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Hide specific panelists from grid view in Webex Events

We often use Webex Events for panel discussions. The host is usually not part of the discussion, and takes up screen space in the grid view. Sometimes there are other people who need panelist roles (Q&A moderator, panelists who will be joining the discussion later, etc.) but who don't need to show up in the grid view for attendees.

This could be done by hiding all panelists that don't have a video feed from view, but it would be better if the host could hide panelists individually.

For our events, we usually have:

  • A host. The host is attending to technical aspects of the event, not part of the show.

  • A presenter. This person is sharing content, but doesn't need to appear on screen.

  • A moderator or emcee. This person introductes panelists, relays questions from the audience, and addresses the audience about the event. Ideally the moderator would not be on screen while the panelists are talking.

  • One or more panelists. These are the people that the audience is there to see. Sometimes we have more than one set of panelists. A graduation ceremony is an example - there are several speakers, one at a time. Or an orientation, where there are several short panels talking about different related subjects.

We want a way to hide all the panelists that aren't "on stage" from view, so that the audience only sees the ones that are part of the active discussion. Something like a virtual green room.

  • Andrew Tellez
  • Aug 19 2020
  • Need more info
  • Guest commented
    03 Jan 14:57

    I notice the last comment was in Feb '21. I believe there is a way of doing this by syncing the stage so not sure if this idea should have been closed or not following the release of the stage sync feature?

    If anyone still has a problem with this, have a look at syncing the stage and unchecking the option "show active speaker on stage". When you do this, only the panelists that were placed on the stage will be visible. In this setup, all panelists can still be heard but only the ones on stage can be seen. So the advice for technical staff or anyone not speaking is to stay on mute. All you do then is control who should be on stage and who not and let the panelists know to control their mute/unmute as they would normally.

  • Guest commented
    February 17, 2021 18:59

    Yes - this is the feature I have been looking for: choose who attendees are aware of - no need to see those who should be behind-the-curtain, or are panelists-in-waiting.

    And I see comments that also add a functioning co-host, so the hosting duties can be shared: moderating and managing attendees.

  • Guest commented
    December 25, 2020 18:14

    This would be very welcome, having a "stage" and "backstage" with controls similar to Lobby, which the host (and hopefully in future co-hosts) could control.

    This could be enhanced with a list where the next group of panelists to be on stage could be configured from the full set of panelists (including those currently on stage) similar to defining breakout rooms.

  • Rebecca Weir commented
    November 19, 2020 01:44

    I completely agree - please enable the ability for Hosts to 'Hide Non Video Participants' for all attendees.
    It is very distracting to have the people who run the tech appear on the screen for attendees. Depending on event numbers we can sometimes have 5 or 6 panelists who are logged in to manage Q&A and technical audio etc for attendees, this takes up valuable real estate on the attendees screens.
    The current feature to 'hide non video participants is great if you are host but it makes more sense for this feature to be able to be activated by the host for all attendees...

  • Ray Pearson commented
    November 06, 2020 14:11

    I agree this would be a great feature.

  • Guest commented
    October 15, 2020 20:39

    I hate to use a competitor as a point of reference, but yes, as like in Zoom - hiding participants who turn off their camera or being able to "spotlight" multiple presenters on the screen at once. This would give far more control with regards to the polished viewer experience.

  • Guest commented
    September 25, 2020 14:55

    This would be amazing and would drastically simplify our webinar/conference production. We often do live Q&A for 2-20 panelists, and do NOT want to see the host/support staff.

  • Jake Radloff commented
    September 23, 2020 10:24

    The Webex Event capability is great, however the inability to hide non-speaking people in the session (Host, Presenter etc) degrades the experience when using it for large scale virtual events. "

    Hide non video participants" in Meetings is ok however for this to be effective in Events it would need to be a setting the Host would control that would apply to all participants - and the record/live feed components as well.

  • Andrew Tellez commented
    September 01, 2020 14:56

    For our events, we usually have:

    • A host. The host is attending to technical aspects of the event, not part of the show.

    • A presenter. This person is sharing content, but doesn't need to appear on screen.

    • A moderator or emcee. This person introductes panelists, relays questions from the audience, and addresses the audience about the event. Ideally the moderator would not be on screen while the panelists are talking.

    • One or more panelists. These are the people that the audience is there to see. Sometimes we have more than one set of panelists. A graduation ceremony is an example - there are several speakers, one at a time. Or an orientation, where there are several short panels talking about different related subjects.

    We want a way to hide all the panelists that aren't "on stage" from view, so that the audience only sees the ones that are part of the active discussion. Something like a virtual green room.

  • Steven Lengua commented
    August 31, 2020 23:49

    When creating a Webex event you invite certain people to be presenters. All these presenters along with the host have an active window in the event. During certain events you don't need all the presenters or the host to be active but there is no way to remove the active window of the presenter / host from the event. So even if the host has no other input other than to start the event, their window still shows the entire time. Would be nice if you could control which presenter / host windows are active during a Webex event.

  • Steven Lengua commented
    August 20, 2020 18:52

    This would be a great enhancement. Comes up in almost every Webex event!

  • +1