Muting in Zoom meetings is something you absolutely need to know. Minimizing background noise and maintaining smooth communication not only shows respect to the speaker, but it reduces distraction and makes you look more professional. Here’s a comprehensive guide covering all methods and scenarios that you will ever need for muting on Zoom.

Muting Yourself in Zoom

On Desktop (Windows and macOS):
To mute yourself during a meeting, click the Mute icon (microphone symbol) at the bottom-left corner. You’ll see a red slash on the mic when muted. To unmute, simply click the icon again. Alternatively, you can use the shortcuts Alt + A on Windows or Command + Shift + A on macOS for a quicker mute/unmute toggle.

On Mobile (Android and iOS):
Join your Zoom meeting, then tap the screen to view controls. Tap Mute in the bottom-left corner to silence your mic. When muted, the icon will show a red line. Tap again to unmute.

Zoom Meeting Quick Tip – Using Bubbles Notetaker

Using an AI note taker tool like Bubbles Notetaker in Zoom meetings is essential, as Bubbles automatically joins Zoom meetings, records them, transcribes conversations, and generates comprehensive meeting minutes. It provides key action items and sends a follow-up email post-meeting, keeping participants focused on the meeting itself. When you unmute yourself and speak in your next Zoom meeting using Bubbles, you can be a bit more relaxed knowing notes are being taken for you. To get started, either:

• Invite via Extension or Connect Calendar: Paste the Zoom meeting link into the Bubbles Chrome/Edge extension for easy access, or signup via the Bubbles app and connect your calendar for Bubbles to automatically join your next Zoom meeting.

How to Mute All Participants as the Host

As the Zoom meeting host, you have the ability to mute all participants, which can help in managing large meetings and for regaining attention. Here’s how:

1. Click Participants on the toolbar at the bottom of your screen.
2. Select Mute All to instantly mute everyone in the meeting.
3. You’ll have the option to allow participants to unmute themselves by checking or unchecking Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves.

This control is especially useful in something like a webinar or a full team briefing/town hall meeting. In these type of Zoom meetings, you need minimal interruptions, so the ability to be the only speaker at any given moment is pretty ideal.

How to Mute Specific Participants

If you prefer to mute only specific participants, follow these steps:

1. Open the Participants list.
2. Locate the participant you want to mute.
3. Hover over their name and click Mute.

This option lets you manage disruptions without impacting others in the meeting. It can have varied uses, and in some cases you might just need to mute an irritating or misbehaving participant. In most cases, you would want to use this for addressing unexpected background noise from a single participant who might not have realized and pressed the mute button themselves.

Using Zoom's Push-to-Talk Feature

Push-to-Talk allows you to keep yourself muted until you need to speak, which can be very helpful in group discussions. If you're mindful of background noise during your Zoom meetings, then this is also a good one for you to note. Here’s how to use it:

• Enable Push-to-Talk: While muted, press and hold the Spacebar to temporarily unmute yourself.
• Release the Spacebar to return to mute.

This feature is only available on desktop and requires the Zoom window to be in focus.

Managing Audio Settings for Muting

Customizing audio settings can also help you control how and when you mute yourself, and can make Zoom life a little easier in some scenarios:

1. Go to Settings > Audio in the Zoom desktop client.
2. Enable Mute my microphone when joining a meeting to automatically join meetings muted - this can save you having to rush to the mute button when you join.
3. Adjust audio levels using your system’s volume mixer to control Zoom’s volume independently from other applications.

Zoom also allows you to test your audio and microphone settings here, which is great for making sure that your sound quality is all good, and that you don't have any background noise being picked up by your mic.

How to Mute Zoom Notifications During a Meeting

Zoom notifications can be a bit distracting during meetings, especially when screen sharing. To mute notifications and stop this from happening:

1. Open Settings in the Zoom app.
2. Navigate to Chat and toggle off the notifications by tapping the bell and selecting mute in the pop-up.
3. You can also enable Do Not Disturb on your device for additional control of pop-ups - this works in a similar way to muting notifications and will help keep the focus on the meeting.

How to Adjust Volume Levels in Zoom

To adjust volume levels during a Zoom call, try these methods:

1. Zoom Volume Mixer: Right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar, select Open Volume Mixer, and adjust Zoom’s volume independently from other apps.
2. Zoom Audio Settings: Open Zoom’s Audio Settings from the main menu and adjust your speaker volume slider to set your preferred listening level.

Not exactly mute/unmute, but these steps can also help you find the perfect audio level without affecting the rest of your system.