Getting Started with Teams

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration app built for hybrid work so you and your team stay informed, organized, and connected — all in one place.

Explore how Teams can help you and your colleagues come together no matter where you are:

  • Chat – Message someone or a group to talk about work, projects, or just for fun.
  • Teams – Create a team and channels to gather people together and work in focused spaces with conversations and files.

Tips

  • Catch up on all your unread messages, @mentions, replies, and more under Activity.
  • Use the Search box to find and filter specific items or people, take quick actions, and launch apps.

Get started now

Chat

 

Chat lets you connect with others, stay up to date on projects, and express yourself, whether you’re in the office, at home, or on the go with the Microsoft Teams app.

In Teams, you’ll see three types of chats:

  • One-on-one chats: to connect with people individually.
  • Group chats: to speak with a group of people at the same time.
  • Meeting chats: to ask a question without interrupting the speaker.

Try it!

Here are the top ten tips to get started:

  1. Start a chat and send your first message.
  2. Add teammates to the chat to turn it into a group conversation.
  3. Choose a chat reaction to share how you feel about a message.
  4. Add an emoji or GIF to bring some fun to a conversation.
  5. Insert a meme to express yourself the way you want.
  6. Add a file to your chat message to share information.
  7. Type an @mention to grab someone’s attention.
  8. Mark a message as Important to make sure it’s seen and addressed in a timely manner.
  9. Name a group chat to give it context and pin it for quick access.
  10. Set your status so people know what you’re up to.

Meetings

 

Meetings are an essential place where work happens in Microsoft Teams — whether you’re engaging an important client or catching up on a group discussion.

There are three parts to a Teams meeting:

  • Before: When you create and send out an invite.
  • During: When everyone meets.
  • After: When people share recaps and action items.

Try it!

Here are the basics of how to get started with meetings in Teams.

Before a meeting

Create a meeting and discover how to adjust your settings before you join one:

  1. Go to your Calendar and select New meeting.
  2. Add people to the invite such as colleagues in your organization or external guests.
  3. Add a location or make it an online meeting.
  4. Type an agenda.
  5. Check Scheduling Assistant to make sure your proposed time works for everyone.
  6. Choose to automatically record a meeting in case someone can’t make it and select Send.
  7. Join a meeting from an email, a channel, a mobile device, or your calendar
  8. Choose your meetings settings from the pre-join screen, and select Join now.

During a meeting

Explore how to interact with others in a meeting:

  • Avoid the frustration of speaking over other people and select Raise your hand to share your thoughts.
  • Add your questions to the meeting chat to avoid interrupting a speaker.
  • Select React and choose a reaction to express how you feel in real-time.
  • Select Share to show a presentation, a window, or your entire screen.

After a meeting

Re-visit documents and follow-up with people after the meeting’s done:

  • Go to your calendar invite to view shared files, the meeting recording, or transcript.
  • Share notes or action items with your team.