Explained: Google Slides speaker spotlight feature and how will it help users – Times of India

Google has recently announced several new updates for its Workspace productivity suite during the company’s Cloud Next event. These new features are designed to make collaborative tools in the Workspace suite even more useful. The speaker spotlight feature that has been added to Google Slides is aimed to make presentations more lively and easier to follow. The company has mentioned its goal to bring people closer through its communication products and this new Slides feature is a step towards that goal.
Here we have explained how the speaker spotlight feature will work when it arrives on Google Slides.
What is the speaker spotlight feature and how will it help users
Currently, Google Slides allows users to insert a video feed of themselves while they are giving a presentation on Google Meet. This video is shown right next to the presentation for the other participants in the call which helps them to follow the presentation better and have an immersive experience like they would have during a live presentation.
However, when users watch a presentation separately (usually after it has been delivered) at a different time, this video is no longer available and these users can only see the presentation and not the presenter’s explanation.

The speaker spotlight feature will let users insert the video directly into the presentation allowing others to see the presenter’s video (along with the presentation) even when the session is concluded. Google believes that the presenter’s video can be helpful for users who have missed the presentation in real-time and have some catching up to do at a later date or time.
Other speaker-related features Google has added
Apart from the speaker spotlight feature, Google has also added some speaker-related features to both Google Meet and Chat. Google’s primary videoconferencing service is set to get the adaptive framing feature soon.
To keep the focus in the right place, this feature will help Google Meet to detect and frame speakers during a video meeting. Moreover, Google Meet will also receive automatic meeting transcription and automatic video framing features which will also help several users.

Meanwhile, Google Chat will be receiving custom emojis and inline threaded conversations for in-meeting discussions among participants. Google’s Chat service will also add broadcast-only spaces that will help leaders and executives to make broader announcements across their organisation.