Video calls now dominate both our personal and professional communications. As someone constantly connecting over Zoom, you likely want to steer collective focus – whether for remote standups, client calls, or lectures.
That‘s where Zoom‘s Spotlight feature comes in.
Designed to lock spotlighted participants as the active speaker across everyone‘s screens, mastering spotlight can transform your video meeting game.
This comprehensive guide will get you up to speed on everything from spotlight basics to pro-level setup and configurations. So let‘s get started!
Spotlighting 101: An Essential Zoom Built-In
Simply put, Zoom Spotlight gives hosts and co-hosts the power to lock a key participant‘s video feed as the primary shared screen during a meeting session.
This prevents the main window from automatically swapping when other attendees speak or make inadvertent noises. Spotlight also carries over into any cloud recordings.
Common use cases include:
- Webinars – Spotlighting presenters while they share slides or demos
- Remote Standups – Keeping team leads persistently visible when addressing the team
- Customer Calls – Spotlighting primary attendees based on the meeting agenda
- Lectures/Training – Fixing teacher camera feeds during lessons and Q&A
But spotlight isn‘t just useful for formal presentations – it also helps moderate casual discussions by keeping the current conversation facilitator or foregrounded speaker consistently front-and-center.
Valuable both for minimizing random interface shuffling and centering VIP views based on your evolving call needs, spotlight is an essential tool meeting masters should have in their toolkit.
And as you‘ll see, set up takes just seconds once you know the steps.
The Rapid Rise of Spotlighting
It‘s incredible how central Zoom meetings now are to our work and personal connections – a scope reflected in the platform‘s staggering 301% spike in usage since the pandemic began.
As adoption exploded, so too did Zoom‘s capabilities.
Spotlight rolled out officially in October 2019. But over successive quarterly updates, its configurability and ease-of-use rapidly improved. Updates like simultaneously spotlighting up to nine feeds took flexibility to new heights.
And the spotlight feature shines brighter thanks to Zoom‘s API platform integrations so far plus massive spikes in video use for distance learning. Expect regular refinements as conferences, lectures, and interactive meetings move increasingly online over the 2020s.
As such arsenal of tools evolves, meeting hosts require ever more precise control over group attention. That‘s where mastering focus commands like spotlight is so key.
Before You Spotlight: Key Prerequisites
You can only harness the game-changing spotlight capabilities as a meeting or webinar host.
Additionally, activating a spotlight requires:
- At least 3 total meeting participants
- The user you intend to spotlight must have their video feed enabled
Don‘t meet these thresholds? You unfortunately cannot leverage spotlight just yet.
But assuming you‘ve checked those boxes as a host, let‘s spotlight your next video chat!
Step By Step Spotlight Activation
Follow these quick steps to focus your team calls, customer meetings and webinars like a pro:
Step 1: Launch Your Zoom Meeting
Start or join your desired video meeting after sending out the meeting ID and access credentials to attendees. Once at least two participants plus yourself join with video enabled, you‘re ready to proceed.
Step 2: Pull Up The Participants Pane
Click on "Participants" at the bottom of your Zoom window to pop out the invitee list on the right:
Here you can see everone currently in this meeting.
Step 3: Hover Over The Target Participant
Hover your mouse over the tile of the participant you want the group spotlight centered on and click the More (⋮) icon.
This opens a dropdown menu.
Step 4: Hit That Spotlight Button, Baby!
Click on Spotlight for Everyone and voila! This locks your chosen participant as the active presenter everyone sees.
The spotlight will even persist across the group video grid to keep all eyes where intended.
To exit spotlight, just hit Stop Spotlight atop their now-centered feed. Easy!
Beyond The Basics: Advanced Spotlight Workflows
Now that you‘ve got the fundamentals, let‘s dig deeper into uncovering spotlight‘s full potential across varied Zoom meeting types and use cases.
From comparisons with other pinning tools to creative configurations, take these pro tips back to your team calls, webinars and beyond!
Simple Spotlight vs Streamlined Pin
In addition to universal Spotlight focus, Zoom also offers "Pin" for simpler single user spotlighting needs:
| Spotlight | Pin | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Global (all participants) | Local (your view only) |
| Max Users | Up to 9 | 1 |
| Best For | Training, panels, focused discussions | Side presentations, quick personal customization |
As you can see, Pin lets you lock your own active speaker without changing anyone else‘s view.
So if you want consistent visibility during a team meeting sidebar chat, Pin gets it done. But to steer focus among the full room, only Spotlight can cast presenters front-and-center instantly.
Hybrid Spotlight Setups For Smarter Meetings
Modern meetings blend virtual and in-room groups more smoothly than ever before thanks rising hybrid work rates. But seamless collaboration requires giving both equal spotlight access.
Tools like the Zoom Conference Speaker (ZCS) even the playing field by spotlighting current room speakers for remote participants automatically.
So rather than scrambling to solo spotlight room attendees, ZCS provides balanced participation for all. Tech like this, plus smarter spotlight swapping is key to socially healthy hybrid meetings with equal voice.
And for training across international offices, time zone friendly tools like Zoom Webinars help orchestrate organic local spotlights too.
Teaching Spotlight: Optimizing Zoom For E-Learning
Of course virtual classrooms depend deeply on smooth spotlight transitions as well – whether for student presentations, teacher Q&A facilitation, or even visitor guest lectures.
Tools like waiting room, hand raise and breakout rooms help manage engagement. But strategically spotlighting also keeps kids engaged in this era of online education.
Student and teacher spotlight equality is key too. So software life CycleLabs helps balance visibility by randomly spotlighting students automatically.
Automated aid like this takes the micromanagement out of digital classrooms for more organic connections teachers and kids will love.
Healthy Spotlighting For People And Meetings
Like any moderator power, spotlighting does require thoughtful awareness around inclusion so meetings feel psychologically safe for all.
Some best practices include:
- Announcing and discussing spotlight plans transparently from meeting start
- Offering additional mic time for spotlighted speakers once finished
- Avoiding aggressive rapid fire spotlight swapping
Essentially, institute proper consent and continuity across solo spotlights. This avoids undue surprise or social dynamics disruption.
Your meeting flow should spotlight strategically while ensuring everyone has a chance to equally shine.
Conclusion: Become The Spotlight Master
And with that, you‘re fully prepped to master Zoom like a boss!
Far beyond vanilla video meetings, tools like Spotlight offer incredible precision in steering attention for learning, collaborating and connecting in our ever-digital world.
We covered everything from quick start basics to advanced integrations and use techniques across standard meetings plus brainstorms, training webinars and hybrid events.
So whether you need to highlight lecturers, always keep managers in consistent view, or simply stop random distraction during big client calls, activated attendee spotlights artfully.
Soon you‘ll steer focus as smoothly as any late night host or press conference producer! Now isn‘t that spotlight-worthy?
