How to Run Project Meetings with Microsoft Teams

In my previous article on Microsoft Teams, I shared tips to help you get organized and connect with your remote project team.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at using video meetings Teams to connect and collaborate on projects.

Getting Started with Teams Meetings

There are a few ways to use video meetings in Microsoft Teams:

• Schedule meetings for up to 250 people.
• Create a recurring meeting series.
• Use ‘meet now’ to quickly start a meeting.
• Meet one-to-one with individual team members.
• Host a live event for up to 10,000 people.

Teams meetings use audio and video with options to switch your camera and microphone off as needed.

Note — Microsoft Teams also includes a cloud-based telephone system, Microsoft 365 Business Voice.

How to schedule a meeting in Teams

Navigate to ‘Calendar’ in the left-hand menu of the app. There are two meeting options in the right-hand corner: Meet now and New Meeting.

You call also start a call using the video icon in a chat or within the ‘Call’ tab on the left-hand menu.

In this instance, I’ll select ‘New Meeting’ in my calendar.

Next, complete the meeting invitation, which is similar to Outlook. You can also create a recurring series using the invitation.

Use ‘Scheduling Assistant’ to check the availability of team members. That’s it! Your meeting is scheduled.

To add more context, such as an agenda, click on the session in your Teams calendar. As you can see from the below image, each meeting has options for chat, files, meetings notes, and a whiteboard.

This information is accessible before, during, and after a meeting.

Need to invite someone who is outside of your organization? You can schedule a meeting with anyone who has a valid email address.

The individual will receive a link via email and can attend the meeting using the web app.

For additional functionality, like screen sharing, your guest will need to download and install the desktop client. To maintain privacy, you can decide if external guests need to wait in a virtual lobby before the meeting starts.

If you have installed the Teams desktop client, you can also schedule a meeting in Outlook using the Teams add-on. When scheduling a new meeting, select ‘Join Teams Meeting’ in the ribbon. A link will be inserted into the meeting request.

There are three ways to start or join a meeting:

• If using Outlook, click the link in the meeting request.
• If using Teams, open your calendar and find the relevant meeting. The ‘join’ button will appear on the meeting block about five minutes before the start time.
• A notification will also flash on your screen when another attendee starts the meeting. Click ‘join’ to attend the meeting.

When joining a meeting, you can opt to:

1. Switch your camera on or off.
2. Blur your background.
3. Turn your microphone on or off.

Meeting Options

Let’s review the in-meeting menu, accessible by moving your mouse anywhere on the screen.

1. Check the length of a meeting.
2. Toggle your camera on or off.
3. Turn your microphone on or off.
4. Share your screen. You can share your desktop, the contents of an app, or a document by selecting the relevant screen in the panel below the menu. Users can also request control to share content as needed.
5. Access ‘more actions’, such as recording the meeting.
6. Use the ‘show conversation’ panel to ask questions and so on. This is useful for larger groups.
7. Check the participant list.
8. Leave the meeting. If you have scheduled the meeting, you can choose to end the meeting for all attendees.

‘More Actions’ provides additional ways to enhance your meeting, for example, click ‘show meeting notes’ to open and use the agenda.

To change your background, select an option from ‘Show background effects’. Note — this option is currently available on the desktop application only.

‘Enter full screen’ hides the left-hand menu in Teams and the desktop toolbar — an easy way to remove distractions.

Microsoft has recently introduced live captions for meetings. In the coming weeks, expect to see new capabilities, such as viewing nine people on-screen and the option to raise your hand to ask a question.

Privacy and Control for Meeting Hosts

Just like an in-person meeting, meeting hosts need to facilitate virtual meetings to create an enjoyable environment for attendees. Virtual sessions also require additional privacy and control settings.

When using Microsoft Teams for meetings, you can:

• Mute all attendees.
• Invite external users and use a virtual waiting lobby to check who wants to join your meeting.
• Remove participants during a meeting.
• Designate presenters and attendees to control who can and cannot share content.

Meeting recordings, accessible via Stream, are available only to those who were invited to or attended the meeting. Likewise, meeting notes are only available to internal users.

Now you know how to schedule and run a meeting in Teams, let’s take a closer look at using video meetings for your projects.

Run Project Meetings with Teams

Before you start scheduling video meetings, consider if you need to update your project communication plan.

This is particularly important if your company recently switched to remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Make sure your team and stakeholders are aware of:

• The switch to video meetings for face-to-face sessions.
• Software and hardware requirements, for example, Microsoft Teams and headphones.
• Where to find training videos and support if needed, including free Microsoft resources.
• The back-up plan in case of technical difficulties.

Once these details are in place, It’s time to start running virtual meetings for your projects.

With a little tweaking, you can replace any face-to-face meeting with a video call in Teams. The key is preparation.

This includes:

• Creating and sharing an agenda in advance using Meeting Notes as explained above.
• Assigning times to agenda items — and sticking to those times!
• Sharing required reading, such as presentations or reports, beforehand.
• Asking members of your team to prepare contributions or updates.
• Starting and ending meetings on time.
• Circulating action items afterward. The BrightWork Marketing Team adds tasks to our project site during meetings so nothing falls between the cracks.

If you are not sure how to create an agenda, use our free templates for team meetings, project sponsor meetings, and brainstorm sessions.

Meeting etiquette is also important.

Try these ideas for adapting in-person meetings to virtual video calls.

• If possible, use cameras during the meeting. Just like a face-to-face meeting, the ability to see your team and gauge their reactions is key. With restricted movement in many communities, these interactions are even more important.
• That said, video requires significant bandwidth and can lead to reduced call quality on occasion. If an individual is unable to use video, request they say their name before speaking so everyone knows who is talking.
• Some microphones can pick up background noise. Place yourself on mute when you are not talking.
• Make time for ‘small talk’ at the start of the meeting. Give people a chance to catch-up and share what’s happening.
• At the start of a meeting, ask if anyone needs to leave early so they can share their updates before leaving.
• As the meeting host, ask questions during the session to ensure everyone has a chance to speak up and is paying attention!
• Stay focused on the meeting — that means no emails or browsing online.
• Turn off other applications and notifications.
• Try to keep meetings to 30 minutes where possible. Video calls are more draining than in-person meetings as we need to concentrate more fully on non-verbal cues such as facial expressions.
• Share a summary of actions and follow-ups with owners and due dates after the meeting. Not only will this keep your project on track — it increases accountability within the team.

In normal circumstances, your project team may include remote workers and individuals working in an office.

To create an engaging experience for everyone, take a ‘remote-first’ approach to meetings. A simple but effective change is to ask everyone to log into a video call from their desk instead of using a meeting room.

3 Examples of Project Meetings with Teams

Weekly review meetings, one-to-one sessions, stakeholder meetings, employee onboarding — any face-to-face project meeting can be hosted virtually in Teams.

Below are three examples — gathering requirements, project kickoff, and daily stand-ups — to help you get started with video meetings in Teams.

Gathering project requirements

Techniques such as interviews, brainstorm sessions, and facilitated workshops can be delivered online with small groups of stakeholders.

If working with a larger group of stakeholders, you may need to re-prioritize your list or run multiple sessions to collate feedback.

As mentioned above, preparation is key to successful meetings — even more so for busy stakeholders.

Circulate an agenda in advance and ensure attendees know what they need to do during the session.

Ask another team member to facilitate the meeting by recording notes and keeping items within the allocated time.

Make use of apps such as the whiteboard and Forms to showcase prototypes, develop mindmaps, get user feedback, and so on.

It’s also good practice to record and share the meeting, especially for anyone who could not attend. Recorded meetings are stored securely in Stream.

Running a project kick-off meeting

A video meeting is a great way to bring your remote team together to discuss the project before starting work.

If the team has never worked together before or is used to working together in an office, set aside some time at the start for introductions and virtual ice-breakers!

Building trust is trickier when working remotely so start early — even with experienced team members.

Here are some key project-related areas to cover afterward:

• The objectives and goals of the project.
• Roles and responsibilities.
• Timelines, deliverables, and milestones.
• Ways of working, including reporting and collaboration.
• Risk management.
• Project management software and tools.

Make sure to keep and share notes after the meeting, and update the project site as needed.

Daily stand-ups

A daily stand-up should take around 15 minutes with the team answering three questions:

• What did I work on yesterday?
• What am I working on today?
• What issues are blocking me?

An easy way to run the meeting is to use Kanban Boards. The below screenshot shows Boards in the Marketing team site in BrightWork.

We use Boards to check on work by area or task owner. To update a task, we simply drag the board from one column to another.

This way, everyone leaves the meeting with a clear understanding of their responsibilities.

A common problem with running a daily stand-up remotely is location. Picking a time that works for everyone may not be possible.

Instead, create a channel for posting daily updates and schedule a weekly catch-up with the full team.

Set-up Tips for Video Meetings

To conclude this article, I’ll share practical tips for setting up your home office or workspace to optimize video meetings.

Think about the lighting. Try to place lighting — whether natural or artificial — in front of you so your face is easier to see.

Ideally, you should be at eye-level with other people on the call. Try raising your laptop slightly or placing a separate camera at eye-level.

In terms of position, don’t sit too close or too far away from the camera. Best-practice suggests you should be seen from shoulders to head, or from the waist to the head. It’s also a good idea to invest in a comfortable chair — too much movement is distracting.

As mentioned above, it’s easy to blur or change your background in a Teams call — a handy feature if your office is untidy!

If you know you need to share your screen, turn off applications and close tabs beforehand.

Finally, test your audio equipment and software regularly, especially before important meetings. Log in a few minutes early to make sure everything is working.

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