Stakeholders often say they'll watch the recording later, but it's easy for that to slip down the to-do list. Watching live is far more engaging, but adding extra people to the call can affect the participant's comfort level.
Observer rooms give stakeholders a dedicated, private space to watch your interview sessions as they happen. Observers can follow along with a live transcript, see the participant's details and screener responses, and send you messages in real time, all without ever appearing to the participant. You can invite observers to every session in a study or to individual sessions, and they'll automatically receive a calendar invite with a link to the room.
Observer rooms are available on Enterprise plans only. If you're on a different plan, you'll see a prompt to upgrade when you try to enable observer rooms. Book a chat with our Sales team if you'd like to discuss upgrading to Enterprise.
How observer rooms work
Each session in your interview study has its own observer room with a stable link that doesn't change, even if the meeting details are updated. When observers open the room, they can:
Watch the session live without joining the video call
Follow along with a live transcript
View the session details, participant information, and screener responses
Message the host privately using the observer chat
The participant never sees or hears observers, and messages sent in the observer chat are never shared with the participant.
Observer rooms work with sessions run on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams, and they're mobile-friendly, so stakeholders can watch from wherever they are.
Enabling observer rooms for your study
Open your interview study and go to the Setup tab
Select Hosts and availability from the menu sidebar
In the Observers section of the Attendees page, toggle on "Enable observer rooms"
Once observer rooms are enabled, you can start adding observers.
For more on setting up your study, including adding co-hosts and connecting your calendar, see Setting up your moderated study with Interviews.
Adding observers
You can add observers to every session in your study, or only to the sessions they want to attend.
Adding observers to all sessions in a study
In the Observers section of the Hosts and availability page, click Add observer.
Select a team member from the list. Their role will be set to Observer.
You'll see a confirmation that the observer has been added. When a session is booked, they'll receive an email with a link to the observer room.
Observers added here will be invited to every session in the study and notified about any updates. Unlike co-hosts, their calendar availability isn't taken into account when participants book sessions.
To remove an observer from the study, click the trash icon next to their name.
Adding or removing an observer for a single session
If a stakeholder only wants to watch one session, you can add them directly to that session instead of the whole study.
Go to the Sessions tab of your study.
Click the arrow on the right side of the session to expand the session details.
Under Attendees, click Add observer and select the person you'd like to invite.
You'll see a confirmation that the observer has been added to the session and an email has been sent to them with a link to the observer room.
To remove an observer from a single session, click the trash icon next to their name in the session's attendee list.
You can also use the Role dropdown to switch a team member between Host and Observer for an individual session. This is helpful if a co-host can no longer join the call but would still like to watch.
For more on managing individual sessions, see Managing sessions for Interviews.
What observers receive
When an observer is added to a booked session, they'll receive:
An email with a link to the observer room for that session
A calendar invite that includes the observer room link
The calendar invite is tied to the session rather than to the video call itself, so observers won't be added to the meeting or appear as call attendees. If the session details change, the observer's invite is updated too.
Joining the observer room
Observers can open the room using the link in their email or calendar invite.
As a host, you can also open the observer room or copy its link from the Sessions tab:
From the Next session banner at the top of the page, click Open observer room.
From the expanded session details, click Open observer room under Location, or click the link icon next to it to copy the link and share it.
Using the observer room
Watching the session and live transcript
Observers can watch the session live from the main panel of the observer room. Select the Live transcript tab below the session to follow along with what's being said in real time.
Live transcripts are only available in English at this time; let us know if you require another language for your observers. Recordings uploaded to your results after the session can be transcribed in any of our supported languages.
Viewing participant details
The Participant details tab shows the session details (including the date, time, and hosts), the participant's information, and their screener responses. This gives observers helpful context about who they're watching without you needing to share it separately.
Chatting with the host
The Observer chat panel lets observers send messages to the host during the session. For example, an observer might suggest a follow-up question or flag something they'd like you to dig into.
Messages in the observer chat are only visible to the hosts and observers of that session. The participant will never see these messages.
As the host, you'll receive a notification when a new message comes in, so you can keep your focus on the conversation and check the chat when it suits you.
Before the session, let your observers know how and when you'd like them to use the chat. For example, you might ask them to save follow-up questions for the last five minutes so you can keep the conversation flowing.
Observing on mobile
Observer rooms work on mobile devices, so stakeholders can open their link and watch from their phone if they're away from their desk.
After the session ends
When the interview finishes, the observer room will show that the session has ended. The recording will be available in the Recordings tab of your study once the video has been processed. For more on reviewing recordings and transcripts, see Conducting your study with Interviews.
Common questions
Can the participant see or hear observers?
No. Observers join a separate, private room. They never appear on the participant's screen and can't be heard by the participant.
Can observers message the participant?
No. Observers can only message the hosts of the session using the observer chat. The participant will never see these messages.
Which video conferencing tools work with observer rooms?
Observer rooms work with sessions run on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.
What's the difference between a co-host and an observer?
Co-hosts join the video call and are visible to the participant, and their calendar availability can be taken into account when participants book sessions. Observers watch from the private observer room, aren't visible to the participant, and their availability isn't considered when scheduling.
Can I add an observer after a session has been booked?
Yes. Go to the Sessions tab, expand the session, and add them as an observer under Attendees. They'll receive an email and calendar invite with the observer room link straight away.
Is there a limit to how many observers I can invite?
No. You can invite as many observers as you like, as long as they are collaborators or viewers in the same Lyssna account, with access to the relevant study or Space.
Do observers need a Lyssna account?
Yes. Observers need to be a part of your Lyssna team account and have access to the relevant study or Space to be invited.