Conversations on Gather can be scheduled in advance or happen spontaneously in the moment. (That's the magic of working in a virtual office together!) 

This guide will give you an overview of the meeting experience on Gather, along with best practices for collaborating with your teammates. 

Overview

Meetings are held in Private Areas. Think of these like seating areas in an office building: They can function like a conference room behind a closed door, couches for casual coworking, or a table in the break room for water cooler talk.

Everyone in a Private Area will be able to see and hear each other, and anyone outside of it will not.

By default, anyone can walk in or out of a Private Area at any time. To prevent someone from accidentally stepping into your meeting, you can lock it by clicking the lock icon at the top of the screen. 

There are three video views you can toggle between during a meeting: 

1. Map View: Best for casual coworking with others. It places small videos at the top of the screen, allowing you to still view the activity in your office. 
2. Meeting View: Best for focused conversations and meetings. It prioritizes showing the people you're talking to instead of the map. 
3. Full-Screen View: Best when someone is sharing their screen or you want to focus on a single person's video. 

To switch your video view, click the button in the top navigation bar. 

Meeting Features

While talking to others in Gather, you'll find all the features you need for seamless collaboration:  

• Screen Share (including the ability to share audio, video, and multiple screens at the same time) 
• Screen Annotation
• Chat (group chat and direct messages) 
• Emote Reactions
• Hand Raise
• Meeting Recording (Premium or Enterprise Subscription required) 

Audio & Video Settings

You can toggle your microphone and video on or off at any time by clicking the buttons in the bottom navigation bar.

A few other recommended settings:

• If you're working in a noisy environment, toggle on Background Noise Reduction to help block out sounds.
• If you don't want to show your physical background, turn on background blur or use a virtual background.
• If you don't want to see your own video while talking to others, you can hide your self-view by going to settings.

Click here to learn more about all audio and video settings.

Scheduling, Joining, & Inviting People to Meetings

Scheduling and joining meetings are easiest if you’ve connected your Google or Outlook Calendar and installed the corresponding extension. Then you can schedule meetings directly within Gather or from your calendar of choice. You'll also receive calendar notifications that make it easy to join meetings.

• Follow this guide to connect Google Calendar and install the Gather Meetings Chrome Extension
• Follow this guide to connect Outlook Calendar and install the Gather Meetings Outlook Add-In

You can also copy a direct link to a Private Area. While standing in the area, go to the top navigation bar and click More Options > Copy Invite Link. You can then share this link directly or manually add it to a calendar event. 

Pro-tip: Want someone in Gather to join a meeting? Click their name in the Participants Panel and select "Request to join me at..." They'll get a notification and can walk over to your meeting spot in a click.

To learn more about scheduling meetings, read the full guide. 

Best Practices

For Collaboration

• Add a Whiteboard object to the meeting room for everyone to collaborate on
• Embed links into objects so everyone can access files directly from the room (great for agendas, project briefs, PRDs, etc.) 
• After a meeting ends, return to your Gather desk or sit in a coworking zone (this makes it easy for people to find you for quick follow-up conversations)
• Alternatively, start a conversation yourself by finding someone who's available and saying hi
• Move recurring meetings to Gather or cancel unnecessary stand-ups (many teams on Gather find they're able to clear their calendars in favor of in-the-moment conversations) 

For Performance

Audio and video performance during meetings may vary based on your team's network connections, system settings, and devices. The following recommendations are loose guidelines to help you have the best experience: 

• Screen sharing works best for up to 150 people
• Connecting with a combination of audio and video works best for up to 250 people
• Connecting with audio only works best for up to 500 people