FAQ about Teams
Microsoft Teams is one of the most widely-used collaborative tools for companies, and the platform is growing every day in terms of users and new features. As remote meetings become increasingly common, Microsoft is also releasing new functions to facilitate collaboration, wherever you happen to be. These new functions are being launched all the time, and it can be a challenge for users to keep up with all parts of the platform. This is why we’ve compiled a guide in which we answer the most common questions we’re asked about Teams.
Which tools are included in Teams?
Answer: Teams is a collaborative platform that contains all the tools needed for you and your team to be able to collaborate effectively in the office or remotely. You can communicate, share files, chat, have video calls or transmit live broadcasts to the entire workforce in Teams. You can also add and use other applications from the Microsoft 365 suite in your teams to bring everything you’re working on together in one single interface.
Can you invite external guests to join a team?
Answer: Yes, it’s fine to invite external guests to join a team. The person’s name will be displayed in the team followed by the text “guest”.
How are you notified of new messages in Teams?
Answer: You can choose for yourself how you want to be notified in your settings. If you find it stressful to get certain notifications, you can choose what kind of messages you want to be notified of, which teams you want to receive notifications from and define a schedule with quiet hours or days. You manage all settings by clicking on the image of your photo in the top right-hand corner and then selecting “Settings”. Why not check out our quick guide, which gives you a quick overview?
How do I find earphones that are certified for Teams? I often experience interference when I’m using earphones.
Answer: Most earphones work well, but as the question suggests, interference can occur with certain earphones that are not suitable for Teams. There is a wide range of products on the market that is certified specifically for Teams meetings, and we’d be happy to guide you towards the right product. If you hold a lot of meetings in meeting rooms, there’s also special meeting room equipment that can make life easier for you.
How do you switch between different apps when you’re in presentation mode?
Answer: The most effective way of being able to switch quickly between apps when sharing content in Teams is to choose to share your entire desktop instead of a specific app. You can find this option when selecting the sharing icon. Make sure you close down apps or notifications that can disrupt your presentation before the meeting starts, such as Outlook, for example.
How do you use the Whiteboard in Teams?
Answer: Whiteboard is a fairly new function in Teams, which gives you the opportunity to draw (like on a regular whiteboard) or to put up “post-it” notes on a digital notice board. It can be used, for example, in workshops or group sessions that are taking place remotely. You use this function by clicking on the sharing icon and then selecting “Whiteboard”.
How do you start an instant meeting in Teams?
Answer: Go into the Calendar tab and select “Meet now” up in the right-hand corner and connect. This starts a new meeting instantly. To invite participants, you can type the name or phone number of those you want to invite in the box under People in the top right-hand corner. Select them when they appear in the list and they’ll get a call right away.
You can also start a call by going into the Chat tab, selecting chat with the person you want to talk to and clicking on either the video or the call icon.
What’s the difference between a normal Teams meeting and a Live Event?
Answer: Live Events in Teams are a kind of meeting that is ideal for live broadcasts to a large audience in which it is clear which person or persons is/are doing the presentation. For example, a joint information meeting for a whole group of companies or if you’re organising a webinar for your customers in which sound and image are only to go in one direction.
Normal Teams meetings are there for meetings where you want to have a dialogue and be able to share content or presentations with each other. Put simply, meetings in digital form.
Feel free to contact one of our productivity consultants for a run-through of Live Events, as this tool is more advanced than normal Teams meetings.
Do you want any more help to find out how you can work more effectively with Teams?
Do you want to work more effectively with the Teams tool, or adapt your meeting rooms to be more effective for remote meetings? Book an appointment with one of our experts or contact us with your questions, and we’ll answer them in person.
If you want to learn the basics in Teams, we recommend using this quick guide for support.
