Too Many Teams Notifications?

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

As you and your colleagues use Teams more and more, you will start to get lots of notifications. Whether it's a really active inter-company chat or someone sending funny emoji's - once users are actively using Teams - what was first helpful to remember to check Teams can become annoying and frustrating as the dings distract you. 

Initially the notifications whether it be a banner or an email was helpful to remember to check on chats or channels in Teams and find out if you've missed anything. However, as time goes on, checking activity in Teams becomes automatic. When you get to this place, it isn't as important to get as many notifications. On the contrary, the notifications become redundant.  

Also - since everyone uses Microsoft Teams differently and some users are in different time zones, different countries or may not be online as often, you can also setup a notification for when they are available. This can also save LOTS ...

Managing Chats in Teams

2 for 1 Tip: Pinning and Popping Out a Chat

The more you use Teams, the more you have going on in this new app resulting in a need to manage the information and the numerous ongoing chats.  Today you get a 2 for 1 tip. They are similar, in that they both help you manage your chats.

Sometimes we have slow going chats, like projects, brainstorming, planning etc.  These might not have activity everyday or even every week.  Other times we have quick moving back and forth chats. With this variety, there is a need for different tools to help us manage them. 

Pinning Chats

We can use Pinning to pin important chats to the top of a window so we don't have to search for them. This is especially helpful for chats that might not have recent activity, as they fall to the bottom of the list and it can be time consuming to find them.

How to Pin a Chat

1. Hover over the chat and right-click or click the ... (more options).
   
   
2. From the menu choose Pin.
   
   
   
3. Now you will see your
...

Microsoft Teams

One of the most appealing elements of Microsoft Teams is the ability to EASILY stay in touch with people all over the world. This includes, video chats, screen sharing, audio calls, instant messaging, meetings, file sharing and more.

When COVID-19 hit, Microsoft Teams had a huge surge of users and for good reason. Suddenly millions of users needed to easily stay in touch with their organizations as well as their clients and customers. Teams is the perfect way to do this.  Since people dove into Teams head first - many didn't spend much time learning it.

One of the things I heard this week had to do with having a challenge with multi-lingual chats.   Not knowing how to easily translate the messages. Luckily - there's a SUPER easy way to translate these messages. Check it out.

How to Translate Chats

1. Hover over the message in the chats window and click the ... (More options).
   
   
   
2. When you click on the ellipses (...), choose Translate.
   
   
   
3. The message will be translated an
...

Prior to COVID-19 there were 12 million daily active Teams users. Since COVID-19, there are 44 million. In just a few weeks the number of users almost quadrupled, almost a 400% increase. With this increase, training on Teams and helping companies adopt Teams has been my top inquiry from new and existing clients.

So here are the top questions I'm hearing.

Question #1: Does Teams work for meetings with people outside your organization? If so - How?

Short answer - yes, and it's easy.

Although Teams is an amazing internal communication and collaboration tool, and many think of it as only or mainly that, it can also EASILY be used externally. AND, whomever you invite to a meeting does NOT need to have Teams installed or even be a Microsoft Office user. In one click, they can simply logon through a browser or the app (if on a phone) as a "guest".

With that being said, if you are wanting to add external users to your teams and not just have meetings, there are some limitations on how int...

87% of People Feel More Connected with these Virtual Meeting Tips

You're running meetings that were supposed to be in a conference room, conducting training sessions that were scheduled to be face to face and replacing in-person check-ins. In these unprecedented times, with most of us quarantined at home, our virtual communication skills are more critical than ever before. 

I've been working remotely with clients and providing virtual training and facilitating meetings for almost 20 years with a Masters degree in Education technology, I thought I'd share some tips and tricks that will help you - whether you're a virtual newbie or you've been working from home for years. Now we're all being forced to learn them and the playing field is pretty level with everyone figuring things out together so roll your sleeves up and let's dig in.

Common Fears Now that you're Working from Home 

• You're afraid your boss doesn't think you're working enough and let's be honest - companies are laying
...

87% of People Feel More Connected with these Virtual Meeting Tips

You're running meetings that were supposed to be in a conference room, conducting training sessions that were scheduled to be face to face and replacing in-person check-ins. In these unprecedented times, with most of us quarantined at home, our virtual communication skills are more critical than ever before. 

I've been working remotely with clients and providing virtual training and facilitating meetings for almost 20 years with a Masters degree in Education technology, I thought I'd share some tips and tricks that will help you - whether you're a virtual newbie or you've been working from home for years. Now we're all being forced to learn them and the playing field is pretty level with everyone figuring things out together so roll your sleeves up and let's dig in.

Common Fears Now that you're Working from Home 

• You're afraid your boss doesn't think you're working enough and let's be honest - companies are laying
...

Working Virtually with Microsoft Teams

You learned some basics about Microsoft Teams in my last Tuesday's Tip. This week I'd like to highlight some features that might be ESPECIALLY useful in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic. With such a huge number of us now working from home not necessarily as a convenience or occasionally but everyday, indefinitely and as a requirement. 

5 Things you didn't know you could do in Microsoft Teams...

I'm going to highlight 5 fun and useful things you can do in or with Microsoft Teams while we all navigate this "New Normal" while we work remotely.

#1: Did you know...You can add people that aren't in your organization to your Team?

If you are working with vendors or subcontractors, you can create a Team where you can share files as well as do video calls and share white boards and wikis. 

Tip: When everyone is used to connecting in an office, doing a video call can be very satisfying for checking in and feeling more connected as we all practice s...

Working Remotely with Microsoft Teams

These are crazy times we are living in where as a country we are being asked to self-quarantine and work from home as much as possible. With some of the most recent technology, this is even more feasible than it was just a few years ago. There are a lot of amazing apps that allow us to do this more effectively. Teams is one of them. Not only does Teams allow for a more virtual workplace but it also has features that allow us to still feel connected to our colleagues.

What is Microsoft Teams?

By now you've probably heard about Microsoft Teams - if not - this is a great place to start. If you use the current version of Microsoft Office (O365) it is most likely part of your subscription. Teams is replacing Skype for Business.

This weeks tip is best if you view the video so you can see the screens and hear the tips while you watch my screen. Check it out!

Teams Features 

With Microsoft Teams you can use any of the following features:

• Phone and
...