Session Rehearsal

Overview

Delivering a smooth live event experience requires more than a finalized agenda and polished presentations. Speakers need to feel comfortable on stage, hosts need to coordinate session transitions confidently, and organizers need to ensure every interaction tool works as expected before attendees join the event.

Rehearsals in Zoho Backstage OnAir help organizers, speakers, and hosts prepare for successful live sessions by simulating the complete event experience ahead of time.

By validating presentations, engagement tools, moderation workflows, and technical setup before going live, your team can deliver a smoother, more confident, and more engaging experience for attendees on event day.

With rehearsal sessions in Zoho Backstage OnAir, organizers can simulate the live session environment ahead of event day and prepare speakers, hosts, co-hosts, and test participants for the actual experience.

Rehearsals help event teams:

Test audio and video quality
Practice presentations and speaker transitions
Verify polls, Q&A, and chat functionality
Validate presentation materials and screen sharing
Familiarize speakers with the OnAir interface
Identify and resolve technical issues early

The rehearsal environment closely mirrors the actual live session experience, making it easier for speakers and organizers to prepare with confidence before going live.

Before You Begin

Before conducting rehearsals, make sure your event setup is complete. We recommend verifying the following before starting:

Your event is published
Sessions have been created in the agenda
Speakers have been assigned to sessions
Hosts and co-hosts have been configured
Presentation materials are finalized
Audio and video devices are functioning correctly
Your internet connection is stable

Once your event is live, you can begin inviting test participants and rehearsing sessions.

Test Participants

Test participants help organizers simulate the attendee experience during rehearsals. They can join rehearsal sessions, participate in polls and chat, ask questions, and validate the overall virtual event flow before event day.

You can invite up to 20 test participants for an event.

These participants receive secure invitation emails with direct access to the event microsite and rehearsal sessions.

Adding Test Participants Manually

To manually invite participants:

Navigate to Event Day > Rehearsal > Test Participants from the Dock.
Click Add Participants. The Add Participants side panel will appear.
Enter participant email addresses separated by commas.
Click Done.

Once added, invitation emails are automatically sent to the participants. The invitation email includes:

Event details
Rehearsal access information
A secure sign-in link to the event website

This method is ideal when inviting a smaller group of participants for quick rehearsal testing.

Importing Test Participants in Bulk

If you want to invite multiple participants at once, you can import them using a spreadsheet file.

Navigate to Event Day > Rehearsal > Test Participants from the Dock.
Click Import Participants. The Import Participants dialog box will appear.
Click Download Sample File.
Add participant details to the spreadsheet.
Save the completed file.
Click Choose File in the Import Participants dialog box.
Select the file from your local storage.
Click Import.

Once the import is completed, participants will appear in the Test Participants list.

Bulk importing is especially useful for large rehearsal groups.

Understanding Test Participant Roles

Participant roles during rehearsals are automatically determined based on their assigned event roles. Users without assigned roles join as attendees, helping organizers accurately simulate the live event experience during rehearsals. After participants are added, the participant list displays:

Participant name
Email address
Assigned role
Invitation status

This helps organizers verify who has been invited and monitor rehearsal readiness before sessions begin.

Removing Test Participants

Navigate to Event Day > Rehearsal > Test Participants from the Dock.
Locate the participant in the Test Participants list.
Click Remove.
Confirm removal in the dialog box.

Once removed, the participant will no longer be able to access rehearsal sessions for the event.

Managing Hosts for Rehearsals

Organizers can configure hosts directly from the rehearsal interface.

Navigate to Event Day > Rehearsal > Rehearse Sessions from the Dock.
Open the session details panel by clicking on a session.
Click Manage Hosts.
Select the required host and co-hosts.
Click Save.

Starting a Rehearsal Session

Organizers, hosts, and co-hosts can start and manage rehearsal sessions. To start session rehearsal:

Navigate to Event Day > Rehearsal > Rehearse Sessions from the Dock.
Select the required session.
Click Rehearse Session.

The OnAir rehearsal environment opens automatically.

The rehearsal schedule displays sessions grouped by event day, time, and hall or track, with options to browse sessions using day tabs, search, and hall filters. Selecting a session displays:

Session title
Time and hall details
Assigned speakers
Hosts and co-hosts
Session category information

Joining a Rehearsal Session

Speakers, organizers, and test participants can join rehearsal sessions directly from the event website using the sign-in link shared in the invitation email.

Open the event website using the sign-in link provided in the invitation email.
Sign in using the registered email address.
Go to the Agenda tab on the event website.
Locate the session marked as REHEARSING.
Click JOIN for the required rehearsal session.

The OnAir rehearsal interface opens automatically. Participant roles during rehearsals are automatically determined based on their assigned event roles. Users without assigned roles join as attendees.

Audio and Video Setup

Before entering the rehearsal session, the audio and video setup screen appears. Here, participants can:

Select microphones
Choose cameras
Configure speaker output
Test audio input levels
Mute or disable video before joining

Before entering the rehearsal room, we strongly recommend verifying:

Audio clarity
Camera framing
Background lighting
Internet stability

Once everything is configured, click Continue to enter the session.

Understanding the Rehearsal Interface

The rehearsal environment closely mirrors the actual live session experience in Zoho Backstage OnAir. The interface allows organizers, speakers, and participants to:

Interact in real time
Share presentations
Coordinate session flow
Test engagement features
Simulate attendee participation

The available controls and permissions vary based on the participant’s assigned role.

Organizer and Host Experience

Organizers and hosts have access to moderation and session management controls during rehearsals. Their responsibilities typically include:

Coordinating speakers
Managing session timing
Monitoring engagement tools
Testing audience workflows
Validating the overall session experience

Managing Audio and Video

To ensure all presenters are technically prepared before event day, hosts can use the microphone and camera controls to:

Test device quality
Coordinate with speakers
Validate stage visibility
Identify echo or background noise issues

Sharing Presentations and Content

During rehearsals, organizers and speakers can:

Share screens
Present slides
Display demos
Share uploaded session files

This helps teams verify presentation visibility, slide order, media playback, and overall shared content quality before the live session begins.

Recording Rehearsals

Hosts and organizers can record rehearsal sessions for internal review. Recording rehearsals helps teams:

Review timing and pacing
Evaluate speaker transitions
Identify technical problems
Improve moderation workflows
Prepare speakers for the live session

Session Engagement Tools

Organizers and speakers can use rehearsals to validate audience interaction workflows, moderation processes, poll functionality, question and answer management, and chat visibility before attendees join the actual event. The rehearsal interface includes access to:

Polls
Questions and Answers
Chat
Participants
Handouts

Speaker Experience During Rehearsals

Speakers join rehearsals using the same OnAir interface used during live sessions, allowing them to practice presentations, coordinate with hosts, test microphones and cameras, familiarize themselves with stage controls, and simulate audience engagement before event day.

Speakers can access several presentation controls from the bottom toolbar. These include:

Microphone
Camera
Share Screen
Share Material
Theater Mode
Reactions
Settings
Leave Session

Testing Presentations

Speakers should use rehearsals to:

Validate presentation timing
Test screen sharing
Confirm slide visibility
Verify media playback
Practice transitions between presenters

This helps speakers become more comfortable with the live session environment ahead of the event.

Sharing Materials

The Share Material option allows speakers to present organizer-uploaded resources directly inside the session. This is useful for:

Slide decks
PDFs
Product walkthroughs
Session resources

Speakers can also validate annotations, navigation controls, and presentation layouts during rehearsals.

Coordinating Speaker Transitions

Rehearsals are especially valuable for multi-speaker sessions and panel discussions. During rehearsals, speakers and hosts can:

Practice introductions
Coordinate speaking order
Test handoffs between presenters
Review timing and pacing
Simulate Q&A workflows

This helps reduce confusion during the actual live session.

Test Participant Experience

Test participants join rehearsals to simulate the attendee experience before the event begins. Once they sign in and join a rehearsal session, they can:

Watch presentations
Respond to polls
Use chat and reactions
Ask questions
Test engagement tools
Validate the attendee experience

Since the rehearsal interface closely matches the live event experience, organizers can share standard attendee documentation with test participants for detailed interaction guidance.

Validating the Complete Event Experience

A rehearsal is more than a technical check. It is an opportunity to validate the entire virtual session experience before attendees arrive. We recommend testing:

Audio and video quality
Presentation visibility
Polls and Q&A
Chat moderation
Speaker transitions
Handouts and downloads
Stage layouts
Audience participation workflows
Internet stability

A complete rehearsal helps teams identify issues early and improve confidence before the live event begins.

Best Practices for Successful Rehearsals

Start rehearsals early before event day
Ask all speakers to join at least 10–15 minutes ahead
Use headphones for virtual events to reduce audio echo
Keep presentation materials finalized before rehearsals
Close unnecessary applications before screen sharing
Test internet stability from the actual presentation location
Simulate real attendee interaction using test participants
Run rehearsals for high-priority or complex sessions multiple times

For panel discussions or keynote sessions, we strongly recommend conducting a complete end-to-end rehearsal before the live event.

Troubleshooting Tips

If participants experience issues during rehearsals:

Refresh the browser page
Reconnect audio or video devices
Switch to a supported browser
Disable browser extensions if necessary
Verify microphone and camera permissions
Rejoin the session if audio or video becomes unresponsive

If you have any questions, please contact support@zohobackstage.com.