In recent years, virtual meetings have become a staple in how we communicate, and with over 90% of UK businesses using Teams, it’s clear that the Microsoft app is the first choice when it comes to online collaboration.
Microsoft Teams is packed with features to make working with colleagues all over the world a breeze, but let’s be honest—virtual meetings can be a snooze-fest if they’re not done right!
Today, we’re talking about how to get the most out of your Teams calls, keep everyone engaged, and present like a pro in virtual meetings.
Get scheduling right
Getting the right people to attend your meeting is half the battle, and luckily, Teams makes this easier than ever. Teams integrates with Microsoft Outlook, allowing users to schedule meetings and invite participants directly through either the Teams or Outlook calendar. Here’s how:
- Head to your calendar in Teams or Outlook, click “New Meeting,” pop in the details, add your participants, write a brief description, and hit send.
- Got teammates in different time zones? Use the Scheduling Assistant to find a time that works for everyone.
Add visuals with screen sharing
Screen sharing is one of the most useful features in Teams, and it can be used for so much more than just boring spreadsheets (although sometimes, those are needed too!). Here are a couple of tips to get the most out of the screen sharing feature:
- Keep it interactive. Don’t just lecture while sharing your screen, ask questions as you go. Encourage participants to use the reaction features to give a thumbs up or thumbs down.
- Feeling creative? Click “Share” and select the whiteboard feature. Anyone in the meeting can add to the whiteboard, so it’s a great way to pool ideas.
Record meetings to stay in the moment
Ever been trying to jot down notes during an important discussion, only to realise you’ve missed half of what was said? Recording your meetings is incredibly useful when dealing with large teams, complex topics, or participants who can’t attend. Here’s how:
- Click the three dots in the meeting toolbar and select “Start Recording.”
- Meeting recordings automatically get saved to the cloud, and you can even generate a transcript—perfect for reviewing later or sharing with anyone who couldn’t make it.
Add engagement with reactions and chat
Keeping people engaged in a virtual meeting can be tough, but Teams has plenty of features to help you out. Use these tips to boost engagement during your meetings:
- Encourage people to use the chat feature to contribute with ideas, links, or feedback during the meeting.
- Meeting participants can give a thumbs up, clap, or even raise their hand to ask a question in Teams. These little reactions can go a long way in making your meeting feel more interactive. Why not try asking a question and encouraging everyone to respond with an emoji?
Introduce focused discussions with breakout rooms
Breakout rooms are a great way to keep everyone involved in the discussion if your meeting has a lot of participants. Here’s how to use breakout rooms to their full potential:
- As the meeting organiser, create breakout rooms by clicking the breakout room icon during the meeting. Then assign people to different rooms (or let Teams do it for you).
- Use breakout rooms for brainstorming and problem-solving. When you bring everyone back to the main meeting, you’ll get more valuable input than if you’d had one large group chatting all at once.
Bonus fun and interactive ideas
Still need more engagement? Shake things up with some of these ideas:
- Add a bit of friendly competition with Teams’ built-in polling feature. Ask fun questions, or use polls to get feedback from a large group of people quickly. It’s an easy way to keep people involved and on their toes.
- Start your meeting with a quick trivia game related to your topic. Two minutes of trivia can wake everyone up and get them ready for the rest of the meeting.
- Make the most of Teams’ virtual background feature by asking everyone to join the meeting with a fun or creative background. It’s a great icebreaker that’s always a good laugh!
Want to get your organisation started with Teams? Axon IT can help you implement and optimise Microsoft Teams, ensuring your team is equipped with the essential tools they need. Click here to contact us.