Online Meetings and Conference Calls
On this page, you will find a wide range of information about online meetings and conference calls whilst working from home or remotely.
If you have any questions about specifics which aren’t covered on this page, please contact the Digital Services Service Desk on 01522 88 6500, or by emailing dt@lincoln.ac.uk
If you need information on teaching remotely, visit https://remoteteaching.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/
How do I set up a conference call?
How do I organise meetings in Teams?
Important things to remember in Teams calls and meetings
Online Help Guides
How do I set up a conference call?
If you’re looking to make a conference call or host an online meeting, Microsoft Teams provides a simple, easy-to-use option for calling multiple people online in one conversation.
Note: The University of Lincoln recommends using Microsoft Teams because it is a secure, low-risk tool which complies with University guidelines and regulations.
Desktop
Using Teams on a desktop device (such as a laptop or PC) you can make one-on-one or group calls with anyone in your organisation directly from a chat without having to host a team meeting. These calls are private and won’t appear in any team conversation. Entries for the calls will appear in your chat, though.
- Go to your chat list, and click New chat to start a new conversation, or click on the New chat icon in the top menu bar:
- Type the name or names into the To field at the top of your new chat.
- Then click on the Video call or Audio call buttons to start a call:
Up to 50 people can be on the same video call, but only 4 will be visible at once. For more information on changing your views and organising video feeds, take a look at the Microsoft guide here
If you’re not currently in a chat with the person you want to call, you can start a new call from a command. Go to the command box at the top of your screen and type /call, then type or select the name of the person you want to reach.
You can also start a one-on-one call from someone’s profile card. Open it by clicking their picture in a channel or from a search.
Mobile
You can launch calls from one-on-one or group chats:
- From your chat list, tap New chat in the header and enter a name or names:
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From a chat, tap the Video call or Audio call button:
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The person you’re calling can answer from their desktop or mobile app.
You can also start a call from someone’s profile card. Open it by tapping their profile picture in a channel or from a search.
How do I organise meetings in Teams?
Scheduling a Meeting in Teams
Your calendar in Teams is connected to your Exchange calendar. In other words, when you schedule a meeting in Outlook, it’ll show up in Teams, and vice versa.
Every meeting scheduled in Teams is automatically made into an online meeting. Scheduling from Outlook? Learn how to add Teams to your Outlook meeting.
Take a look at the guides from Microsoft below for more information:
Calling in to a Meeting in Teams
Sharing Content in a Meeting in Teams
Important things to remember in Teams calls and meetings
Organising video feeds
By default, meetings and video calls in Teams can only support up to 4 video feeds at a time, so you may need to change your view or organise the feeds you can see.
- When someone’s sharing a presentation, you can switch between viewing that content and watching the people in the room by simply clicking on the video you’re interested in.
- To focus on a particular video, right click and select Pin. The video will be pinned to your view regardless of who’s talking. You can pin as many videos as will fit on your screen. If you change your mind, right click again and hit Unpin.
- Teams crops some videos to make them fit your screen better. If you want a different view of a particular video – for example, if someone’s cropped out of the video or it only shows part of their face – right click and select Fit to frame to see the entire video.
Using the conversation window
During voice and video calls, you can access the text chat, or conversation window by hovering over the video feed and selecting the conversation button (speech bubble). This will allow you to type messages to all meeting participants in a window which opens at the side of the screen.
Voice call etiquette
When using voice calls, remember to try and avoid speaking over other users, as this may cut or interfere with other voice channels and cause key information to be missed or users having to repeat themselves.
Teams Meeting etiquette
- the chair and officer (if available) will manage the meeting
- keep your microphone on mute unless you are asked to talk
- use the chat/conversation window to make comments or attract the attention of the chair/officer
Improving the performance
Have a look at this page for some top tips on improving the performance of Teams calls and meetings.
Online Help Guides
Office 365
Sharing Permissions in Office 365
Setting up a call/conference call in Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Office 365 Training Centre
OneDrive (Microsoft Office 365 Training Centre)
Outlook (Microsoft Office 365 Training Centre)
Microsoft Teams (Microsoft Office 365 Training Centre)
Sharing Files Using Office 365 (PDF)
How to use OneDrive and Share a Document (PDF)
Getting Started – Microsoft Teams (PDF)
Other
Wireless Printing – Installing Drivers
Encrypting and Sending Files (PDF)
Encrypting Individual Files (PDF)