Microsoft Teams Basics

Ready to lead? We walk you step-by-step through the process of creating a brand new Team. You'll learn how to name it, add a description, and set the initial privacy levels.

Why start from scratch? Microsoft provides powerful templates for various industries and project types. Learn how to use these templates to instantly set up a Team with pre-configured channels and apps.

You won't always be the creator. Learn the different ways to join Teams that already exist, including searching for public teams and using unique join codes for private groups.

Large organizations can get messy. We discuss strategies for creating Teams within existing organizational structures and how to think about the hierarchy of your collaboration spaces.

As you join more projects, your Teams list can get cluttered. We show you how to drag, drop, and rearrange your Teams so that your most important projects are always at the top of the list.

Keep your focus sharp by curating your view. Learn how to "Hide" teams that are less active without leaving them, and how to "Show" them again when they become relevant.

Project finished? Role changed? We show you the proper way to leave a Team you no longer need to be a part of, removing it from your interface entirely.

What exactly is a Channel? We break down the relationship between Teams and Channels, explaining how to use them to separate different workstreams (e.g., "Marketing," "Budget," "General").

Learn how to create a Standard Channel that is open and accessible to every member of your Team. This is the default way to collaborate transparently.

Sometimes you need privacy within a Team. We show you how to create Private Channels that are only visible to specific selected members, perfect for sensitive discussions like budgets or HR.

Say goodbye to email attachments. Learn how to upload files directly to a Channel so that everyone has access to the same resources instantly.

You don't need to leave Teams to work. We demonstrate how to create brand new Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents directly inside the Teams interface.

This is a game-changer. Learn how multiple people can edit the same document at the exact same time, seeing each other's changes in real-time. No more "locked for editing" errors!

Keep your channels professional. We explore moderation settings that allow Team Owners to control who can start new posts or reply to messages.

Have a channel you check every hour? Learn how to "Pin" it to the top of your list for instant, one-click access, regardless of which Team it belongs to.

Just like Teams, Channels can be hidden. We show you how to manage your channel list to ensure you only see the topics that are relevant to you right now.

Stop scrolling endlessly. We teach you how to use the powerful Search bar to find specific messages, files, or people across all your Teams and Channels instantly.

The digital equivalent of walking over to someone's desk. Learn how to start a private, secure conversation with a colleague.

Need to coordinate with three or four people quickly? We show you how to spin up a Group Chat for fast decision-making without the formality of creating a whole new Team.

Learn how to quickly send a file to a colleague in a private message. We also explain where these files are stored (OneDrive for Business) compared to Team files.

In a busy chat, messages get lost. Learn how to use @Mentions to tag specific people, triggering a notification that ensures they see your message.

Work doesn't have to be boring. We show you how to use the rich formatting tools, including Giphy integration and emojis, to add tone and personality to your text communications.

Learn the proper way to set up a future meeting. We cover adding a title, inviting attendees, setting the time, and adding a description, all synced with your Outlook calendar.

Sometimes you need to talk right now. We show you how to launch an instant meeting to jump on a call immediately without any prior scheduling.

Discover the power of Channel Meetings. These are open meetings that occur within a Team channel, allowing any team member to jump in and out—perfect for daily stand-ups or open office hours.

Don't be late! We review the multiple ways you can join a meeting: from your Calendar, from a pop-up notification, or via a direct link in an email.

Be an active participant. We explore the in-meeting controls, including how to raise your hand, use the meeting chat, react with emojis, and manage your audio/video settings.

We provide a high-level overview of the "Calls" tab, explaining how Teams can replace your traditional desk phone for internal (and sometimes external) communication.

Learn how to initiate a high-quality audio or video call with a colleague with just a single click.

When your computer rings, what do you do? We show you how to accept incoming calls with video, audio-only, or how to decline them if you are busy.

Build your digital address book. Learn how to add people to your contacts list so you don't have to search for them every time you want to talk.

Organize your contacts into logical groups (e.g., "Management," "Project Alpha," "Vendors") to keep your speed dial list tidy and efficient.

Dive into the advanced call settings. We'll show you how to set up call forwarding, configure your voicemail greeting, and choose your ringtones.

What do the colored dots mean? We decode the status indicators (Green for Available, Red for Busy, Yellow for Away) so you understand what your colleagues are seeing.

Take control of your availability. Learn how to manually set your status to "Do Not Disturb" to suppress notifications or "Appear Away" when you need to step out.

Sometimes a colored dot isn't enough. We show you how to write a custom text status (e.g., "In a workshop until 2 PM") to give your team more context.

Don't forget to turn off your status! Learn how to set a duration for your status messages so they automatically clear themselves after a set period (e.g., 1 hour).

Going on vacation? We guide you through setting up an Out of Office message that will automatically reply to anyone who contacts you while you are away.