Teams meeting participant best practices

• Applies to:

  Microsoft Teams

Share these best practices with your users to help them make the most out of their meetings.

Meeting organizer and presenters

Meeting organizers and presenters set the tone of a meeting and can significantly influence the experience for both in-room and remote participants. By following these best practices, they'll make meetings more inclusive and improve information sharing between all recipients.

Tasks	Notes
Room preparation
Choose a Teams Rooms-enabled space	Teams Rooms spaces set up using this or similar solutions give participants the best Teams meeting experience.
Turn on the in-room camera	Turn on the in-room camera so remote participants can see who's talking and feel more connected with those in the room. Remote participants can feel more isolated if they can't see team members.
Show Front Row on the room display	Turn on the Front Row display of remote participants' cameras. Front Row prominently displays remote participants' cameras on the in-room display, giving them an equal presence in the room with in-room participants.
Meeting preparation
Nominate an in-room assistant	An in-room assistant can help remote organizers and presenters set up the room for the meeting, help with in-room issues that may come up during the meeting, and ensure remote participants are given equal opportunity to participate in meeting discussions.
Nominate a chat and reactions monitor	A meeting monitor can help organizers and presenters focus on content by collecting or answering questions in chat and watching for participants who use the "raise hand" reaction.
In-meeting tasks
Welcome in-room and remote participants	Make a point to welcome both in-room and remote participants, and establish guidelines for how the meeting will proceed, to help ensure participants don't talk over each other or be overlooked during discussions.
Encourage use of in-room and remote participant cameras	Using participant cameras helps all participants see who's talking. This is especially important for in-room participants because remote participants may have difficulty seeing who's speaking if a room camera is too far away or turned off.
Encourage in-room and remote participants to use meeting chat	Using meeting chat helps ensure all participants can follow side conversations and questions during the meeting.
Encourage the use of the "raise hand" and other reactions	The usage of the "raise hand" and other reactions by both in-room and remote participants helps ensure all participants have an equal opportunity to add to discussions.
Watch for and respond to the "raise hand" reaction	Presenters and organizers, or meeting monitors, need to look for "raise hand" and other reactions for them to be useful. Check for these reactions regularly throughout the meeting.
Perform periodic call quality check-ins	Check with remote participants periodically to make sure call audio and video, and meeting content like PowerPoint sides, are free of noise and artifacts.
Post-meeting tasks
Request post-meeting feedback from participants	Ask participants to send feedback on what went well with the meeting and how it could be improved. Ask how interaction between remote and in-room participants could be improved.
Review meeting chat and follow up with participants	Be sure to check the meeting chat to answer any outstanding questions or add your input to side discussions.
Review post-meeting feedback	Make a plan to review meeting feedback and discuss with participants, IT or audio-visual departments, and others, to improve future meeting experiences.

Remote participants

Remote users need to be treated as equal participants in meetings so they can contribute to discussions in a meaningful way. Best practices they can apply before and during the meeting can significantly increase their impact.

Tasks	Notes
Set up a meeting space
Find a quiet room with a door	Working from home can mean distractions. Try to find a quiet space free of distractions like pets or other household members. If you can't find a space with a door, let others know that you're in a meeting and need some quiet time.
Use a good-quality camera	A good quality camera can not only give a crisp, professional, image but also significantly improve lighting if you're in a darker space. Place the camera above your eye line to avoid unflattering angles.
Use a good-quality microphone or headset	Most external cameras have a good quality microphone and, when combined with Teams' noise suppression, capture your voice loud and clear. However, in some loud environments like a coffee shop, a headset might make more sense, particularly if you're having difficulty hearing the meeting.
Check your lighting	Open your blinds and turn on a light to help your camera pick up your image. To avoid shadows on your face, sit facing a window, buy a ring light, or point a light at a wall in front of you. Pointing the light at the wall will provide lighting that isn't as harsh as direct lighting.
Check what's behind you or use backgrounds	Remember that your camera will capture not only you but what's behind you. If you have a messy room, or have confidential information you don't want to share, use Teams meeting backgrounds or background blurring. You can turn these on and check your background before joining a meeting.
Mute home assistants	It's always a good idea to remove or mute home assistant devices before joining a meeting. While manufacturers say these devices don't listen all the time, you could accidentally use the "wake word" and cause the device to capture part of your conversation.
In-meeting tasks
Turn on your camera	Let people see you! Turn on your camera so people can see you when you're talking and so they can see your reactions and expressions.
Monitor and participate in chat	Use meeting chat to participate in side discussions or to raise questions if the meeting organizer or monitor is gathering them for the presenter.
Use "raise hand" and other reactions	If you have a question or add to the discussion on the call, use the "raise hand" reaction. This notifies the organizer or presenter that someone wants to speak up.
Participate in discussions	Whether you use meeting chat or the "raise hand" reaction, make sure to participate! Remote participants have an equal say in meeting discussions and should have the opportunity to contribute to them.
Report call quality issues	If you're having trouble hearing the meeting, if you can't see in-room video, or if you can't see the material being presented, let the organizer or presenter know. Use the "raise hand" reaction, send a message in chat, or interrupt the discussion to make them aware.
Post-meeting tasks
Provide feedback to the organizer	Let the organizer know how the meeting went for you. It's important to let them know any issues you encountered so they can be resolved. In-room organizers and presenters may not be aware of issues experienced by remote participants.

In-room participants

In-room participants might feel that it's more natural to discuss matters with those next to them. However, by applying these best practices, they can easily increase the scope of their discussions to include someone working from home or across the country/region.

Tasks	Notes
Meeting preparation
Join the meeting from your device	Join the meeting from your device even though you're in the room. Joining the meeting lets you turn on your camera, use reactions, and follow along with meeting chat.
Turn on your camera	Turn on your camera so remote participants can more easily tell who's talking. Turning on your camera also helps you make a better connection when everyone can see you when you're talking.
Keep camera feeds open	Keep Teams open so you can see remote participants' cameras. Keeping their camera feeds open lets you see their reactions and body language, and helps you maintain a connection with them.
Mute your microphone and speakers	Teams should automatically mute your microphone and microphone when you join in a Teams room, but double check when you join. Muting your microphone and speakers prevents audio echoing from happening.
In-meeting tasks
Be mindful of remote participants	Remember that remote participants might be present in the meeting. Keep noise and in-room side discussions to a minimum because they can easily drown out the presenter. Speaker clearly so that remote participants can hear you. Give remote participants opportunities to contribute to the discussion.
Monitor and participate in chat	Rather than hold in-room side conversations, add them to meeting chat. This way, all meeting participants can join in the discussion and in-room noise is kept to a minimum.
Watch for the "raise hand" reaction	Let the organizer or presenter know if someone is using the "raise hand" reaction. This means they have a question or want to contribute to the discussion.
Use reactions to react to content and discussions	Use reactions so that everyone can see how you feel about a presentation or discussion. Others might agree with you and join in!
Post-meeting tasks
Provide feedback to the organizer	Let the organizer know how the meeting went for you. It's important to let them know any issues you encountered so they can be resolved.

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