Collaborate with decision makers

What you'll learn

How to find and meet with stakeholders, assign tasks, track progress, and keep projects moving forward.

What you'll need

10 minutes

 Google Workspace account—Don't have one? Start your 14-day trial today.
 

In this tutorial

Get in touch with stakeholders Meet with stakeholders Resolve issues

1  Get in touch with stakeholders

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1.1 Search for stakeholders

If you’re working on an urgent issue or assignment and you need to get other people in your organization on board, you can search for them in Google Cloud Search.

Find and contact stakeholders:

1. Sign in to Cloud Search at cloudsearch.google.com.

   If you can't sign in, your account doesn't have Cloud Search. Learn more

2. Search for a person by name.
3. In the result card, click the icons to the right of the person's name to send an email, schedule a meeting, or start a video call.
4. To get other contact options or more reporting information, click the person's name to open their profile information page. 
5. In the profile information page, click how you want to contact the person:
   • To send an email, click Email  or the person's email address.
   • To set up a meeting, click Schedule .
   • To chat, click Chat .
   • To start a video call, click Video call .
6. To contact the person's manager or direct reports, click the name of the manager or report to open their profile information page.

1.2 Communicate with stakeholders

After you establish who you need to contact, compose an email or send a message to stakeholders.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
2. At the top left, click Compose.
3. In the "To" field, add recipients. You can also add recipients:
   • In the "Cc" and "Bcc" fields.
   • When you compose a message, with a "+ sign" or "@mention" and the contact's name in the text field.
4. Add a subject.
5. Write your message.
6. At the bottom of the message, click Send.

Tip: To add individual recipients and groups of contacts you created with labels, click To:. 

You can use this feature only if your organization supports it. For help, contact your administrator.

Write a new draft with Gemini in Gmail

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. At the top left, click Compose.
   • You can also reply to an email thread.
3. At the bottom left of the window, click Help me write .
4. Enter a prompt. For example:
   • “A thank you letter for my job interview”
   • “A birthday invitation for my 5-year-old”
   • “Ask my friend for restaurant recommendations in Toronto”
5. Click Create.
6. (Optional) After generating your draft, click:
   • Recreate: Generate a new draft based on your prompt. After you create a new version of the draft, you can’t go back to the previous version.
   • Refine: Revise the text in the draft.
     • Formalize: Make the draft more formal.
     • Elaborate: Add additional details to the draft.
     • Shorten: Shorten the draft.
7. If your draft looks good, click Insert.

Tips:

• For better results, include:
  1. Recipient
  2. Topic
  3. Tone you want to express in your prompt

For example, "An apology to my child's teacher for their absence."

• To get a draft you like, it may take a few tries. To submit a different prompt:
  1. At the top right of the draft, tap Close .
  2. Enter a new prompt.

Refine a draft with Gemini in Gmail

1. On your computer, open Gmail.
2. At the top left, click Compose.
   • You can also reply to an email thread or open an existing draft.
3. Write your message.
4. At the bottom left of the window, click Help me write .
5. Choose an option from the menu:
   • Polish: Refine your draft.
   • Formalize: Make the draft more formal.
   • Elaborate: Add additional details to the draft.
   • Shorten: Shorten the draft.
6. (Optional) After refining your draft, click:
   • Recreate: Generate a new draft. After you create a new version of the draft, you can’t go back to the previous version.
   • Refine: Revise the text again.
7. If your draft looks good, click Insert.

Give feedback about a draft

Google Workspace with Gemini is constantly learning and may not be able to support your request.

If the generated draft is inaccurate or looks unsafe, you can let us know by submitting feedback. Your feedback can help improve AI-assisted Workspace features and broader Google efforts in AI.

1. Below the generated text, click Good suggestion or Bad suggestion .
2. To share detailed feedback, click Tell us more.
   • To share general feedback, click Feedback .
3. Click Submit.

Important:

• To send feedback with screenshots, click Help in the top right of Gmail Send feedback to Google. Learn more about sending feedback in Gmail.
• To report a legal issue, create a request.

Send a direct message to someone:

1. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account.
2. If the name isn’t already under "Chat," click Start a chat .
3. Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text.
   • To send a 1:1 message to someone outside of your organization, enter their email address.
4. Click the person you want to message.
5. Enter a message, then click Send .

Start a group conversation:

1. Go to Google Chat or your Gmail account.
2. Under "Chat," click on an existing group conversation, enter a message click Send .
3. If the group conversation isn’t under "Chat,” click Start a chat Start group conversation.
4. Enter a name or email address. Suggestions appear as you enter text.
5. Click Done .
6. Enter a message, then click Send .

2  Meet with stakeholders

2.1 See when people can meet

It can be difficult to coordinate schedules with large groups of people in different time zones. Before you schedule a meeting, you can check everyone’s availability in Google Calendar.

If someone has shared their calendar with you, or is part of your work, school, or other organization, you can check if they're free or busy when adding them to an event.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. On the left, click Search for people.
3. Start typing someone’s name and choose the person you want to meet with.
4. At the top left, click Create .
5. Click Find a time. If the guest you invited has shared their calendar with you, you'll see when they can attend.

2.2 Schedule a meeting

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. Optional: If you want to add guests to your event, on the left click Search for people and start typing the names of your guests.
3. Click any time on the calendar that doesn't already have an event scheduled.
4. Add a title to the event, and any event details.
5. Click Save.

Tip: To create a longer event, drag your mouse down the page while you're selecting the time.

2.3 Attach files to your meeting invite

Attach documents or any other resources you want to discuss. Guests can review relevant files before the meeting and come prepared.

1. Click the Add description or attachments field.
2. Add details, such as contact information, instructions, or links for your event.
3. (Optional) Format your description by bolding, italicizing, underlining, or adding lists and links.

2.4 Join the meeting

See your scheduled meeting in Calendar and quickly join a video meeting. Use this Google Meet cheat sheet.

1. In Google Calendar, click the event you want to join.
2. Click Join with Google Meet.
3. In the window that opens, click Join now. 

2.5 Share and present during a video meeting

Meeting organizers with Google Workspace for Education can prevent participants from sharing their screen. 

1. In Google Drive, open the Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides file you want to share or present.
2. (Optional) To edit a document, spreadsheet, or presentation simultaneously with your guests:
   1. In the upper-right corner, click Share.
   2. Add a title to your document and click Save.
   3. Add your meeting guests and give everyone Editor access.
   4. Click Send.
3. Open Google Meet and join the meeting.
4. Click Present now and choose what to share:
   • Your entire screen
   • A window
   • A tab
5. Click Share.

Tip: If you're not using Chrome browser (which automatically hides any pop-up notifications), mute or turn off notifications so they don’t appear when you’re presenting.

2.6 Share files and other materials

Prepare everyone working on the assignment by sharing any relevant files or folders.

Share a file or folder with specific people:

1. Select the file you want to share.
2. Click Share or Share .
3. Under Share with people and groups, enter the email address you want to share with.

   Note: If visitor sharing is on for your organization, you can invite someone who doesn't have a Google Account to collaborate on your Google Drive files and folders. See Share documents with visitors.

4. To change what people can do to your file, on the right, click the Down arrow Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
5. Choose to notify people:
   • If you want to notify people that you shared a file with them, check the Notify people box. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
   • If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the Notify people box.
6. Click Share or Send.

Share a link to a file or folder:

1. In Drive, right-click the file or folder you want to share and select Share .

   In Docs, Sheets, or Slides, at the top, click Share.

   Note: You can only share files that you own or have edit access to.

2. (Optional) To specify what people can do with your file when you share it, under your organization name, click Change:
   • To change the permission, at right, click the Down arrow  and select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
   • To allow sharing the link outside of your organization, next to your organization name, click the Down arrow Public.

     Note: If you don't see this option, contact your administrator.

3. Click Copy link.
4. Click Done.
5. Paste the link in an email, on a website, or wherever you need to share it.

2.7 Assign tasks

After you establish who needs to work on the assignment, you can assign tasks to stakeholders.

1. On your computer, open a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or video.
2. Highlight the text, images, cells, slides, or scenes you want to comment on.
3. To add a comment, in the toolbar, click Add comment .
4. Type your comment.
5. Click Comment.

2.8 Send a follow-up email

After the meeting, send a follow-up email to summarize the meeting notes and any additional tasks.

1. On your computer, go to Gmail.
2. At the top left, click Compose.
3. In the "To" field, add recipients. You can also add recipients:
   • In the "Cc" and "Bcc" fields.
   • When you compose a message, with a "+ sign" or "@mention" and the contact's name in the text field.
4. Add a subject.
5. Write your message.
6. At the bottom of the message, click Send.

Tip: To add individual recipients and groups of contacts you created with labels, click To:. 

3  Resolve issues

3.1 Collaborate on potential solutions

Create a document that serves as a blank canvas for everyone’s ideas and solutions. Edit together in real time, chat within files, and get targeted feedback using comments and suggestions.

1. On your computer, open a document, spreadsheet, presentation, or video.
2. Highlight the text, images, cells, slides, or scenes you want to comment on.
3. To add a comment, in the toolbar, click Add comment .
4. Type your comment.
5. Click Comment.

3.2 Track updates and changes

See how your project tasks are progressing at a glance with conditional formatting rules. For example, add colors to make completed tasks stand out from tasks that haven’t been started or are in progress.

Set up progress trackers:

1. Open Sheets and select the column that you want to apply the formatting rules to.
2. Select FormatConditional formatting.
3. Set up the rules. In this example, you assign a different color to tasks that are Complete, Not started, or In progress:

	On the Single color tab, under Format cells if, select Text contains.
	In the box under Text contains, type Complete.
	Under Formatting style, click the list to choose if you want the background or text to be colored.
	To assign a custom text or background color, click Text color or Fill color . If needed, you can specify a color for the text and a color for the background.
	If you want to add more rules, click Add another rule and follow the same steps. For example, assign a red background to Not started tasks and an orange background to In progress tasks.
	Click Done.

3.3 Schedule a final meeting

Schedule a final meeting to ensure everyone has completed their assignments and discuss any questions.

1. On your computer, open Google Calendar.
2. Optional: If you want to add guests to your event, on the left click Search for people and start typing the names of your guests.
3. Click any time on the calendar that doesn't already have an event scheduled.
4. Add a title to the event, and any event details.
5. Click Save.

Tip: To create a longer event, drag your mouse down the page while you're selecting the time.

3.4 Collaborate on an agenda during the meeting

During the meeting, share an agenda so everyone is in the loop.

1. In Google Drive, open the Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides file you want to share or present.
2. (Optional) To edit a document, spreadsheet, or presentation simultaneously with your guests:
   1. In the upper-right corner, click Share.
   2. Add a title to your document and click Save.
   3. Add your meeting guests and give everyone Editor access.
   4. Click Send.
3. Open Google Meet and join the meeting.
4. Click Present now and choose what to share:
   • Your entire screen
   • A window
   • A tab
5. Click Share.

Tip: If you're not using Chrome browser (which automatically hides any pop-up notifications), mute or turn off notifications so they don’t appear when you’re presenting.

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