we had a lot of mutual friends in common, so we were having a virtual coffee for our first time meeting.

As I joined the meeting and turned on my volume, David was already there and playing music. Suddenly I realized - he was playing my favorite song! David said he had seen me mention it was my favorite song on Instagram and made a note to play it while I joined! It was so thoughtful and so memorable.

I’ve taken David’s tip and adopted it as my own; playing just a few notes of a song that I know the other person likes is one of of my favorite ways to extend hospitality when meeting someone on video conferencing. I just find a song on YouTube and have it playing while they join; just a few seconds of it is enough to make them feel welcome. It could be a song you know the other person likes from following them on social media, a current popular song, or even just an all-time beloved song from the decade they were born. Or you can never go wrong with Good Day!

It’s simple, it’s free, and it really is welcoming in a virtual meeting.

-Molly Beck