Zoom describes a waiting room as “a virtual staging area that prevents people from joining a meeting until the host is ready.” This feature is particularly useful when a host needs to control who can participate in a Zoom meeting and when a participant can enter the meeting. For example, a faculty member may need to ensure that only students in a certain section of a course are able to participate; clinicians may meet with clients one-on-one in the same Zoom meeting by allowing participants in one at a time.
When Scheduling a New Meeting in the Zoom app:
- In the Zoom application, click Schedule.

- Click Advanced Options.

- Select Enable Waiting Room.

- Click Schedule to schedule the meeting and save the settings.

When editing an existing scheduled meeting in the Zoom app:
- In the Zoom application, click the 3 dots next to Start for the scheduled meeting.

- Click Edit.

- Click Advanced Options.

- Select Enable Waiting Room.

- Click Save to confirm the new settings.

When editing or creating a Zoom meeting in Outlook:
- In the details window for the meeting, click Settings next to Add a Zoom Meeting in the Ribbon.

- In the sidebar, click Show under Advanced Options at the bottom.

- Click Enable waiting room. Close the sidebar to save the setting.

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