Microsoft Teams has emerged as a vital tool for collaboration and communication in today’s hybrid work environment. While most users are familiar with the basic functionalities of Teams, some lesser-known features can significantly enhance the engagement and productivity of your meetings.

In this blog post, we will explore ten hidden features in Microsoft Teams that can transform your meetings from ordinary to extraordinary. By leveraging these features, you can foster collaboration, encourage participation, and create a more dynamic meeting experience for your team.  

Live Reactions 

Engagement is crucial in any meeting, whether it’s virtual or in-person. Microsoft Teams’ live reactions feature allows participants to express their thoughts and emotions in real-time through a range of emojis. From claps of approval to thumbs-up gestures, live reactions provide a quick and interactive way for attendees to give feedback and show their engagement. It adds a layer of fun and interactivity to meetings, making them more engaging and lively.  

Meeting Notes 

Keeping track of important discussion points, action items, and decisions during a meeting is essential for effective collaboration. Microsoft Teams offers built-in meeting notes feature that enables participants to capture and collaborate on meeting notes directly within the Teams interface. This ensures that everyone has access to a comprehensive summary of the meeting, reducing the chances of miscommunication and fostering accountability. Meeting notes can be shared with all participants, allowing everyone to stay on the same page and refer back to critical takeaways easily. 

Whiteboard 

Visualising ideas and concepts can significantly enhance understanding and creativity during meetings. Microsoft Teams’ virtual whiteboard feature provides a digital canvas where participants can collaboratively brainstorm, draw diagrams, and illustrate ideas. Whether mapping out a project plan, sketching a concept, or solving problems together, the whiteboard tool allows for real-time collaboration, fostering creativity and engagement. It’s an excellent way to visualise and share ideas, making discussions more dynamic and interactive. 

Background Blur 

Eliminating distractions during video meetings is crucial for maintaining focus and professionalism. Microsoft Teams’ background blur feature automatically blurs the background, keeping the attention on the presenter or speaker. Whether you’re working from a busy home environment or a shared workspace, background blur ensures that meeting participants can concentrate on the content without visual distractions. It helps create a polished and distraction-free meeting environment, enhancing engagement and the overall meeting experience. 

Breakout Rooms 

In larger meetings, it can be challenging to facilitate focused discussions or activities with everyone present. Microsoft Teams’ breakout rooms feature allows meeting organisers to divide participants into smaller groups for more intimate and targeted conversations.

Breakout rooms provide a dedicated space for meaningful interactions, whether you need to conduct brainstorming sessions, group projects, or team-building activities. Participants can collaborate more effectively, exchange ideas, and build stronger connections in these smaller settings. Breakout rooms promote active participation and engagement, allowing for more in-depth discussions among team members. 

Polls and Surveys 

Engaging participants and gathering valuable insights during meetings can be facilitated by conducting polls and surveys directly within Microsoft Teams.

This feature enables meeting organisers to create and share real-time polls or surveys, allowing participants to provide feedback and opinions.

Polls and surveys provide a structured way to collect data, make decisions, and create a sense of inclusivity within the meeting. It encourages active participation from all attendees and ensures that everyone’s voice is heard. This feature allows meeting organisers to make data-driven decisions, promote engagement, and foster a collaborative environment.  

Together Mode 

Creating a sense of togetherness and fostering collaboration in virtual meetings can be challenging. Microsoft Teams’ Together Mode feature addresses this by placing participants in a shared virtual background, such as an auditorium or coffee shop.

This immersive setting enhances the feeling of being in the same physical space, making interactions more natural and engaging. Together Mode encourages eye contact, non-verbal communication, and a sense of connectedness, fostering a more dynamic and collaborative meeting experience. It’s particularly beneficial for large meetings or conferences where participants may feel distant or disconnected. 

Meeting Recaps 

Keeping track of important details and follow-up actions after a meeting is essential for productivity. Microsoft Teams’ session recaps feature automatically generates a meeting summary, including shared files, transcripts and notes.

This recap is shared with all participants, ensuring everyone understands the outcomes and next steps clearly. Meeting recaps serve as a valuable reference point, eliminating the need for extensive note-taking and enabling participants to stay informed and accountable. ]

More intelligent recaps are available with premium Teams subscriptions.

Presenter View 

For seamless and practical presentations, Microsoft Teams offers the Presenter View feature. This Mode displays the presenter’s content, such as slides or shared applications, in a separate window. It allows presenters complete control over their content while keeping smooth navigation and seamless transitions during presentations. Presenter View ensures that the focus remains on the presenter and the shared content. This enhances engagement and comprehension for meeting participants. 

Live Captions 

Promoting accessibility and inclusivity in meetings is crucial. Microsoft Teams’ live captions feature transcribes spoken words into real-time captions, making it easier for individuals with hearing impairments or language barriers to follow along. Live captions enhance comprehension and allow all participants to fully engage in the meeting, regardless of their language or hearing abilities. This feature promotes a more inclusive and equitable meeting environment, ensuring everyone can participate actively and contribute to the discussion. 

Microsoft Teams offers many hidden features that can transform your meetings from ordinary to extraordinary. By leveraging features like live reactions, meeting notes, breakout rooms, and live captions, you can foster collaboration, encourage participation, and create a more dynamic and engaging meeting experience for your team. These hidden gems in Microsoft Teams enhance productivity, improve communication, and promote inclusivity, ultimately driving better results for your organisation. Explore these features, experiment with them, and unlock the full potential of Microsoft Teams for your meetings. 

 

 



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