Mastering Microsoft Teams Meetings: 8 Features for Increased Productivity
Video conferencing platforms are here to stay in the workplace. With businesses having more remote workers or adopting a hybrid workplace model, we are more reliant than ever on having excellent platforms that not only do the basics of providing video, audio and chat but also make collaboration more efficient and fun.
When it comes to the features that Microsoft Teams provides for meetings specifically, these are the few favourites that were highlighted by the London IT Support Companies we spoke to.
- Active speaker view
In Teams, you can effortlessly keep track of the current active speaker in a meeting. The feature ensures the layout is 16:9 tiles and has a consistent placement of video and audio participants on the same stage that will not change even if videos are toggled on or off. The video is also displayed in higher resolution for visual clarity. The designated main area for the active speaker can also be used for sharing content which makes for easier transitions during presentations.
This feature is not set as default but can be accessed by selecting the “Speaker view” option under “View” in the meeting toolbar.
- Meeting recap
Microsoft Teams has included a feature to make missing meetings easier to deal with. You can review previous and missed meetings in one place using the Recap tab. You can access the meeting recording, transcripts and other details by simply opening the desired meeting the Teams calendar and selecting the Recap tab.
If you have access to Teams Premium, you have access to an even more efficient review with an intelligent meeting recap feature. This more extensive feature creates AI-generated notes and has speaker identification. Similarly, it can be found by opening the meeting in Teams calendar and selecting the Recap tab.
- Whiteboard
The virtual whiteboard is a fun feature that allows participants in the meeting to collaborate and share ideas. Users can add content with text, images, sticky notes, highlighters and more and it can be saved and used after the meeting.
- Loop components
This feature is made up of interactive units that are used for collaboration during a meeting. Participants can use this to make things like to-do lists and agendas which can be further changed and edited by everyone in the meeting chat. After the meeting, it is saved in the meeting chat and OneDrive to be accessed and used.
- Live transcription
This feature creates real-time captions for participants who don’t have audio or are hard of hearing. The captions appear in a spate pane and can be adjusted for size and location. These transcriptions can also be saved after the meeting to be accessed later. This feature is one of the more notable Office 365 Solutions for addressing accessibility in the workplace.
- Presenter mode
This feature makes presenting easier with several presenter modes for working with slides during meetings. The modes include Content only, Side-by-side, Standout and Reporter which all look slightly different and can be switched between modes even during presentations.
- Meeting reactions
A simple but fun feature that allows participants to react without audio during a meeting. This feature makes it easier to get attention without distracting or disrupting someone speaking. Overall, it also just makes the space more human and inviting.
- Meeting polls
With the Polls app, participants can create polls for other participants to answer before or during meetings. This is especially useful for quick feedback on points covered during the meeting or to gain information ahead of time. It can either appear as a notification or in the meeting chat.
Microsoft Teams is one of the best video conferencing platforms according to TechQuarters and for good reason. Teams do more than just the essentials in order to make remote work easier and more enjoyable. Microsoft is constantly coming out with new features that make the virtual workspace more collaborative and efficient while also being accessible to everyone.