6 Fantastic Microsoft Teams Meetings Tips

Microsoft Teams has been quite a useful tool that has been used to spur the work from home (WFH) norm since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The following are essential tips that anyone should know to get the most out of Microsoft Teams.

1. Use of whiteboards 

For effective meetings to happen, they should be well organized, scheduled, and conducted to allow maximum utilization of the time spent in the forum. Using a whiteboard in Teams is a common way of sketching one's ideas and providing a visual presentation that enables a more comfortable understanding of concepts and ideas being presented. The feature also promotes creativity and enhances collaboration among team members, thus boosting the retention rate of ideas and improving communication at large. 

2. Mute option

Another handy feature in teams is keeping noise under control with the mute icon. Unless one is speaking, it is always advisable to keep your microphone on mute to avoid disrupting the speaker during the session with your background activities. This feature is handy, especially with people working from home as there are many activities in the background like children playing or shouting, which can be quite disruptive. Thankfully, when they enable the mute feature, it is improbable that their background activities can disrupt the meetings.

3. Chat function

A very efficient way to communicate with other team members during a meeting is by chatting. A group chat is created automatically at the commencement of any Microsoft Teams meeting. It is quite a useful feature as you can contribute to a discussion without necessarily interrupting the speaker. Moreover, if one misses the speaker's point, they can always ask for clarification on the chats from other members without directly interrupting the speaker. Even after the meeting has ended, the conversation is still active, and members can continue to post their comments.

4. Recording capabilities

Capturing a meeting on record can also be a beneficial way to ensure that even the absentees get hold of the information they missed. The recording can easily be shared among those who were not part of the meeting and be reviewed for further scrutiny by those who attended. However, this is generally done after every member of the forum agrees, and a notification is always given as the recording starts. Taking notes can also be ideal for capturing the meeting. These are sometimes referred to as meeting minutes and are used to capture action items and record critical decisions.

5. Blur the background

Through blurring the background, Microsoft Teams meetings enable one to comfortably attend a meeting from any place provided they have internet connectivity. The blurring feature allows a user to conceal their background to either make the meeting professional or avoid other users from being distracted by the background activities. For example, you are having a meeting while in the kitchen. Therefore, before you join a discussion, always check the blur toggle that is in between turn on your microphone and camera toggles so that you can turn it on whenever necessary. 

6. Screen sharing

Lastly, sharing your screen on Microsoft Teams is one of the best aspects of digital meetings. This is done to enable other team members to glance at what you are viewing on your screen. For instance, showing other team members a website or PowerPoint slide you are talking about instead of sending them emails of documents and links to these websites. This generally helps keep every member of the meeting on the same page.

Conclusion

If you have any questions on Microsoft Teams, please click below for a free CallTower consultation to see how Teams can work for your organization: