As main presenter, you have complete control over your webinar and the stage. Should someone only be allowed to speak at certain moments during the webinar? Has a speaker forgotten to turn off their camera? No worries, you can take care of it for them.
Managing the stage from the webinar settings
You can configure the webinar settings by clicking the cogwheel icon at the bottom of the webinar page and selecting 'Webinar settings'. The menu that opens includes options that allow for customization and will be applied to the whole streaming experience.
The first option is for the viewer stage access settings. There are three possible settings:
Invite-only: Viewers can only join the stage once they’ve been invited.
Raise hand: Viewers can request to be invited to the stage by raising their hand.
On their own: Viewers can join the stage on their own accord.
The second option is 'Allow viewers on stage to share their screen'. If this option is enabled, viewers that are on stage can share their whole screen, browser window or an individual tab.
The third option is 'Allow viewers to see the list of viewers'. If this option is enabled, viewers are able to see how many participants there are and who else is watching the webinar.
The fourth option is 'Hide people without a camera'. If this option is enabled; presenters and participants without video will not be shown on stage, but they are still audible. They will also not be visible in the (download of the) replay if this option is enabled.
Managing the stage from the stage controls
The stage controls can be accessed by clicking the spotlight icon at the top of the webinar page, no matter what tab your sidebar is currently on.
The first button, with the spotlight icon, either brings the attendee on stage or removes them from the stage.
The second button, with the camera icon, toggles the attendee’s camera.
The third button, with the microphone icon, toggles the attendee’s microphone.
If someone is sharing their screen, a fourth button will appear with a monitor icon. You can use this button to end their screen share session.
You can use the ‘Open stage panel’ button to immediately go to the ‘Stage’ tab in the sidebar for easier control.
Managing the stage from the ‘Stage’ tab
You can access the ‘Stage’ tab by first opening the ‘Attendance’ tab and then selecting ‘Stage’. A list of attendees that are on/off stage and attendees that have been invited to the stage will appear.
There are three groups in this tab. There is a fourth group if you have enabled the 'Allow viewers to request to go on stage' feature.
Stage
Attendees listed under ‘Stage’ are currently able to toggle their camera and microphone and can appear on stage during the webinar. You can use the buttons next to their name to manage them during the webinar.
The first button, with the spotlight icon, removes the attendee from the stage.
The second button, with the camera icon, toggles the attendee’s camera.
The third button, with the microphone icon, toggles the attendee’s microphone.
If someone is sharing their screen, a fourth button will appear with a monitor icon. You can use this button to end their screen share session.
Off stage
Attendees listed under ‘Off stage’ have configured their camera and microphone and can be brought on stage. This group also displays viewers that have accepted an invitation to the stage.
Viewers that were invited cannot appear on stage during the webinar until they’re brought on stage by someone with the ability to do so. You can use the buttons next to their name to manage them during the webinar.
The ‘Remove from stage’ button only appears for viewers that were invited to the stage; it’s not available for the webinar team. It removes the attendee from off stage. This turns the attendee back into a regular viewer.
The button with the spotlight icon brings the attendee onto the stage, allowing them to appear during the webinar and toggle their camera and microphone themselves.
Tip! This group shows the current camera feed for the attendee in question, allowing you to make sure someone’s camera is configured properly before bringing them on stage.
Invited
Attendees listed here have been invited to the stage, but have not yet accepted the invitation. The progress of their invitation will be shown below their name. They will be moved to ‘Off stage’ once they’ve accepted. You can use the button next to their name to manage them during the webinar.
The ‘Withdraw invitation’ button withdraws the attendee’s invitation. This turns the attendee back into a regular viewer.
Requested
Attendees listed here have requested to appear on stage by "raising their hand". You can use the button with the spotlight icon to invite them to the stage or use the button with the 'X' to deny their request. This group only appears when the 'Allow viewers to request to go on stage' feature is enabled.
Managing the stage from the camera menu
When someone's camera is enabled, you can hover over their video and click the three dots to open their menu. This menu functions the same way as the three methods above.
Managing viewers on stage
Inviting viewers to the stage
It’s possible to invite viewers of your webinar to the stage, even if they aren’t part of your webinar team.
Find the viewer in question in the attendee list, find a chat message from them, or find their stage request
Hover over the viewer’s name to see the available actions for the viewer
Click the ‘Invite to stage’ icon, shaped like a spotlight
Choose ‘Invite to stage’ to invite the viewer to be both visible and audible or ‘Invite with audio only’ to invite the viewer to be audible
The viewer has now been invited to the stage and will appear in the ‘Invited’ group in the ‘Stage’ tab.
You can read more about the process of inviting viewers to the stage here.
Managing viewers on stage
You can manage the viewers that have access to the stage the same way as your other speakers by following the instructions in the earlier sections of this article.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if someone has their microphone disabled?
If someone has their camera enabled while their microphone is a disabled, a mute indicator will appear at the bottom right of their video.
What does it look like when someone’s camera is off but microphone on?
They will remain on the screen, but with a ‘camera disabled’ indicator instead of their video. This is done so that viewers can still tell who’s speaking when someone’s camera is disabled.
Please note! Toggling off the camera as a solo presenter when showcasing a presentation or screensharing will automatically hide your name placeholder while on stage. Read more about this setting here.
What happens when both the camera and microphone are disabled?
When someone has both their camera and microphone disabled, they will be invisible to everyone participating in the webinar.
What happens if nobody has their camera or microphone enabled?
All webinar participants will be notified that nobody is currently sharing video or audio.