Teams is a Paradigm Shift in HOW you Work

As I teach more and more Teams classes, one of the most common responses after our training users say things like, "Wow, it's a lot more than I thought?" or "Oh man, it's so much more than just chat."

One of the things that is hard to learn without training - is that using Teams as an organization is a paradigm shift. It is more than just, checking to see if anyone sent you a chat. Full Teams utilization means collaborating with your colleagues in an easy, seamless, organic way to co-work on documents, share files, meet virtually, call and work collaboratively.

Why Chat? 

The idea of when to chat and when to email is confusing for most people  at first in Teams. Initially, Teams just seems like more work, yet another app to keep tabs on. However, after you learn more about Teams and when to use it and when not to, it starts to come together and actually SAVE time. And don't we ALL want to SAVE TIME!

Emails Versus Chats

Emails will probabl...

Should you Schedule your Teams Meeting from Teams or Outlook? 

Does it matter you're wondering? As more and more people jump on the Teams train, the crossover of Teams and Outlook is undeniable. You have already noticed that your Outlook calendar also shows up in Teams. You have maybe also noticed you can schedule a Teams meeting from within Teams and in Outlook. So the natural question is - does it matter? Short answer - YES!

Question #1: Who are you inviting?

• If you're inviting people outside your organization, using the Teams Meeting button on your ribbon in Outlook is easier. This is because the To: field will bring up your list AutoFill list of people you send emails to and you won't have to either copy and paste or manually type in email addresses for invitees.
  
  
  
• If your meeting is strictly internal, then creating the meeting in Teams versus Outlook doesn't make much of a difference.

Either way - you will have a link and call in number (depending on your calling plan in Te...

Drawing in an Email Message

Sometimes you just need to sketch something out.  We've all heard a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes a lot of words can be eliminated in an email by just creating a simple drawing. Whether it's a diagram or something else - it's easy.  You can only create a drawing in an HTML formatted email.

In Outlook, you can create a drawing in your email by using the following steps.

1. Open a new message and click on the Drawing tab.
   
2. Click in the body of the message (the commands will be greyed out if you're not in the content area of the email).
3. On the Drawing ribbon, click the Drawing Canvas button.
   
4. Then you will be able to create your drawing within the canvas by either drawing  with your mouse or with your finger if you have a touch-screen.
   
5. You can use the drawing canvas handles to resize the image.

View your Calendar and Inbox at the Same Time

As an avid user of Outlook, you most likely pop back and forth between the calendar and the inbox.  There are a 2 ways you can view both your calendar and your inbox at the same time.  If you have multiple monitors, the first method is great - it gives you a full view of each window whereas the 2nd method is great for a smaller view of the calendar and if you only want it on a single screen. 

Method 1: Open in New Window

It's pretty standard that most people have multiple screens and there's an easy way in Outlook to have your inbox and calendar open in their own separate windows, one on each monitor. You can use this method with  Inbox, Calendar, People, Folders, Tasks and Notes.

1. To view the Inbox and the Calendar simultaneously, in Outlook, open the inbox.
   
   
2. Then right-click on  the calendar icon and choose Open in New Window.
   
   
   
3. You will now see when you hover over Outlook, both windows. You can drag one to each monitor.
   

Method 2: ...

Outlook's Focused Inbox

Who doesn't need help having a more focused inbox?? I will take ALL the help I can get. Outlook's built in Focused Inbox feature allows you to take advantage of automatic organization so you can quickly and easily see the more important emails and filter out the less important ones. Additionally, you can customize how Outlook organizes your emails by adding emails to the focused or the other lists.

Turn the Focused Inbox Feature On

1. Click on the View tab in Outlook.
   
   
2. Click on Show Focused Inbox button. This toggles the feature on/off.
   
   
   
3. Click Focused to view the focused emails. This should be the more important emails. The marketing and mass emails should be in the Other category. You can toggle between the 2 filters. You can also turn it off completely. 

Customize the "Focused" List

As you use this feature, you will need to "teach" Outlook what should be in the Focused list and what should be in the Other list.

1. Right click on a message in the Focused ...

Tricks to Sort your Inbox Like a Pro

Sorting your inbox might not seem like a big deal BUT if you have 100's or 1000's of emails in your inbox like most people, sorting like a pro can literally save you hours!

Using Outlook Columns

The new default view in Outlook looks like this.

If you change the width of the window - you will see all the column headings displayed. (It's easier if you watch the video than to explain it in steps.)

Once you have the columns visible - you can simply click to sort by that column.

Super simple - but so useful when you're trying to find all the messages from a certain person.

How Did I Do?

I want to take this week to reflect on last year. Can you help me? 

It's been a full year that I've been sending out weekly tips - I've got a quick 8 question form to help you share with me what your thoughts were. I want to take a pause to hear what you like, what you don't like, what else I can do for you, how I can better serve you.

Share your Opinion! 

Only requirement is that you have to be an acvite email subscriber!

Tricks for Sharing your Screen in your Teams Meeting

Whether you've been attending Teams meetings for a long time or you're new to it, there's a couple things that trip people up consistently. These 3 tricks will help you. I would encourage you to watch the video as I've included some additional tips for sharing.

Trick #1 - The difference between sharing your screen versus your window

Sharing your Desktop - means whatever is on your desktop - if you see it - they see it. Although this offers the most flexibility, it also runs the biggest risk you might accidently share something you don't want everyone to see.  

Use this if..

• You know you have multiple screens you want people to see, for example a spreadsheet and a word doc.
• You have closed all private or personal windows including Outlook so screen tips don't come up.  You may also want to disable notifications/chats.

Sharing a Window

What most people don't realize about sharing a window is that if you open another wind...

Using Files in Teams

As you continue to do more and more collaborating in Teams, using, sharing and finding files becomes more important. Initially, you can recall where you saved or used the file but as your Teams increase and you have more and more files - you won't be able to rely on your memory. It's important to know and understand how Teams organizes your files and the best way to find them. You also want to be clear on file permissions.

OneDrive and Files in Teams

If you want to save and share files in Teams, you need to use OneDrive. Without going into a lot of detail, this provides the cloud platform for making these files accessible to everyone on their phone, tablet and laptop apps. Talk to your IT department if you have questions about OneDrive and/or setting it up.

Sharing Files in a Channel

In the "old days" of networks and folders - you would organize and store your files by creating a nested file folder structure. Client Files > Client A > Marketing might be a fold...

What's Teams Together Mode?

The new Teams feature - Together Mode - simulates a meeting where you can see everyone in the meeting in a simulated room like an auditorium. And yes, it really does work!

At first - it might seem a little cheesy - but it actually does a good job and creates a feeling that you're a little more together. Here's how to use it....

What to Know About Together Mode

• You have to have at least 5 people in the meeting. Not everyone has to have their cameras on though.
• It is available only on the desktop version of the app.
• Besides the feeling of being together in the same room, you can see more people in the same room.
• By eliminating everyone's "boxes" it uses the psychology to make everyone feel like they're together

Why I Love Together Mode

• It's fun! Experiment with the different scenes.
• Uses technology and psychology to make people feel more connected, especially in larger meetings.
• Lets you see more people in a meeting - instead of the limit in
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