Recommended resources
The freely available resources this lesson will direct you to.
Hello! Your recording setup now has one additional participant to account for: a remote guest joining the three people in the room. In this module, you will prepare that connection, check it before recording, and manage the session. Today’s focus is the first part: sending an invitation that gives the guest both the right Riverside access and enough practical instructions to arrive ready to record.
A useful invitation is more than a link. It answers four questions before the guest has to ask them: When should I arrive? What should I open? What equipment and connection do I need? What should I do when the recording ends?
Send the right kind of invitation
Riverside distinguishes a guest from a producer or an audience member. For a remote interview participant whose voice and picture you want recorded, select Guest when copying the studio link. You can send that link directly or use Riverside’s email invitation option. Check the selected role before sending either one; an audience or producer invitation is not a substitute for a guest invitation.
How to Produce the BEST Remote Video Interviews | Riverside Masterclass
Watch Riverside’s “How to Produce the BEST Remote Video Interviews” to see both sides of the invitation: how the host obtains a guest link and what the guest sees before entering.
Watch guest invitations for the role selection and link-copy demonstration. Then watch invitation details for the browser, connection, and headphone instructions the presenter includes. At arrival buffer, notice why setup time and upload time belong in the schedule. Finally, guest arrival shows the pre-studio screen and device choices.
The interface may look somewhat different from the demonstration, but the decision to make is the same: copy or email the link for the Guest role. Keep the link in the guest’s calendar invitation or message so it is easy to find on recording day. If you send a reminder, repeat the same link rather than making the guest search an earlier conversation.
Treat a studio link as access to your recording space, not as a public announcement. Send it to the intended participant through your normal scheduling or correspondence channel.
Specify a workable device and connection
For a guest joining on a computer, Riverside supports current versions of Chrome and Edge, and Safari 18.2 or newer. Chrome or Edge is a straightforward recommendation in a guest message; Safari is also supported, but the guest should remain on the Riverside tab while recording. Ask them not to use an Incognito or Private window. A guest joining on a phone or tablet should use the Riverside iOS or Android app, not a mobile browser.
An internet connection must support more than a conversation that sounds acceptable live: the guest’s recording also needs to upload. Riverside recommends a connection faster than 10 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. Those are recommendations, not a promise that every connection meeting them will be trouble-free. Ask the guest to use a wired connection if convenient, or sit where Wi-Fi is strong and reliable. A connection test before recording is more useful than discovering a problem after everyone is assembled.
System requirements and supported browsers – Riverside Help Center
Read Riverside’s “System requirements and supported browsers” to distinguish supported devices from the shorter set of recommendations you will actually put in the invitation.
Near the top, use the “Computer browser” row of the requirements table to check the supported browsers, Safari version, and private-mode warning. Then read the “Internet connection” row, including recommended speeds and the connection-test guidance. You can stop at the “Mac desktop app” heading; the later device specifications are not needed to draft a computer-based guest invitation.
Headphones deserve their own sentence in your message. Ask the guest to wear wired headphones or wired earbuds if available. Without headphones, the guest’s speakers can play the room’s voices back into the guest’s microphone, creating echo in the recording. The guest should also choose a quiet place, preferably away from other people and obvious background noise. These requests protect the editor’s raw material; they are not merely meeting etiquette.
Tell the guest exactly what “arrive early” means
Choose a specific check-in time—10–15 minutes before the planned recording start is a practical buffer—and include the time zone. Distinguish that check-in from the time you expect to press Record. The buffer gives you time to confirm that the guest can enter, hear, and be heard without using the interview itself as a technical test.
The guest’s computer-based arrival path is short, but it contains several points where clear advance instructions help:
- Open the guest invitation link in a supported browser.
- On the device-check screen, enter a name and allow camera and microphone access if prompted.
- Select the intended camera, microphone, and speaker, indicate whether headphones are in use, and check the video preview.
- Join the studio. If Riverside says the guest is waiting for the host to accept them, they should remain there while you admit them.
Read Riverside’s “Join a studio as a guest” to see the instructions from the participant’s perspective. This is the sequence your invitation should prepare them for, without overwhelming them with every button name.
Read the short introduction above “Step by step,” beginning with computer options and the following mobile-app sentence. Under “Step by step,” read the computer instructions from step 1, where the guest opens the invite email or studio access link, through step 8 and its upload confirmation. Follow the guest journey, paying particular attention to permissions, device selection, waiting for host acceptance, and what happens after recording. Stop before “Join a studio as a guest using your phone.”
There is one easily missed after-recording instruction: the guest must keep the Riverside tab open until it reports “Successfully uploaded”. If they close it immediately when the conversation ends, their recorded track may not have finished uploading. Include this in the first invitation and repeat it aloud when you finish recording. A modest post-session buffer in your schedule allows for that wait.
Put it into one message the guest can use
Your guest does not need a technical manual. They need the appointment, one unmistakable way in, and a short checklist. Adapt this message to your session:
Subject: Podcast recording — [date and time, including time zone]
Hello,
Please join our Riverside studio at [check-in time] for a short sound and picture check. We plan to begin recording at [recording time]. Your guest link is: [Riverside Guest link].
If you are joining on a computer, please open the link in an up-to-date Chrome or Edge browser, not an Incognito or Private window. If you will use a phone or tablet instead, please tell me in advance and use the Riverside mobile app.
Please join from a quiet place, wear wired headphones or earbuds if you have them, and use a stable internet connection. Before check-in, test that your camera and microphone work. When the Riverside device-check screen opens, allow camera and microphone access, select the devices you intend to use, and join the studio. If a waiting message appears, stay there while I admit you.
After we finish, please leave Riverside open until you see “Successfully uploaded.”
If you have trouble joining, contact me through [agreed contact method].
Send this far enough ahead for the guest to find headphones, test their equipment, or tell you they intend to use a mobile device. A brief reminder shortly before recording should restate the check-in time and guest link. If you have agreed to send conversation topics, that reminder is also a sensible place for them.
Notice what the message does not do: it does not ask the guest to configure your in-room microphone or solve your playback setup. Those are host responsibilities. The invitation prepares the guest’s side of the connection and gives you a clear point at which to verify that both sides work together.
What to carry forward
A reliable remote-guest invitation contains a Guest-role link, a check-in time distinct from the recording time, supported-device guidance, headphones and stable-internet requests, simple joining instructions, and the reminder to wait for upload confirmation before leaving. Sending those details together reduces avoidable delays and helps preserve the guest’s raw recording for the editor.
Next, you will turn to the room’s playback and monitoring setup: making the remote guest audible to the in-person speakers without sending that sound back as echo or feedback.