Whilst leading face-to-face events we have a myriad of ways to "read the room" both consciously and subconsciously. Through the many virtual events that Walsh's Learning to Achieve have designed and delivered, we've learnt not only how to read the virtual room, but how to teach participants to give us a readable room as well.

Whether you are using Zoom, Microsoft Teams or any other virtual platform, there are some creative and engaging ways to make use of the chat function to speed up your meetings, and more importantly, make sure all your participants stay with you until your final destination.

Under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you need to inform participants of virtual sessions about any personal identifiable data you may be taking away from your event.

We've put together two basic privacy notices that you can use, either in advance of your event or at the start of the session...

Considering the mitigation that Zoom has put in and how it has addressed all major concerns, it is our opinion that the usability and functionality of this platform gives, that allows us to continue ‘business as usual’ outweighs the residual privacy risks of the platform. Walsh's Learning to Achieve recommends that you use the platform with the following restrictions…

Zoom has allowed many organisations to continue to function in this unprecedented time. However the platform has also faced a lot of criticism for its security vulnerabilities. The use of any online technology forces us to weigh up security and privacy concerns versus usability and user experience.