Currently, many conversations have to take place online. But do you know suitable tools for that? We present you with a simple tool that is excellent for training, coaching, webinars, and meetings.
Important note: Our following recommendation is based on our personal experience: We in the blink.it team have been working with this tool for several years. We do not want to pass judgment on tools that we do not use ourselves 🙂 We do not receive any commission or similar for this recommendation; we express it out of our own conviction!
The restrictions due to the Corona pandemic are changing not only the private sector but particularly the working world as well. Like other companies, we in the blink.it team have completely switched to home office. The result: Personal meetings, training, and coaching must take place online.
This sudden digital transition poses a central question for many trainers, coaches, and personal developers: Which tool can I easily use to conduct training / coaching / meetings online?
Our answer: Zoom.us
If you are currently unsure how all this is supposed to work online, I can reassure you: You are not alone! We in the blink.it team have been working a lot with digital meeting tools for years. However, we have not yet experienced the situation where all employees are in different locations for an extended time. Accordingly, we were also a bit unsure at the beginning of last week about how well the transition would work.
After a week with many different online meetings - in pairs, in small teams, and also with the whole team - we can highly recommend one tool: Zoom! This is what our large team meeting with Zoom looks like right now:
And many of our clients also give us very positive feedback for training and coaching via Zoom: The successful sales coach Siegfried Orendi enthusiastically reported to us on Facebook about his coaching sessions via Zoom - just to name one example. Our workshop leader Dennis is also currently using Zoom for all webinars, coaching sessions, and workshops.
Of course, Zoom is not only suitable for classic training offerings but actually for (almost) all occasions: blink.it colleague Konstantin, for example, is currently taking part in his yoga classes via Zoom and is also very enthusiastic about it.
Advantages: What Zoom can do
With Zoom, you can
create personal meeting rooms for meetings, training, coaching, or any other opportunities for joint exchange
record your meetings and share them with the participants, e.g., as a webinar recording
exchange with your participants via a chat function
share your screen, for example for presentations
The basic functions are even offered by Zoom for free. In paid packages, many additional management features are included. Here you can find all information about Zoom's packages.
Disadvantages: What Zoom cannot do
Zoom is also not a "jack of all trades"; I want to mention the weaknesses here as well. If you need the following capabilities, Zoom might not be the perfect tool for you:
Specifically display questions or surveys to the participants
Create advertising or registration forms directly in the tool
These points are fulfilled by GoToWebinar, with which we in the blink.it team have not yet gathered any personal experience.
Update (June 2020): Security concerns about Zoom have been increasingly raised. Read in this article how secure Zoom is for training, coaching, and workshops.
How to create Zoom meetings
In this video by Carlo Siebert, you will find a great guide (12 minutes) on how to register with Zoom, make settings, and create your own meetings:
Our conclusion:
After intensive testing and much feedback from trainers and coaches, we can truly recommend Zoom without any reservations!
Creating meeting rooms is very easy.
The tool is clear and intuitive to use.
Zoom works wonderfully in the browser, without installation.
The scope of functions is convincing even in the free version.
It is suitable for all formats, from one-on-one coaching to team conferences.
Zoom greatly facilitates our remote work in the team. I hope our experiences can also help you, your clients, your employees, or your team 🙂
