Meet: Tips and Tricks for Google Meet Meetings

Getting Started

• For an introduction to Google Meet, users may 

• watch this Google Meet Introduction Video (Panopto)

• visit the Google Meet Help Center

• check out a wide range of video tutorials on YouTube.

Your Audio and Video

Audio Tips

• Click the three dots → Settings → Audio to check and change your microphone or speaker input.

• Use a headset or dedicated microphone for clearer audio.

• Meet supports automatic noise cancellation (it helps reduce typing sounds, paper rustling, or dog barking in the background)

• Keep yourself muted when not speaking to reduce background noise for others.

• Avoid speaking over others as Meet prioritizes one speaker at a time, and interruptions can cut others off.

Video Tips

• Keep your camera on and looking into the lens can help build a stronger sense of connection, but it’s okay to turn it off if your bandwidth is limited.

• Use the “Apply visual effects” button (in the lower right of your video preview) to blur your background or apply a static image.

• Keep lighting consistent, add extra light to your face, and avoid bright backlighting

Common Meeting functionality

• Screen Sharing: Click the “Present now” button to share your entire screen, a window, or a specific tab.

• Captions: Turn on live captions (CC) from the toolbar for real-time transcription. Available in multiple languages.

• Polls and Q&A: Hosts can use Google Meet’s built-in polling and Q&A tools (available in Google Workspace for education and other paid tiers).

• Breakout Rooms: Available to meeting hosts via the Activities panel (shaped like a camera icon).

• Recordings: Hosts can record meetings and save them directly to their Google Drive.

• Whiteboarding: with the Jamboard discontinuation, consider share a Google Doc for real-time collaboration.

• Visit the 3 dot "skinny snowman" icon at the bottom of your Meet window and then click General for additional settings such as Leave‑empty‑calls, captions, and video resolution. (Click Settings → General and turn “Leave empty calls” off if you don’t want Google Meet to automatically disconnect you when you’re the only person in a meeting.)

Google Meet for Classrooms

• ITS or PEPS may have additional guides and support. You can also visit: Carleton Teaching Resources Page

Some Quick classroom tips:

• Use Google Calendar to create and distribute Meet links.

• Set hosts' controls to restrict student screen sharing or chat use.

• Consider using breakout rooms for small group discussions and bringing students back for debriefing.