You've done your tech check, you're feeling ready, and now it's go time. Here's everything you'll see and do once you're in your Bello session.

This guide walks you through joining the meeting and every button you'll touch along the way. No jargon, no guesswork. Just you, ready to share what matters.

Step 1: Set Up and Join

When you open your meeting link, you'll land on a quick setup screen. This is your last check before you go in.

Type how you'd like to appear in the Name field.
Pick your Camera, Microphone, and Speaker from the dropdowns.
Use the speaker icon to play a test sound, and watch the preview to make sure your camera looks right.
The Mirror toggle flips your self-view. It only changes how you see yourself, not how others see you.

When everything looks good, click Join meeting.

Step 2: Hang Out in the Lobby

After you join, you'll wait briefly in the Lobby. This is totally normal.

The host gets notified the moment you arrive, and they'll let you in soon.
Got a question while you wait? Use the chat box to send a private message straight to the host.
Keep an eye out for any announcements the host posts here.

⭐ Tip: This is a great moment to take one last look at your camera and lighting.

Step 3: You're In. Meet Your Toolbar

Once the host lets you in, you're in the meeting. Everyone shows up as a tile, including you and your moderator. All your controls live along the bottom of the screen. Let's run through them.

Bottom Left: Your Essentials

Camera: First button on the left. Click to turn your video on or off.
Microphone: Second button. Click to mute or unmute yourself.
Settings: The gear icon. Opens up deeper options for your name, audio, and video (more on that below).

Bottom Center: Get Involved

Raise Hand: Let the moderator know you'd like to speak without interrupting. When your hand is up, a hand icon and a colored border appear on your tile. It stays up until you lower it, or the moderator lowers it for you.
Captions (CC): Turn on live captions to read what's being said, showing up to three lines at a time.
Reactions: Pop up a quick emoji to react in the moment. Reactions appear briefly and then fade, so react away.

Bottom Right: Chat and Tasks

Chat: Opens the chat panel.
Tasks: Opens any tasks the moderator sends your way.

Top Bar

View toggle: Switch between grid view and speaker view (more below).
Leave: The red button, top right. Click it when you're ready to exit the meeting.

Fine-Tune Your Setup with Settings

Need to change something mid-meeting? The Settings gear has you covered. It opens with three tabs:

General: Update the name everyone sees.
Audio: Switch your microphone or speaker, test them, and toggle Noise Cancellation.
Video: Switch your camera, preview your video, and flip the mirror view.

📣 Heads up on Noise Cancellation: it does a great job cutting out background noise, but it uses more bandwidth. Only switch it on if your network is strong, otherwise you might notice your connection struggle.

Raise Your Hand

Want to jump in? Hit Raise Hand and the moderator will see you'd like a turn.

A hand icon pops up on your tile, along with a colored border so it's easy to spot.
Your hand stays raised until you lower it yourself, or the moderator lowers it for you.

Turn On Captions

Prefer to read along? Click Captions (CC) to turn on live captions.

Captions show up to three lines of what's being said at a time.
Click the button again any time to turn them back off.

React in the Moment

Sometimes a thumbs up says it all. Click Reactions to open the emoji tray and pick one.

Choose from a row of quick reactions like 👍 👏 😂 🎉 ❤️ and more.
Reactions show up briefly and then disappear, so they never clutter the screen.

Chat: Two Ways to Talk

The Chat panel has two tabs, and the difference matters:

General: A group chat with everyone in the meeting. Post here and all attendees see it.
Private: A one-on-one line to the moderator only. Use this when you want to message the host without anyone else seeing.

You can also drop files right into the chat, or add a little personality with emoji.

Switch Your View

Prefer a different layout? Use the view toggle at the top to switch between:

Grid view: Everyone's tiles side by side, equal size.
Speaker view: The active speaker takes center stage, with others tucked into a sidebar.

This is your personal preference and only changes what you see. It doesn't affect anyone else's screen.

Completing Tasks

During the session, your moderator may send you a task, like a quick question or poll. When one arrives, the Tasks panel is where you'll respond.

Read the prompt, pick your answer, and click Submit.
Once you've submitted, you'll see a thank-you note, and you can review your response any time.
Your moderator will send the next task or share results when they're ready.

⭐ Tasks always come from your moderator, so there's nothing for you to start. Just respond when one pops up.

Wrapping Up

When the session ends, or whenever you need to step away, click the red Leave button at the top right. You'll see a friendly Meeting complete screen, and from there you can safely close the window.