Key takeaways:
- Scheduling a meeting in Microsoft Teams is quick and easy, whether from the Calendar tab, a channel, or a chat
- Use the Scheduling Assistant to find the best time for all attendees
- Make your meeting a Teams meeting to enable video conferencing and screen sharing
- Customize your meeting options like recurrence, reminders, and permissions
Microsoft Teams has become an essential tool for remote collaboration, allowing teams to communicate, share files, and hold virtual meetings. One of the most useful features of Teams is the ability to easily schedule meetings with your colleagues, clients or external guests. In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to schedule a new meeting appointment in Microsoft Teams.
Table of Contents
Schedule a Meeting from the Calendar Tab
The most straightforward way to schedule a meeting in Teams is through the Calendar tab. Here’s how:
- Open Microsoft Teams and click on the Calendar tab on the left sidebar.
- Click on the New meeting button in the top right corner.
- Fill in the meeting details:
- Add a title for your meeting
- Choose the date, start time, and end time
- Add required and optional attendees by typing their names or email addresses
- Select a channel to hold the meeting in (optional)
- Add a location or choose to meet online
- Write a description or agenda for the meeting
- Use the Scheduling Assistant to find the best time for all attendees. It shows everyone’s availability side by side.
- Customize your meeting options, such as setting it to repeat, adding a reminder, or changing permissions.
- When you’re ready, click Send to invite all the attendees.
Schedule a Meeting from a Channel
If you want to hold a meeting with a specific team or project group, you can schedule it directly from a channel. This will automatically invite all the channel members and post the meeting details in the channel conversation. Here’s how:
- Navigate to the channel where you want to hold the meeting.
- Click on the More options (…) button next to the channel name.
- Select Schedule a meeting.
- Fill in the meeting details as described above.
- The channel will be pre-selected under Add channel.
- Click Send to schedule the meeting and notify the channel.
Schedule a Meeting from a Chat
You can also quickly set up a meeting with someone you’re chatting with in Teams. This is useful for impromptu or one-on-one meetings. Here’s how:
- Open a chat with the person you want to meet with.
- Click on the Calendar icon below the compose box.
- Fill in the meeting details as described above.
- The person you’re chatting with will be pre-added as a required attendee.
- Click Send to schedule the meeting and notify the attendee.
Make it a Teams Meeting
No matter how you schedule your meeting, be sure to make it a Teams meeting to take advantage of video conferencing, screen sharing, and other collaboration features. Just toggle the Teams meeting switch to on when creating a new meeting. This will generate a unique link that attendees can use to join the meeting from anywhere.
Feature | Benefit |
---|---|
Video conferencing | See your colleagues face-to-face and pick up on non-verbal cues |
Screen sharing | Present your work, demo a product, or collaborate on a document in real-time |
Recording | Save the meeting for later reference or to share with those who couldn’t attend |
Live captions | Make your meeting more accessible and easier to follow along |
Best Practices for Scheduling Meetings
To make the most of your Teams meetings, follow these tips:
- Be clear and specific in your meeting title and description. Let attendees know the purpose and expected outcomes of the meeting.
- Keep meetings as short as possible. Aim for 30 minutes or less, and only invite essential participants.
- Use the Scheduling Assistant to find a time that works for everyone. Avoid scheduling over existing commitments.
- Send a reminder a day or a few hours before the meeting. This helps ensure good attendance and allows people to prepare.
- Start and end on time. Respect everyone’s schedule and avoid running over.
- Assign roles and responsibilities. Designate a meeting leader, note-taker, timekeeper, etc.
- Follow up after the meeting. Send a summary, action items, and any relevant files or links.
By following these steps and best practices, you’ll be able to effectively schedule and run productive meetings in Microsoft Teams.
FAQ
Can I schedule a meeting with people outside my organization?
Yes, you can invite anyone with a valid email address to your Teams meeting, even if they don’t have a Teams account. They can join as a guest via the web or mobile app.
How do I make a meeting recurring?
When scheduling a meeting, click on the Repeat drop-down menu and choose how often you want the meeting to occur (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly). You can also set a custom recurrence pattern.
Can I schedule a meeting on behalf of someone else?
Yes, if you have been granted delegate access to someone else’s calendar in Teams or Exchange, you can schedule meetings on their behalf. The invitation will show that it was sent by you on behalf of the other person.
How far in advance can I schedule a meeting?
You can schedule meetings up to 180 days in advance in Teams.
What happens if I need to cancel or reschedule a meeting?
Open the meeting invite from your calendar, click Edit and then Cancel meeting or change the date/time and click Send update. All attendees will be notified of the cancellation or change.