Observe a video discussion

Join a video discussion session as an observer.

You must be an Admin or Video Discussions User, or a Power User or Author with the Can view the Video Discussion projects and moderate interviews permission to complete this task.

Tip: Check out the Video Discussions Observer Role Quick Start Guide to send to observers. This guide contains step-by-step instructions with screenshots and has all the information your observer needs to know before they begin.

As an observer joining the session, you can:

• Join the meeting room directly from the observer link without needing to be invited in.
• Join the meeting room from your desktop browser or mobile device.
• See and hear everyone in the meeting room. However, no one can see or hear you.
• Message moderators, other observers, support, and the translator using the Backroom chat.
• View interview polls, discussion guide, stimuli, and participant markup during the meeting.
• Save and tag moments during the meeting recording.
• Share takeaways after the meeting is over.

1. Join the meeting room as an observer.
   • Open the video discussion activity, click the Track Participants tab, and then select the video discussion to join and click Copy Observer Link. Paste the link in a new browser tab and press enter.
   • Click on the observer link for the video discussion on the Video Discussions Overview page.
     Note: You must be an Admin, or a Power User, Author, or Video Discussions User with the Can schedule Video interviews and manage projects permission to complete this task.
   Tip: Third party observers without Alida login credentials can still join the video discussion as long as they have the observer link. For more information, see Grant video discussion access to a third party observer.
2. After accessing the link, if prompted, enter the email and password associated with your account.
3. In Device Settings, select your audio device settings to hear the meeting. When settings are selected, click Continue.
   Note: Observers cannot speak or turn on their cameras in the meeting room. If you need to be seen and heard by participants, join the meeting as a moderator.
   You are placed in the waiting room until a moderator invites you into the live meeting room or starts the meeting.
4. If you are observing a session with simultaneous translation, select which language you want to hear the session in by selecting the toggle in the bottom left of the meeting room.
5. In the meeting room, communicate with moderators, other observers, support and the translator by opening the chat panel and selecting the Backroom chat room.
   

   Note: Observers can see the public chat but cannot send messages in it. Use the Private Chat feature to direct message moderators, observers, or translators. Observers cannot start a private chat with participants.
6. During a recorded meeting, click Save Moment to save a clip of an important point in the session.
   1. In the popup, tag the saved moment with a keyword to help you organize and find the clip later.
   The saved moment is available in the Insights > Recordings page after the session. The saved clip shows fifteen seconds before and fifteen seconds after the button was clicked.
7. After the moderator ends the session, complete the takeaway questions to record your immediate thoughts on how the session went.