*Much of this is derived from advice given by @ethanwhite (Associate Professor of Ecology & Informatics at the University of Florida); thank you, Prof. Ethan White!
Original tweet can be found here: https://twitter.com/ethanwhite/status/1240336385896316928

For the PhD Candidate:

• Designate someone other than yourself to be in charge of managing the Zoom Call; you don’t want to have to deal with all of that while you’re focused on giving your talk!
• This person can be a friend, labmate, committee member, family member, etc - anyone that you trust to take care of it.
• Make sure that the connection is set up well in advance (at least 15-20 mins) to deal with any technical difficulties.
• Ask your committee members to log in early too, so that they can check everything is working on their end.
• Have a backup plan in case you experience difficulties with Zoom. This can be something like a phone-based conference call with your committee members - just in case.
• Consider a 2-monitor setup, if possible: one monitor for notes and slides, and the other for seeing your audience.
• Note that this will still limit you to seeing ~5 people while you are sharing your screen. If you have the opportunity to use a 2-computer setup, you can share your screen from one computer and then join the call on another computer to see your audience - just make sure to mute one of your computers to avoid any echo effects!
• Do a dry run with your call manager (and a few friends!). This will let you practice things like working with multiple screens, using the “raise your hand” function (details below), and how you will “step out of the room” at the end of the private session. Using these tools before the actual day will help you feel more comfortable when it comes time for the main event!
• Be clear on your Zoom Call procedure with your committee before the day arrives. Communicate with them clearly to let them know who will be hosting the call. You should also discuss how the transition from the public session to the private session will happen, and how the committee will handle you “stepping out of the room” (details below).
• PARTY LIKE A (socially-responsible, public health-conscious) CHAMP! You did it! This is a huge accomplishment - even if this wasn’t how you had imagined it would happen. We’re proud of you ❤

For the designated Call-Manager:

• Make sure to keep all audience members muted throughout the entire presentation. You as the host have the power to mute everyone else on the call, but it is a good idea to remind everyone at the beginning (e.g. so that committee members are mindful to put themselves back on mute after asking a question).
• If the call begins freezing due to bandwidth issues, ask the audience to stop their videos.
• This can be communicated to them via the chat window, to avoid interrupting the presenter if possible. For the public question period, ask the audience to use the “raise your hand function” on Zoom. You as the host will be able to then call on people to ask questions (and put their hands down after they have spoken).
• For the public question period, ask the audience to use the “raise your hand function” on Zoom. You as the host will be able to then call on people to ask questions (and put their hands down after they have spoken).
• When it comes time for the private portion of the defense, transfer your host abilities to one of the committee members (if they are not the call host already). This will make it possible for you to leave during the private portion of the defense.
• Transferring to a committee member rather than the candidate themself will aid in the “stepping out of the room” portion of the process.

For the Audience:

• Leave your video on, if you can! A remote talk can be very difficult to give, so keep your smiling faces there for the speaker to see!
• Consider exaggerating your positive responses during the talk. Your face may be very small on the candidate’s screen, so big head nods, smiles and thumbs up are key for mimicking ordinary positive audience feedback.

For Committee Members:

• Please try to use your video during the private portion of the defense (assuming sufficient bandwidth to support a video call); this is a stressful time, and it will help the student to be able to see ordinary positive/encouraging social cues.
• For the student to “step out of the room”, consider:
• Use a breakout room on Zoom for the committee to talk in, and then return to the main room (where the student will be waiting), OR
• Put the student on hold, leaving the committee to discuss in private before having the student rejoin the call.
• Keep in mind what changes may or may not be possible at this time, given restrictions on the ability to do experiments, access data, focus on work, etc. This is a difficult and stressful situation for everyone. Be cognizant of the circumstances surrounding these defenses.
• Communicate your excitement about a student passing clearly! The world is in a weird place, but that doesn’t mean that these students (and their bosses!) don’t deserve to be proud of and excited about their accomplishments.