How To Add Some Cool Features to Your Family Zoom Call

By Rachelle Dragani

One life-enhancing habit that many families have hung onto from the early pandemic days is the big family Zoom call. It’s a great and affordable way to spend quality time with loved ones, and to feel connected, even if you’re scattered across different parts of the globe.

But because so many people associate video calls with work or school, your family might be suffering some Zoom burnout. Perhaps it’s time to bring new life to your family’s Zoom calls! We’ve gathered cool Zoom features, plus tips and tricks you can use to make everyone wish the call could last just a little longer.

Use the Zoom Whiteboard feature

Did you know Zoom has introduced a feature that lets your entire call collaborate on a virtual whiteboard? It was designed with remote workers in mind, but who says you have to stick to original intentions?

A game of Zoom Pictionary is way more possible, thanks to the whiteboard, or a game where you each add to a drawing to make it a true family masterpiece. And the Zoom Whiteboard also includes tools such as sticky notes and highlighting capabilities, so you can even use it for more practical purposes, like mapping out a family vacation itinerary.

Take a Zoom poll or quiz

Fun Zoom features also make it possible for you to conduct polls and quizzes right on the video calling platform—and the polls can even be anonymous to ensure everyone is giving their most honest answer.

You can use the Zoom polling feature to get some useful information, like what meal everyone hopes is served at the next family gathering. They’re also fun conversation starters. Have everyone submit a “Would You Rather” poll question or take a poll on the funniest family memory. If yours is the type of fam who has endless tolerance for each other’s opinions, you can open these up a little. “What should we name Baby X?” or “When should José propose?” might really get the family going!

Zoom quizzes are also a great way to learn more about each other. A quiz with questions about Grandma’s life or one that highlights everyone’s favorite childhood holiday, for instance, might unearth some incredible stories you can all cherish.

Spice up your Zoom backgrounds

Don’t need to tidy up your messy room or have your usual office-setting background for this hang! Check out our foolproof guide to changing your Zoom background (it’s super easy) and let your creative juices flow.

A new background is always a conversation starter, and to take it one step further, your family could pick a theme for each call, like a dream destination or a favorite TV show. Each person could make their background related to the theme, and you could even add a little something extra to your appearance or outfit to fit the part.

For a fun incentive, offer a small prize for the person with the most inventive take—like letting them choose the next theme!

Play the best Zoom games

Games can make any good gathering a great gathering. But to really keep a Zoom fresh and fun, make sure you’re playing a game you couldn’t play in another setting. Use your new Zoom skills to play a few of our favorites:

• Zoom Bingo – There are certain phrases that people tend to repeat on Zoom calls: “You’re on mute,” “I can’t hear you!” and “Nice background!” are just a few. And you know your family, and the phrases that certain members repeat often. Make everyone a Bingo card with popular family and Zoom phrases scattered throughout the card—and see who can yell Bingo first.
• Zoom Scavenger Hunt – An in-person scavenger hunt running around town isn’t quite possible via Zoom, but you can apply the concept to a video call. One person can make a list of items that everyone would have around, like toothpaste or salt-and-pepper shakers. They can go through the list, and everyone has to run and be the first to come back to the screen with the item. For even more fun, you could make the list require a little more creativity, like naming items such as “favorite hat” or “book that made me laugh out loud.”
• Zoom “Masked Singer” – Based off the popular TV show, this is a fun one for everyone. Have your family members put an alias for their Zoom name, then turn off their webcam. Then, each person can belt out a few lines of a tune. Using the polling feature on Zoom, you can guess who’s behind the “mask”—and narrow down your favorites to decide the family winner!

Make sure you’ve got the fastest connection

Even the most interesting Zoom features won’t be enough to save the day if you start experiencing connectivity issues. For calls without annoying delays or people inadvertently talking over each other, you need fast upload and download speeds. Only fiber internet can provide those matching speeds that put you in position to up your Zoom game.

Frontier Fiber is built for the way you live today—and tomorrow

If you’re still on the lookout for the right ultrafast internet connection for streaming, gaming, working from home and running your smart home—all with enough bandwidth for everyone—find out about Frontier Fiber. Then check here to see when it’s available at your address.

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