Call Options with Microsoft Teams

November 24, 2021

As online interactions and events continue to increase, Microsoft keeps refining their tools in Microsoft Teams. In this blog, we detail some features available in Microsoft Teams to help with calls big and small.

Teams meeting is a collaborative and interactive experience with the option to add structure for larger meetings. A Teams webinar is a structured interactive event. A Teams live event is a broadcast scenario with a production team behind the scenes and a viewing audience.

Quote from Microsoft

Meet Now – Turn text conversations into video calls

We’ve all been there – when you’re on a roll with a co-worker or client and want to get the job done, you escalate from messaging via text to a voice call by clicking the “Audio Call” button anytime. This function was not available for chats or channels that had a mix of internal and external members to your organization. The Meet Now feature solves this issue! Instead of needing to schedule a meeting with an email invite, users can click the “Meet Now” button from within a Teams channel or as a reply to a text conversation. All people (internal and external) will receive a meeting invite that they can join.

The Meet Now function brings people together and works like other Teams meetings – you can share audio, video, and share your screen. Recording options are also available with Meet Now meetings. The link to the recording will appear where you first started the meeting. This keeps conversation from text to talk streamlined.

Webinars – Broadcast your message

Webinars in Teams are typically more controlled and deliberate than regular Team Meetings which can include back and forth between all participants. The Webinar feature in Teams has multiple functions – you can host a speaker to deliver a keynote on their subject of expertise, or provide your team with innovative professional development.

Looking to host a training session for you team? Schedule a private webinar that’s invite-only. Want to market the event for community members to attend? Plan a public webinar. By setting up a registration form, you can add speaker bios and tailor the questions to the webinar or your company. This registration link is available to be a part of a marketing campaign for invites! The only thing that would make this function better is if Teams could automate reminder emails to the registrants about the event!

Want to learn more about Microsoft Teams Webinar, check this out!

Add Q&A to webinars and meetings

Are you planning an expert panel? Looking to gather feedback from your team on their virtual training? Teams’ Q&A function is available to help you with this. You set this up ahead of time or on-the-fly, helping you organize how attendees in webinar ask questions. Download the Q&A report after the event and share the recap with those who couldn’t attend!

Live Events – Go big with your brand

A live event is a streamed meeting that is organized and polished, often with a production team working behind the scenes. Live events are suitable for situations where one presenter is speaking to a large group and whose role is to primarily view the content. These interactions are managed with the Q&A function. Live events can be private or public and streamed to large online audiences up to 20 000 people! Quite a useful function if you plan on having Taylor Swift at your next virtual celebration!

Have you used any of these functions? How did it work for your team? Let us know by email and we’ll share your testimony on our Office 365 product page!