If you are presenting at a virtual event hosted on Zoho Backstage OnAir, this guide covers everything you need to participate effectively: how to join your session, navigate the interface, share content, engage with the audience, and manage interactive elements such as polls and questions.
The OnAir interface is divided into four main areas:
Provides access to Event Info, Sessions, Exhibitors, Lounges, and My Meetings.
The central area displaying the live session, video feeds from all presenters, any shared presentation content, and the discussion area.
Contains your primary session controls: microphone mute/unmute, camera on/off, screen sharing, material sharing, Theatre Mode, emoji reactions, settings, and the option to leave the session.
Houses the session engagement tools: Panelists, Participants, Polls, Questions, Chat, and Handouts tabs.
Open the Sessions tab in the left navigation panel to view all event sessions. They are organised into Live Sessions (currently in progress) and Upcoming Sessions (not yet started). Each session card shows the title, scheduled time, duration, status, and assigned speakers.
To join a live session, locate it under Live Sessions and click Join. If you lose your connection during a session, you can rejoin at any time while the session remains active by clicking Join again.
Click the Microphone icon in the bottom toolbar to mute or unmute your audio. When muted, neither other speakers nor attendees can hear you. Click the Camera icon to toggle your video on or off; when your camera is off, your profile image is displayed in your place.
While presenting, you have access to tools for zooming, pointer highlighting, annotation using pens or markers, and navigating between slides. To stop, click Share Material again and then End Presentation.
Click the Theatre Mode icon in the toolbar to expand the session stage and create a more focused presentation view for attendees.
Click the Reactions icon and select an emoji to send. Reactions appear briefly on the session stage and are visible to all participants.
Click Leave Session in the bottom toolbar and confirm your choice. Leaving the session does not end it for the other participants.
The Panelists tab in the right panel shows all hosts, co-hosts, and speakers. You can view each person's microphone and camera status from here. A private Chat sub-tab allows you to send messages that are visible only to other panelists.
The Participants tab is split into two views: Session (attendees currently in the session) and Event (all registered participants). Use the search bar to locate a specific person.
From the Session view, you can grant or revoke microphone and camera access for individual attendees:
To send a direct message to a participant, click the Chat icon next to their name, type your message, and click Send. The conversation will also appear in the Chat tab of the right panel.
To schedule a one-to-one meeting with a registered participant, switch to the Event tab, click More Actions next to their name, and select Schedule Meeting. Enter the date, start time, duration, and a brief reason for the meeting, then click Request Meeting. The participant will receive the request and can accept or decline.
To launch a poll, locate it in the Polls tab and click Start. To monitor responses as they come in, click View Results. When you are ready to share the results with all attendees, click Show Results to Everyone. To remove a poll, click the More icon next to it and select Delete Poll, then confirm.
Open the Questions tab in the right panel to view audience questions. The Open Questions sub-tab shows unanswered questions, which you can sort by submission time or by the number of upvotes. The Answered Questions sub-tab shows those you have already addressed.
To reply to a question, click Reply next to it, enter your response, and submit. To project a question on the session stage for everyone to see, click Project Question, review the confirmation dialogue, and click Project. To remove a question, click the More icon and select Delete.
The Chat tab in the right panel provides two views. The Session tab shows the public session chat where all participants can exchange messages. The Direct Messages tab allows you to search for and send private messages to individual attendees; these conversations are visible only to the parties involved.
The Handouts tab lists any files shared by the session organisers. Browse the available files and click the Download icon to save a copy. Only organiser-uploaded files appear in this panel.
Once your session has ended, you can continue networking by visiting the Lounges section from the left navigation panel. Each lounge provides its own set of controls at the bottom of the screen (microphone, camera, screen share, settings, reactions, and leave) as well as a right panel containing Participants, Polls, and Chat tabs.