How to make the most of free Google Meet features

Compared with Google Meet successful paid Google Workspace editions, the escaped variation of Google Meet lacks features. It omits signaling capabilities and limits you to meetings of up to 100 radical that past nary much than 60 minutes. With the paid versions, you tin big larger meetings (up to 250 people) that past longer (up to 24 hours), and you whitethorn grounds those meetings, arsenic well. Paid editions besides fto radical dial-in, behaviour polls and usage breakout rooms. 

But I'm not definite that each of those alleged limitations mean much. Here's a look astatine 5 of the cardinal features and functions offered successful the escaped mentation of Google Meet.

Time limit: 60 minutes

Free Google Meet sessions extremity aft 60 minutes, portion paid ones whitethorn past up to 24 hours. In my view, the 60-minute bounds is simply a benefit, not a constraint. Far excessively galore meetings past excessively long.

Need to conscionable longer? Schedule 1 oregon much further hour-long calendar events. For example, if you truly request a three-hour meeting, you'd docket it arsenic 3 abstracted calendar items. Invite the aforesaid acceptable of radical to each session. When 1 gathering ends, travel the Google Meet nexus to proceed successful the adjacent segment.

Prefer that radical not announcement you're utilizing the escaped version? Select the Speedy meetings enactment successful Google Calendar to shorten the default magnitude of calendar events (Figure A). A modular 30-minute gathering conception gets scheduled arsenic a 25-minute one, and a 60-minute league gets scheduled for lone 50 minutes. That 50 infinitesimal clip is easy wrong the bounds of the 60-minute maximum for the Google Meet escaped version. Respect your gathering participants' time, and extremity your league promptly.

Figure A

In Google Calendar Settings, alteration Speedy meetings to shorten the default duration of calendar events.

Another alternate is to conscionable for shorter sessions, much often. Use Google Calendar's repeat gathering settings (Figure B) to make calendar events that recur daily, monthly, annually oregon connected a customized schedule. (I besides suggest you attach a Google Doc to the calendar event. Give participants editing permission, truthful everyone whitethorn edit gathering treatment items.)

Figure B

Instead of occasional agelong meetings, docket shorter meetings that repetition periodically.

No recording: Active attraction

Since the escaped variation of Google Meet lacks recording, that means that participants request to wage attention. They person to absorption connected the discussion. OK, fto maine repetition that for those of you who were glancing astatine your telephone oregon checking email during the meeting. I said: There's nary recording. You request to process what radical say. Now. In the present. If you're truly successful an progressive meeting, that's precisely however you privation things to work. 

(Need to marque a recording? See 4 indispensable person tools for creating video with a mobile device oregon How to grounds your browser model successful Chrome, past upload your video to Google Drive oregon YouTube and stock it.)

Participant limit: 100

In my experience, erstwhile much than a twelve oregon truthful radical gather, there's adjacent to zero accidental that each azygous idiosyncratic progressive speaks for a meaningful magnitude of time. Depending connected the context, you mightiness telephone specified a gathering a talk, a lecture, a presentation, a sermon oregon a monologue. The 100-person bounds (Figure C) truly isn't an contented for meetings with progressive participants. If you request to simultaneously talk to much than a fewer people, you're not truly hosting a meeting—you're broadcasting. And that benignant of broadcast mightiness arsenic good beryllium pre-recorded and past shared for radical to view.

Figure C

The escaped mentation of Google Meet allows up to 100 participants.

Present: Tab, model oregon surface

Presenting works the aforesaid successful the escaped variation of Google Meet arsenic it does successful the paid editions. From Google Meet successful a browser connected a computer, you person the enactment to present content from a browser tab (best for video), a selected model (e.g., to demo an app), oregon your full surface (Figure D).

Figure D

Present a tab, a model oregon your full surface from the escaped variation of Google Meet.

Whiteboarding 

Additionally, the escaped variation of Google Meet includes whiteboarding, conscionable similar the paid editions (Figure E). You whitethorn either prime a antecedently stored whiteboard oregon make a caller 1 that is shared with everyone successful the session. Illustrate your ideas, constitute cardinal words, oregon adhd typed notes oregon images to your board. (If you're acquainted with Google's Jamboard hardware and software, this is fundamentally entree to that app wrong Meet.)

Figure E

Collaborate connected a Jamboard drafting with everyone successful your Meet session.

What's your experience?

Do you usage the escaped oregon paid mentation of Google Meet? How often bash you find immoderate of the limitations an issue? How often bash you prosecute different ways to collaborate (e.g., Gmail, Google Chat oregon a shared Doc) alternatively of meeting? If you usage a paid mentation of Google Workspace, which expanded Meet features bash you trust connected astir often? Let maine cognize what your acquisition with Google Meet has been, either successful the comments beneath oregon connected Twitter (@awolber). 

Also spot

• Google Meet video-conferencing and chat app: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
• Google Meet goes escaped to instrumentality connected Zoom and Microsoft Teams (TechRepublic)
• The 30-minute meeting: Why shorter meetings tin beryllium much productive (TechRepublic)
• 7 Google Calendar hacks to supercharge your productivity (TechRepublic)
• Google Meet to go much immersive, inclusive and productive with caller update (TechRepublic)
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