If you are joining a Vimeo event as a guest speaker, this guide will walk you through what you need, navigate the backstage area, and knowing when you are live on the event.
In this article:
- Technical requirements for guest speakers
- Accepting an invite to be a guest speaker
- Navigating the Vimeo event's backstage
- Presenting as a guest speaker
- What happens when the event ends
Technical requirements for guest speakers
To join a stream as a guest speaker on Vimeo, make sure you have the following:
- Desktop or laptop computer
- Joining a stream via mobile device is not currently supported.
- Webcam
- Microphone
- Up-to-date web browser
- Chrome 58+, Firefox 56+, and Safari 12+ are all supported
- Reliable internet connection: Your network’s upload and download speeds should at minimum be 5-10Mbps.
Accepting an invite to be a guest speaker
The event’s broadcaster will send you an invitation link either via an email from Vimeo (you’ll see a Join button), or by sending you a Vimeo live guest URL directly via other communication methods. The URL will look something like vimeo.com/live/guest/[unique string].
Your invite link is unique to you; you shouldn’t share it with others.
When you click the join link, you will see a screen showing your webcam and microphone on the left, and event information on the right.
You can adjust your video and audio sources by clicking the gearwheel button below the camera preview. Be sure to allow your browser to access your webcam and microphone if prompted.
You can also disable your camera and mute your microphone by clicking their respective icons below your camera source.
When you are ready, check the box next to the terms of service and privacy policy statement, then click Go backstage.
Navigating the Vimeo event's backstage
When you are backstage, you will see yourself and any other speakers who are also part of the event. You will also be able to hear other guests (if they aren’t muted) and they can hear you.
Below the speakers' camera sources are two small windows.
- The left one is the live output, which will say ‘Event offline’ before the event goes live. This will say ‘On air’ when you are live on stage.
- The right one is the next scene preview, which is what the broadcaster has queued up to send to the stream next. This will show you a notification if you are going to be live on the event soon.
On the right side of the page is a chat panel.
- By default you will see the Speakers tab open, which is an internal chat between you, the broadcaster, and the other guest speakers so that you can communicate outside of the event as needed.`
- The Audience tab is a public chat with event viewers, which you can participate in as well. Note that the event broadcaster may choose to disable this chat.
- In both chats, you can hover over any message that you sent and click the trash can icon to delete your own messages.
Along the top of the backstage page you will see:
- The event name
- “Live” or “Event offline” indicator
- “Backstage” or “Stage” indicator
- Stream health indicator
- Event timer
- An option to leave the event. Clicking Leave event will disconnect you from the event, make sure you are totally done before clicking this.
Presenting as a guest speaker
When the event goes live, you will hear the stream output audio in addition to audio coming from speakers backstage.
You will know that you’ve moved from backstage to on stage when you see:
- The top banner says Stage (not "Backstage")
- You see a red Live indicator in your camera source
- You see an On Air indicator in the stream output preview.
- You no longer see other guest speakers who are still backstage.
If you see a line through the microphone or camera icon below the camera source, that means your audience can't hear or see you, respectively. Make sure those are enabled.
If you need to share your screen:
- Click the green Start screen share button.
- If you use Google Chrome or Firefox, you have the option of sharing your entire screen, a certain window, or a browser tab. Select your desired source, then click Share.
- Viewers will see your screen source in the player, with your camera showing in the lower right corner. Currently, it’s not possible to disable the camera window when screen sharing.
- Click Stop screen share to stop sharing your screen.
💡 Tip: You can also request to share your screen prior to going on stage. This is useful if you wish to go on stage with your screen share already active.
You will know that you are no longer on stage when:
- The top banner says Backstage.
- You do not see the red Live indicator in your camera source.
- The stream output below shows content rather than ‘On air.’
- You see the other backstage guests.
What happens when the event ends
If you are completely done with the event, you can click Leave event at the top right of the page. Note that this will disconnect you entirely and should only be done when you are certain your presence is no longer needed.
When the broadcaster ends the stream, you will see a notification indicating that the event is over, allowing you to close the page.