Google Hangouts – Tips and Tricks for Improving User Experience

Google has been offering great services to users over the years, and Google Hangouts is one of these services.

Google Hangouts makes collaborating amongst groups and communication between people easy and does not require extra video conferencing facilities. This is because the service comes ready built to facilitate video conferences and video calls between two or more people.

To be able to make the most of Google Hangouts, there are certain tips and tricks that you can use. With these tips, you are guaranteed to improve user experience a great deal.

Google Hangouts Tips and Tricks

Making Use of Keyboard Shortcuts

It is possible to make use of keyboard shortcuts to perform instant actions when on a video call. From the keyboard, it is possible to unmute/mute the microphone. It is also possible to turn the webcam on and off and even to open chats among many other functions. You can view available shortcuts by typing in a question mark in a video hangout.

Making Use of Chat Commands

Chats can come in handy if you are sharing information or links with people participating in the hangout. You can make more use of the chat pane for more things than simple sharing of data. You can send private messages to a person in the hangout. This can be accomplished by typing “/to” followed by the recipient’s name. Private messages come tagged as ‘PRIVATE’ at the bottom. If you are the recipient of a private chat, you have the choice of replying to it as a private chat or public.

Making Use of Headsets

There are times when the connection on Google Hangouts is not clear. If you experience echoing during a call, you can make the call a bit clearer by using headsets instead of the computer speakers or the default microphone. With a headset, you will get better sound quality on your side and on the side of your recipient.

Muting the Microphone

When you are not actively participating in a hangout, it is best to mute the microphone. This will make the hangout more conducive as you reduce the disruptions that may be caused by background noise. You can easily mute the microphone from the microphone icon on the top side of the window. It is also possible to achieve the same result by using the <Ctrl> + D on your keyboard. Hangout also offers you the choice of muting a participant by clicking on the arrow next to the person’s profile and then selecting mute.

Limiting the Use of Bandwidth

If you find that the sound and video quality on your hangout is poor, it may be as a result of slow internet connection or it can be caused by the slowdown of your computer. To correct this problem, you can simply limit the usage of your bandwidth from the bandwidth icon that is found on the menu bar. You have options ranging from audio only, which uses the lowest bandwidth, to AutoHD, which uses the most bandwidth.

With these few tricks and tips, you will be able to have the best user experience on Google Hangouts.

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