Small non-business hybrid meetings

[CGMiller3rd]

Imagine 5 to 15 retired seniors meeting to be taught and/or discuss a subject of interest. Sometimes all parties are in their homes connecting by Zoom. Sometimes everyone except the speaker is in one room like a church social hall or the back room of a small restaurant with a large screen TV and an upgraded microphone/camera on a laptop.

The problem is that most of the time there are a mix of people in the room on phones, tablets or laptops; There are also people in the room depending on a communal monitor, speaker, mike and camera to participate. Finally, there are some people trying to be in both worlds with a phone for speaker and mike, but using the monitor to see the group. 

The pure groups work fine but the mixed groups have problems with not enough volume, not enough mike sensitivity and feedback.

I am sure that part of the problem involves managing the layout of the groups but part of the problem is not having the right equipment. We are not a business with mega bucks to spend on IT consultants and room rentals. How do I identify equipment that is likely to work in this environment, is portable, and is durable. 

[Ray_Harwood]

Welcome to the Zoom Community, @CGMiller3rd.

I’ve done very small and medium-sized hybrid events before. Yeah, they’re tricky, but there are guidelines you can easily follow to make them “less problematic.”

To make this successful really takes two people.  One I’ll call the Technical Director, or TD – the person running the Zoom part of the meeting at the computer. The other I’ll call The Moderator, the person in charge of the in-person part of the meeting – though I’ll explain the Moderator’s expanded role as we go. 

The first issue is what I call “audio control.”  You need speakers (the electronic kind, not the human kind) in the room so that in-person people can hear remote people, and you need microphones in the room so that remote people can hear in-person people. The trick is carefully controlling which mics are “hot” (unmuted). The TD has to make sure that the in-person mic is never hot when someone remote is talking. That is the source of your awful feedback squawking – having remote attendees talking when the on-person mics can pick them up through the speakers. Getting control of this one thing alone will at least remove the one frequent barrier to a good hybrid meeting.

The Moderator should likely have the microphone in the room. You need to be sure that the speakers and mic are positioned so that there’s no feedback from the in-room mic. That’s just basic audio-visual setup procedure. If your room is desk enough so that everyone in the room can hear and be heard among themselves without the speakers, great. If you need amplification in the room, you might need an A/V tech to help you out a bit. 

Then the TD, sitting at the computer where Zoom is running, checks to make sure all remote attendees are muted, and then unmutes the in-person mic so remote attendees can hear. This is where it gets tricky – not technically tricky, but a real coordination between the TD and Moderator. Normally I like to explain to the remote folks to Raise Hand (the “Zoom hand”, preferably), and the TD need some way to alert the Moderator that someone remote wants to speak. On cue from the Moderator, the TD mutes the in-person mic, and indicates to the Raised Hand person that they can unmute and speak. The TD need to take cues from the Moderator as to when to mute the remote person and unmute the in-person mic. 

Once you get the hang of it and everyone understands the “flow of microphone control”, it become more natural.

Other than that, there are a few more less-tricky things to consider:

• How do people in-person other than the Moderator get to speak to the whole group?  Maybe you invest in a second microphone and a “mixer” to control which mic is hot. Maybe your group is small enough that one omnidirectional mic in the middle works for everyone, or might be passed around to those speaking. Everyone just needs to be aware that “remote people want to hear too!”
• You want visual interaction as well as audio.
  • Position the in-person camera so that most of the people in the room are visible to the remote attendees. Consider lighting and room layout. And then if there’s a “main speaker” talking to the group, someone may need to adjust the camera when that person is presenting.
  • Hopefully there is a projector or large monitor where the Gallery View of remote attendees is visible to the in-person folks. If there’s to be any PowerPoint presentation, you won’t be able to show the Gallery View while showing the presentation – unless you have two screens or monitors. 

Honestly, if you can nail these things, I think you’ll be in good shape. You probably already have a computer; you might want to invest in a mic that is “mobile enough” for your space, and a camera that can be placed in a good spot. If this works for you and you get the idea that “we can do more”, let me know. There are a few “upgrades” that might make it easier for the TD and Moderator while increasing the interaction between in-person and remote attendees – without a lot of expense.

Of course, if money is available, you can consult with an A/V firm to come in and evaluate your space. There are systems designed to do what you’re looking for, but “not on a shoe string budget.”

I hope that helps. Come back and let us know what challenges you encounter along the way! This will be informative for others who find this thread in the future.