Looking for a Free Alternative to Zoom Meetings?
You must be very well familiar with the view above. Your screen is full of small pictures in a bad resolution that neither replace a live experience nor add any value to the meeting. You ask non-speakers to mute themselves, and some just never raise their voices.
Is there any good technical alternative to Zoom, and whether the problem is actually a technical one?
Technical Alternatives to Zoom
You can find bunches of “20 best video conferencing tools” listicles on the web but our experience says that realistically, Zoom has only three big rivals for now:
Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and Teams are fighting for their audiences. Usually, the existing environment decides which tool you start using for video conferencing. If you already have Microsoft 365, then you probably stay with Teams as you do not have to jump between tools, including different calendars.
Consequently, with G Suite and Google Workspace, you use Google Meet.
Their functionalities are pretty similar and less decisive.
Therefore, if you feel uncomfortable with your current video conferencing tool, it may be the time to ask yourself whether you actually need video conferencing or to what extent.
Inefficient Video Meetings
A lot of people whine about meetings in general. How they would have spent their time really working instead.
One of the most important reasons for meeting inefficiency is that some participants never have a chance to speak. It can be that they are a bit shy and uncomfortable to talk in front of too many people. It can also happen that the meeting is too intense, or going the wrong direction, or dominated by few highly social people.
In a video meeting, with just a few small faces fitted into your laptop screen, the situation is even worse.
As a result, knowledge sharing never happens, and the decision made is not an informed one.
What if everyone would be able to express their ideas freely? If everyone would have time to prepare their arguments carefully and support them with additional materials, documents, or something they can show on their screens?
Communication Alternatives to Zoom and Video Conferencing
The point is, most of the issues require a thorough consideration instead of an intense, quick, and noisy brainstorming. They require substantial arguments.
By exchanging video messages, you give everyone a chance to express their opinions without any time pressure and help less extroverted people to speak up and share valuable information with others.
With dadan, everyone in your team can create a simple recording combining screen and webcam capture in one, draw on the screen while recording, and add more notes in different formats after the recording process is finished.
Dadan allows users to create powerful video presentations that speak for themselves. Video messages help to focus on a substantial discussion without losing a sense of being connected to your collaborators socially.
Increasing the Outcome of Video Communication
Replace or supplement, that is the question.
Indeed, sometimes you may need a video call. For instance, for making a final decision.
We suggest you to use video conferencing and messaging in combination. The following procedure can help you to increase the outcome of a remote discussion:
- One person distributes information about the issue that needs a decision
- Participants make themselves familiar with it
- Everyone records their message and shares it as a link
- This is possible with dadan, including integration with the most popular business apps
- Participants watch video messages and reconsider their argumentation if necessary
- Another round of video message exchange may follow
- A short video conference to make the final decision
When the time for a video conference comes, everyone is updated and has the same knowledge level. This can help to reduce the length of the video call and still make an informed decision.
Conclusion
Indeed, a simple monologue told in front of a webcam won’t enhance your teamwork. We are talking about a tool that enables you to create more than just a video recording: it creates a video message that combines a recording with other interactive features and collaboration opportunities.
Try dadan for free and decide later if you want to adopt it in your company.
