Host or Join a Teams Meeting

This article explains how to host or join a meeting and how to share content in Microsoft Teams.

Host a Meeting

Schedule a Meeting

There are two ways to schedule a meeting within Teams:

• Within the Teams application, click Calendar on the left side of the desktop application or at the bottom of the mobile application. Click New Meeting or Schedule a Meeting.
• Within a chat, click the Schedule a Meeting icon below the compose box to book a meeting with people in the chat.

Similar to Outlook, the scheduling form is where you can give a title to your meeting, invite people, and add meeting details. If you add a channel (e.g. Information Technology > General), it will invite the entire team to the meeting.

You can also host your meeting in a channel within a team. When you have a meeting in a channel, everyone in the team will be able to see and join the meeting in that channel.

Host an Instant Meeting

To start an impromptu meeting in Teams:

1. Within the Teams application, click Calendar on the left side of the desktop application.
2. Click Meet Now in the upper-right corner.
3. You will be promoted to give a title to your meeting and review other settings. When you are ready, click Join Now.
4. After the meeting has started, you can invite people in two ways:
   • Click People in the top-right and type in an individual's name or phone number to invite.
   • Click Copy Join Info and paste the resulting link in a message.

Join a Meeting

Join By Link

When you click on Join Microsoft Teams Meeting in your meeting invite, you will be taken to a page where you can either join in via a web browser or via the Teams application. If you already have the Teams application, it will open there automatically.

Join By Phone

If you don't have Internet access or the Teams desktop or mobile applications, you can join some meetings by phone.

• If it has a phone number and conference ID in the meeting invite, just dial the phone number to join.
• If you see a phone number in your invitation, but it is not local to you, click Local numbers and find one that works for you. The call may incur additional charges depending on your phone plan; check with your telephone service provider for details.
• Note that if you are the meeting organizer, and you start the meeting by phone, you will also be prompted to enter your PIN. If you don't know your PIN you can reset it here.

Join from the Calendar

1. Within the Teams application, click Calendar on the left side of the desktop application or at the bottom of the mobile application.
2. Find the meeting you want to join, and click Join.

Or, if someone starts the meeting, you will receive a notification that you can use to join.

Join from Chat

If the meeting within a chat has already begun, it will appear in your recent chat list and within the chat itself. Click Join at the top of the chat to join the meeting.

How to Share Content in a Meeting

Share Your Screen

1. Click Share in your meeting controls. You can then choose to share:
   • Desktop: This shows your entire screen, including notifications and other desktop activity
   • Window: This shows just one application window, and no notifications or other desktop activity
   • PowerPoint: Present a PowerPoint file that others can interact with
   • Whiteboard: Collaborate with others in real-time
2. Click Include System Audio if you want to stream your computer audio to meeting participants (e.g. playing a video or audio clip as part of your presentation).

Give Control

If you want another meeting participant to change a file, help you present, or demonstrate something, you can give control to that person.

1. On the sharing toolbar, click Give Control.
2. Select the name of the person you want to give control to.
3. To take back control, select Take Back Control.

Take Control

1. To take control while another person is sharing, click Request Control. The person sharing will approve or deny your request.
2. When you are done, click Release Control to stop sharing control.