Microsoft Teams is undoubtedly one of the most popular collaboration and communication tools on the market. It is used by organisations all over the world to keep employees connected – since 2020, the usage of Microsoft Teams has grown in leaps and bounds as businesses adopted remote and hybrid working setups. Whether you’re an early adopter or are new to Teams, you may not be utilising all the tools and features at your disposal. They can enhance the way you collaborate with colleagues, hold a brainstorming session, or present a pitch or project update to clients.
As a totally remote company, Propelle relies on Teams for day-to-day communication, as well as internal and stakeholder meetings. We’ve found so many of the tools in Teams instrumental to running successful video calls, in conjunction with implementing guidelines to ensure both hosts and attendees get value from the meetings.
Here are 9 ways to make the most of Microsoft Teams meetings.
The first step in making the most of Microsoft Teams meetings is to do the necessary preparation. You’ll need to get the WWW in order – who is required, what is the meeting about, and when is it going to take place? When scheduling a meeting, make sure you include the topic or an agenda. This ensures that everyone has a firm idea of what will be discussed, and what they may personally need to prepare to maximise their contribution or takeaway.
You can also share any necessary files or documents with the attendees well before the meeting starts to ensure that everyone is on the same page. This is helpful for training sessions so that attendees can do the pre-reading and jot down any questions they want to raise with the host/person running the session.
Before you even connect for your meeting on Microsoft Teams, it’s helpful to determine what success looks like for that particular meeting. Identify a clear set of objectives that you can work towards throughout the meeting to ensure that you stick to the topic and don’t get distracted by tangents.
For additional context and structure, you can use Teams features like polls prior to the meeting. This will give the host and attendees a better understanding of the group’s general consensus about particular topics or decisions.
Setting expectations goes both ways – they’re for the host and the attendees. For the host, it’s important to define the start and end time of the meeting – and respect those times. This is in consideration for people who have back-to-back meetings, or who are unable to sit for extended periods of time. For the former group, ideally meetings should end five minutes early so that attendees can take a quick break before jumping into their next meeting.
Setting some ground rules for attendees either before the meeting or at the very beginning. For example, at Propelle we encourage our team members to have both their camera and microphone switched on. We have found that this encourages group discussion and participation and helps create a sense of familiarity and community. This is something we’re really passionate about as a remote team.
The screen sharing feature is a powerful tool that allows you to share your screen with attendees during the meeting. This is often used for presentations, workshops, and training sessions – basically any scenario where a host is presenting a topic to the group.
With this feature, you broadcast a specific window or app live – meaning that the attendees can see what is on your current screen and follow your actions in real time. Perhaps you’re providing training on a new app, or walking your team through a new system of tagging and organisation documents. At Propelle, we often screen share a PowerPoint slide deck that outlines the structure of our meetings and provide a visual companion to ensure engagement. You can keep the deck simple, but PowerPoint makes it easy to add some flair with the ‘Designer’ feature.
If you want attendees to be able to access the presentation after the meeting, use one of your Teams Channels to store the slides.
Microsoft Whiteboard is a digital canvas that can be used for brainstorming, taking notes, or drawing. It’s a great way to get your team to collaborate, and is useful during brainstorming sessions and workshops. Meeting attendees will be able to access a virtual whiteboard where they can draw and write, share ideas, and even stick post-it notes as if it was a real whiteboard. It’s a great tool for visual learners and facilitates attendees who might prefer to write their ideas over speaking them.
The chat feature is a great tool for communicating with attendees during the meeting. You can use it to ask questions, share links, or make comments without interrupting the presenter. It’s also a useful way for attendees who may not be able to speak up during the meeting to answer questions or share information.
The breakout rooms feature in Microsoft Teams is one of its most powerful assets. Divide larger groups into smaller rooms for brainstorming sessions and quick decision-making processes. Teams can take advantage of this feature for problem-solving and working through specific points in everyday meetings – no matter how big or small the group size may be.
Breakout rooms are also a great way to divide attendees into smaller groups for more focused discussions. This can be especially helpful for larger meetings where it’s difficult to hear everyone’s voice. Breakout rooms can be used for group work, brainstorming, or even for networking.
Some video meetings are important enough to need a copy of. This could be for a variety of reasons, including:
The recording will capture the video, audio, and screen sharing activity, and the owner can set the recording to delete after a certain period of time.
Live captions can be a useful tool for attendees who are hard of hearing or for those who may not be able to understand the speaker’s accent. It’s also a great way to keep track of what is being said during the meeting. Each attendee can control this setting for themselves by toggling captions on in the Settings during the call.
The reactions feature is a great way to show for attendees to engage during the meeting without interrupting the speaker. If people are in noisy locations, or the attendees prefer to keep their camera/microphone off, take advantage of the ‘raise hand’ function. This notifies the host/presenter that someone in the group has a question or comment, and they can find a natural pause in their presentation to respond to it. You can use emojis to show agreement, acknowledgement, confusion, or even applause – reactions you would usually get from an in-person meeting.
The background blur feature is a great tool that can help reduce distractions during the meeting. This is especially helpful if you are attending the meeting from a busy or distracting environment.
Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool that can help you stay connected with your team, no matter where you are. By preparing effectively and using the many features of Microsoft Teams, you can ensure that your meetings are productive, engaging, and efficient.
Want to learn more about getting the most from Microsoft Teams? We’re happy to give you a guided tour – let’s jump on a video call!
