3 reasons why your Zoom meeting should have live captions

The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, with practically everything about modern life changing as a result.

Some things that happened were obvious, such as the airlines having a hard time staying afloat with all flights being grounded. But other things happened that no one expected.

With lockdown forcing everyone to stay at home, video conferencing exploded, but instead of everyone “Skyping”, everyone started “Zooming”.

Most people had never heard of Zoom before all this, the software was mainly used by businesses and universities, but now children and grandparents up and down the country are calling each other on it.

So with Zoom now the weapon of choice for business meetings in this socially distancing world, here are three reasons why you should add live captions to your calls.

Accessible to everyone

Live captions open the door for everyone to join in an online business meeting.

A significant proportion of people are deaf or hard of hearing, but it’s not always common knowledge.

You may have a co-worker who has gotten along fine in an office setting and their hearing issues have never been a problem, but sound is very different through a laptop.

Then there are clients you don’t know about; how many of those are hard of hearing?

And accessibility doesn’t just mean for people with disabilities, the environment around us can restrict our access during a meeting.

If someone is in a noisy setting, they might not be able to hear what’s being said. Conversely, if they are in a quiet environment, they might not be able to turn their sound up.

It’s situations like these where live captions really pay off.

Improve engagement and comprehension

People are more likely to engage if they feel like they’re involved, and live captions are a great way to do that.

Not everyone is comfortable speaking publicly, and for a lot of people, speaking softly, mumbling, or simply keeping their head down is part of their nature.

When these people say something in a video conference, their voice is not heard but seen at the bottom of the screen. It makes people feel valued and others can engage more with them.

Live captions also boost comprehension of what’s going on. Our brains take in more information when seeing it as apposed to hearing it.

In business terms, this means a more astute office, where everyone is less likely to make mistakes.

Makes your business look more professional

Imagine meeting a potential client for the first time over a Zoom meeting. As you start to speak, your words appear immediately along the bottom of the screen.

They’re impressed. “Is that part of the Zoom software?” they ask.

This is the best part.

You explain to them no, it’s not. This meeting was so important for you that you hired a live captioning company to type what’s being said in real time, with 99% accuracy, so no one misses anything or feels left out.

You go the extra mile for your clients, and this is just one example.

They’re impressed.

You get the contract.

You’re happy, they’re happy, your boss is happy.

And all because of those live captions!

We even offer this service in foreign languages including Spanish, German, Italian, Finnish, Norwegian, Dutch, Portuguese, French, Canadian French and Chinese. To find out more about accurate live captions in Zoom, contact us at bookings@121captions.com