Getting things setup right for video conferencing can take some time for those who are new to working from home. Despite the current lockdown, your business will likely still have regular meetings which you need to be a part of, and many of these are using Microsoft Team. With the sudden need to adapt our home settings into an office set up, you might be working from your kitchen table or a dedicated home office – so what can you do to make the most of it? Here are some of our best tips on how to get the most out of your Microsoft Teams meetings
1/ Be Conscious Of Your Internet Connection
A key thing to keep in mind for any online meetings you have is that if your Internet connection isn’t stable, things will go downhill in terms of video and audio quality. Chances are there’s a room in your house that has a better Wi-Fi connection than others, so it might be best to have your video conferences from there, if possible. It would also be a good idea to have a mobile handy that you can use as a hotspot connection in case your connection becomes disruptive. If you are on a desktop PC at home that doesn’t have Wi-Fi, investing in a Wi-Fi dongle could be a good idea to have as backup if you need to turn to tethering.
2/ Mute Yourself When You Aren’t Talking
This tip might seem insignificant, but it can definitely make a big difference to the other people in the meeting. Putting your mic on mute ensures that whenever someone is talking, they have the stage to get their message across. It is especially handy if there are any background noises that might distract from the conversation. Trying to speak when there is background noise or someone’s dog barking is REALLY annoying!
3/ Record Your Meetings
You might have a meeting that includes going through feedback that you want to review, or have a meeting that some members of staff aren’t able to attend. Using features of Zoom or Microsoft Teams, you can do that.
Here’s How…
Step 1
Click on the ‘More Actions’ tab at the bottom of your call.
Step 2
Click ‘Start Recording’.
You will see that it has started recording through an icon on the left.
Step 4
To end your call, it’s as simple as going back into the ‘More Actions’ tab, and clicking ‘Stop Recording’. When you stop recording, Teams automatically sends the recording in chat..
4/ Blur Your Background
You might be working from your kitchen table, or just have your kids playing in the background. Whatever the reason, if you need to mask out your surroundings, Microsoft Teams has you covered. While it works on most modern devices, the optional ‘Blur my background’ video effect requires a processor with Advanced Vector Extensions 2 (AVX2) support. The option will either be there or it won’t, you don’t need to enable it.
Step 1
Click on ‘More Actions’ at the bottom of your call.
Step 2
Under the options, click on ‘Blur my Background’.
Step 3
To remove the effect, it’s as easy as going back to ‘More Acions’ and clicking the ‘Don’t blur background’ option.
5/ Be patient!
You aren’t alone. In the current situation many users are getting to grips with new things like video conferencing for the first time; including setting up your camera, and making sure everyone can hear you loud and clear. Don’t worry if you don’t set it up perfectly straight away. Keep an eye out for our weekly blog and social media posts, where we feature in depth tips and tricks to help your business work from home. Also check out our YouTube channel where we post useful ‘How To’ guides.
Using Zoom instead?
Whilst Microsoft Teams is a great tool, not all businesses have chosen to adopt it. It is included with Office 365 Business Premium licences, so a lot of businesses may have access to use it, but aren’t even aware they have it.
Many users have turned to Zoom instead, which is free (with some limitations). But Zoom has had a few concerns recently over security of meetings, which is why we created a video showing how you can quickly implement some additional security measures to Help Keep Your Zoom Meetings Safe.
If there are any ideas for future guides or videos that you’d like us to produce, please get in contact with us, or feel free to message us on any of our social media channels.
