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25 Microsoft Teams Tips and Tricks for 2025

by ModuleQ on Jan 2024

Microsoft Teams has evolved significantly, becoming a powerful hub for productivity and collaboration. If you're looking to maximize your efficiency and leverage the latest AI-powered features, you're in the right place. We've curated 25 actionable tips and tricks to help you become a true Microsoft Teams master. Let's dive in!

Microsoft Teams is no longer just a chat platform. With advancements in AI and innovative features, it's now smarter, more efficient, and tailored to your workflow. These tips will help you:

  • Save time with AI-driven meeting recaps and scheduled messages.
  • Improve focus by customizing notifications and managing your status.
  • Enhance collaboration with live transcriptions and seamless file sharing.
  • Organize your workspace with pinned chats and customizable tabs.

1. Control Your Availability

Set Your Status Duration

Ever need to step away without constantly updating your status? Teams lets you set a duration for your status, automatically reverting after the time expires. Here's how:

  1. Go to your profile picture > current status > Duration.
  2. Choose your desired status.
  3. Select the reset time.
  4. Click 'Done.'

2. Organize Your Workspace(s)

Create Tabs in Chats

Keep important files and apps at your fingertips by adding tabs to your chats. Whether it's a shared document or a frequently used website, tabs streamline access.

  1. In your chat, click the plus sign (+).
  2. Select the app, file, or website.
  3. Configure settings and click 'Add' or 'Save.'

3. Quick Access to Information

Use Chat Details

Need a quick overview of chat participants, shared files, or pinned messages? The Chat Details feature (Alt + P or ⌘ D) provides a comprehensive summary. Simply click 'Open chat details' in the top right corner of your chat.

4. Send at the Perfect Time

Schedule Messages

Collaborating across time zones? Schedule your messages to ensure they're delivered at the optimal moment.

  1. Type your message, then right-click the send arrow.
  2. Select 'send at scheduled time' and choose your date and time.
  3. Confirm and send.
  4. You can edit or delete the scheduled message by selecting the three dots (...) on the message.

5. Prioritize What is Important

Pin Apps and Chats

Reduce clutter and keep your most-used apps and chats easily accessible by pinning them to your Teams app bar.

  1. For apps, right-click the icon and select 'pin.'
  2. For chats, channels, or Apps right click or select more options and select pin.

6. Personalized Insights

Leverage ModuleQ

Stay ahead of the game with personalized insights from ModuleQ. This AI-powered tool delivers timely information, like pre-meeting briefings, directly within Teams.

7. Accessibility 

Use Live Transcriptions

Make your meetings more inclusive with live transcriptions. This feature is invaluable for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals.

  1. Click 'More actions' (three dots) and select 'Start transcription.'
  2. Select the spoken language.

8. Focus on the Discussion

Intelligent Meeting Recaps

Say goodbye to tedious note-taking. Teams' Intelligent meeting recap  provide intelligent summaries, allowing you to focus on the conversation. 

  1. Access the 'Recap' tab in the meeting chat (Teams Premium or Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses). 

9. Meet Now for Real-time Collaboration

Meet Now lets you start instant, informal chats right in your group chat. It's like dropping by a coworker's desk but for remote teams. No scheduling is needed – just quick, real-time conversations whenever you need them. 

10. Find What You Need Faster

Refine your Search Results

Avoid sifting through endless results by refining your Teams searches. Use the Messages, Files, or People tabs to narrow your search. Use the search bar, then use the tabs above the results to refine. Search Documentation.

11. Express Yourself Non-Verbally

Use Meeting Reactions

Emojis aren't just for casual chats! In Teams meetings, use live reactions to express yourself without interrupting the flow.

During a meeting, use the emoji reactions like "Like," "Love," "Applause," etc.

12. Capture Key Information

Take Meeting Notes

Keep everyone on the same page by taking collaborative meeting notes directly in Teams.

  1. Join the meeting, select 'Notes,' and add your notes, tasks, or agenda.
  2. For multitasking, click 'More actions' and then 'Open in new window.'

13. Review Later

Mark Messages as Unread

Just like in your email, you can mark Teams messages as unread to revisit them later. Press and hold on a message and select 'Mark as unread.' This helps you manage your message flow and stay organized.

14. Recommend Channels 

Team owners, take note! Easily guide new members by recommending specific channels. During channel creation, check 'Recommend that people show this channel in their channel lists.' or go to the team's "Manage team" section. Navigate to "Channels". Find the channel you want to recommend and select the three dots (...) to open the channel's menu. Select "Recommend for everyone".
It's a great way to ensure they focus on the most relevant content.


15. Create a Digital Record

Record and Transcribe Your Meetings

Capture every detail of your meetings with Teams' recording and transcription features.

  1. Use the record function to capture audio, video, and screen sharing.
  2. Enable the 'transcript' function for a written record.

16. Easy Identification

Title Your Conversations

Make your group chats easier to find by adding descriptive titles. 

  1. Open the chat, click the pencil icon next to the participant names, and enter a new name.
  2. Hit "Save" or press Enter on your keyboard to confirm the new chat name.

17. Stay Focused

Adjust Notifications

You can set up Microsoft Teams notifications to get notified when new messages appear in all your channels, just favorited channels, or only when you're mentioned. 

18. Maintain Privacy

Blur Your Background

If you enjoy your privacy or just want to hide the messy kitchen behind you, you can blur your background prior to joining a meeting. You even add a custom background. 

  1. Click 'More actions' (three dots), select 'Video effects and settings,' and choose 'Blur' or a custom background.
  2. Select "Preview" to see how the image looks before you apply it. Select "Apply and turn on Video" to submit the change and turn on your camera.

19. Seamless File Integration

Connect with SharePoint Sites

As soon as you make a channel in Microsoft Teams, a SharePoint folder is made for you automatically. You can also add a document library from a different SharePoint site as a tab. Overview of the Teams and SharePoint integration. 

20. Customize Your View

Meeting Gallery

Teams' updated meeting gallery lets you customize your view during video calls. Click the 'View' tile icon and select different views and gallery sizes. It allows you to tailor the meeting experience to your preferences.

21. Use @mention 

If you want to refer specifically to one person, you can do so by @mentioning them by name, such as "@ModuleQ". Or, you can filter messages by using the @mention as a message filter. 

22. Forward Email Messages into a Channel

From the Outlook desktop app, you can share a copy of an email with its attachments directly to Microsoft Teams. Share an email documentation.

  1. In Outlook, open the email, select 'Share to Teams,' and choose the channel or person.
  2. Optionally add a message, include attachments, and click 'Share.'

23. Enhanced Control

Use the Present Toolbar During Calls 

You can now drag and move the presenter toolbar during a Teams Presentation, which may make it easier to handle PowerPoints or anything else you’re sharing on your screen. 

24. Find Things Faster

Use the Search Bar as a Command Line 

The Teams search bar also functions as a command-line terminal. You can speed up some of the most common tasks by typing one of the recognized commands: /files lets you see your most recent files, /unread shows you what's new, and /call lets you make a call. Microsoft documentation for commands.

25. Save for Later

Bookmark Important Conversations

You don't need to scour through Microsoft Teams trying to find that one important message. Click on the three ellipses in the top left corner of the message and select “Save this message” and you're good to go.

 

 
Topics: Microsoft Teams

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