With many organizations still operating in a work from home environment, digital communication is integral to maintaining on the same page. In a recent update to Microsoft 365, there are new ways for team members to interact and improve that sense of comradery that is often missed is a digital setting. Let’s walk through three ways Microsoft 365 apps are now integrated into Microsoft Teams to help employees stay connected. Interested in Microsoft 365 licensing for your team? Get in touch with us to review all options and get a free trial.

Digital Whiteboards

If you’re unaware of Microsoft Whiteboard, it is a Microsoft 365 app included in most plans that provides a shareable, digital whiteboard space for team members to brainstorm with. In Microsoft Teams meetings, a whiteboard space can be pulled in to allow team members to visually express their thoughts and ideas. Common uses for bringing in a whiteboard into a Teams meeting include writing out the meeting agenda, taking notes through out the meeting, or drawing plans or visual representations of ideas expressed during the call. Everything drawn onto the whiteboard will automatically save so team members can look back at what happened during the meeting. Whiteboards can also be added to Teams channels so members can view and update them at any time.

Polling in Teams meetings

For Teams meetings that require audience participation like training sessions or presentations, meeting organizers and presenters can create polls on the fly or in advance with Microsoft Forms. Before the meeting, the presenter can create polls for the entire presentation so they can focus on speaking during the call. When the time comes for the poll, they can click the Forms icon in the meeting window and launch any prepared polls. The Poll will automatically be shared with all meeting attendees via the chat tab of the meeting window. As poll responses come in, the Microsoft Forms will display results in real-time to the audience. When the poll is closed, results can be exported to Excel to run analysis or share with others.

PowerPoint Live in Teams

PowerPoint Live is a brand-new presentation viewing experience that is only available in Microsoft Teams. PowerPoint Live gives presenters enhanced tools to have better control over their content. In the presenter only view, presenters can review notes, engage in chat, and see the video of attendees all in one window.

Just like for presenters, PowerPoint Live is designed to improve the experience for the audience and increase their focus. PowerPoint Live encourages meeting attendees to interact with the presentation content like links and videos. Attendees can also use emojis to share their reaction to the presentation content in real time as it is being delivered. PowerPoint Live also includes presentation optimization capabilities to ensure that the meeting content looks great no matter what device attendees are using to tune in.