Quick Links
Google Meet offers several features to make your online meetings convenient and productive. If this tool happens to be your favorite meeting tool, I have some tips to share with you.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Get Things Done Quicker
If you don’t already, start usingGoogle Meet’s keyboard shortcutsto get things done quickly in this app. These keyboard shortcuts let you quickly perform many common tasks in your meetings. Some shortcuts to use are:
To view all available keyboard shortcuts, while in a Google Meet meeting, press Shift+? (that’s the Shift key and the question-mark key).
Change the Layout to Change the Audience View
One size doesn’t fit all. Depending on the number of people you have, you can toggle between various layouts to see your meeting guests differently. Google Meet offersmultiple layout options.
To access them, in Google Meet’s bottom bar, click the three dots. From the open menu, choose “Change Layout.” You’ll then see the following options:
Pin a Speaker So You Can Always See Them
If you want to focus on one particular meeting guest, you may pin their video feed. This way, their video feed is always on your screen regardless of who is speaking. To do that, hover your cursor over that person’s video feed and click the pin icon.
Later, to unpin the person, hover over their video feed again and select the unpin icon.
Cast the Meeting to Another (Larger) Device
If you have a smart TV such as a Chromecast-enabled TV, you cancast your Google Meet meetingto that device. This lets you view your guests on a larger screen.
To do that, in Google Meet’s bottom bar, click the three dots. From the open menu, choose “Cast This Meeting.” Choose the device where you want to cast your current meeting.
Turn On Captions to Not Miss a Single Word
Google Meet offers live captions, allowing you to hear exactly what the speake is saying. This ensures you don’t miss out on any importation talks in your meetings.
To enable that, in Google Meet’s bottom bar, click “Turn On Captions” (the CC icon).
To turn off captions, click the same CC icon again.
Blur or Replace Your Background to Hide Your Messy Room
If you don’t want your meeting guests to see your cats playing behind you, you may blur orreplace your background. To do that, in Google Meet’s bottom bar, click the three dots. In the open menu, choose “Backgrounds and Effects.”
To blur your background, in the Blur and Personal Backgrounds section, click the first icon. To increase the blur intensity, click the second icon.
To add your own image as the background, click the third icon and upload an image from your computer. You can also use one of the available images as the background. The changes apply in real-time, so you don’t have to click any buttons.
Record the Meeting and Review It Later
If you want to review your meeting at a later time, you’re able to record the meeting. Note that you can only access this option if you’re using aGoogle Workspace account. You don’t get the option to record meetings in the free Google account.
That said, to record your current meeting, click the three-dot menu and choose “Record Meeting.” Google Meet will save the recording in Google Drive, giving you quick and easy access to your recorded files.
Activate Noise Cancellation to Weed Out Unwanted Sounds
Google Meet has an AI-enabled noise cancellation feature to weed out unwanted sounds from your meetings. This helps you reduce the effect of the sounds like typing, fans, and street noise. Note that you only have access to this feature if you’re a Google Workspace user.
To activate the feature, click the three-dot menu and choose “Settings.” In the left sidebar, click “Audio.” On the right pane, turn on “Noise Cancellation.”
And that’s how you make your online meetings more enjoyable by utilizing various built-in features of Google Meet. While you’re at it, consider learningsome other work-from-home tips.
