Microsoft Teams - The Complete Guide for a Perfect Meeting

Keeping up with emails, chats, and documents across different apps can get messy fast. It’s easy to lose track of conversations or miss important updates when everything’s scattered.

Microsoft Teams brings your communication, meetings, and files into one place. Instead of switching between tools, you can chat, meet, share, and work together right inside the Teams app. It’s built for real-time collaboration for working with a small group or managing larger projects across multiple channels.

This Microsoft Teams guide will walk you through everything you need to know, including how to:

• Join a Microsoft Teams meeting
• Set up a new team and create channels
• Use the Teams mobile app for work on the go
• Customize your meeting background
• Use the Whiteboard during a meeting
• Turn on transcription for MS Teams
• Get help when something isn’t working

‍

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is part of Microsoft 365, built to make collaboration easier without needing a dozen separate apps.

You can start a quick chat, hop into a video call, schedule a new meeting, or work on files with your team—all without leaving the Teams app. It’s like having a digital workspace where everything you need stays organized and easy to find.

‍

How to Download Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is available for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices. You only need to download it once. Your account type (work, school, or personal) is selected when you sign in.

Here’s how to download the Teams app:

• Go to the Microsoft Teams download page.
• Click Download if you're on a computer, or find the QR code for the Teams mobile app if you’re using a phone or tablet.
• Follow the installation prompts.
• Open the app and sign in with your Microsoft account (work, school, or personal).

You can also find the Teams mobile app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Once you're signed in, you can:

• Start a new meeting or join a Microsoft Teams meeting
• Access your team chat, channels, and files
• Take meeting notes and set up notifications
• Use automatic notes in Microsoft Teams and enable transcription for MS Teams

{{rt_cta_ai-convenience}}

How to Create a Team in Microsoft Teams

Creating a team in Microsoft Teams helps you organize conversations, meetings, and files for specific groups or projects. You can set up teams from the desktop app or the Teams mobile app, depending on where you're working.

From the desktop app

1. Open the Teams app and click Teams on the left sidebar.
2. At the bottom of the teams list, select Join or create a team.
3. Click Create team.

4. Choose the option From scratch or From a group or team if you already have an existing Microsoft 365 group.
5. Pick a privacy setting:

• Private: Only invited users can join.
• Public: Anyone in your organization can join.

6. Enter a team name and an optional description.
7. Click Create to finish.

From the Teams mobile app

1. Open the Teams mobile app and tap Teams at the bottom.
2. Tap the new team icon (a plus sign) in the upper right corner.
3. Choose Create a team.
4. Fill in the team name, description, and privacy settings.
5. Add people or groups to your team.

After you create a team

Once your team is set up, you can:

• Create channels to organize conversations by topic.
• Set channel notifications based on what’s important to you.
• Invite more members anytime from the team settings.

Notes

• Some organizations restrict who can create new teams. If you don't see the option, contact your IT administrator.
• Teams lets you own or be a member of up to 250 teams per account.

‍

How to Blur or Add a Background in MS Teams

Changing your background in a Teams meeting can help reduce distractions or just make your video look more professional. You can blur your background, pick a virtual background, or upload your own image right from the Teams app.

Before you join a meeting

1. Turn on your camera when setting up your audio and video.
2. Select Background Filters.
3. Choose:

• Standard Blur to gently hide your background.
• A preset background image.
• Add new to upload your own photo (.JPG, .PNG, or .BMP files).

If you want no effects, just select None.

During a meeting

1. In the meeting controls, click More actions (three dots).
2. Select Effects and Avatars.
3. Pick a background effect or blur it while you're already in the meeting.

Using AI-generated backgrounds

Image from Microsoft

Teams now offers an option to automatically decorate your background with AI. You can choose styles like:

• Clean Up
• Fancy
• Greenhouse
• Celebration
• Surprise Me

Look for the Decorate option under video effects to apply these AI backgrounds instantly.

Notes

• Some features, like AI background decoration, may need the new Teams version.
• Devices using Linux or optimized virtual desktops may have limited background options.
• Teams Premium users can upload branded backgrounds for their organization.

On the Teams mobile app

Image from Microsoft

You can also change your background from your phone:

1. Before joining a call, tap Background Effects near the top of your screen.
2. Choose Blur, pick a preset image, or tap + to upload your own.
3. During a meeting, open More actions > Background effects to make changes.

‍

How to Use Breakout Rooms in Microsoft Teams

Breakout rooms let you split meeting participants into smaller groups for focused discussions or activities. They're great for workshops, training sessions, or team check-ins that need more direct interaction.

Who can create breakout rooms

• Only the meeting organizer can create breakout rooms.
• You need to be using the desktop app (Windows, Mac, or VDI).
• The meeting must be scheduled in advance or started from your Teams calendar.
• Not available in meetings with more than 300 participants.

Setting up breakout rooms before the meeting

1. Open the meeting invite from your Teams calendar.
2. Click Breakout rooms.
3. Choose the number of rooms you want (up to 50).

4. Assign participants manually or let Teams do it automatically.
5. Save your setup. Rooms will be ready once the meeting begins.

Creating breakout rooms during a meeting

1. In the meeting controls, click the Breakout rooms icon.
2. Choose how many rooms to create.
3. Select Assign automatically or Assign manually.
4. Click Create rooms.

You can move people between rooms manually, rename rooms, or open and close rooms as needed during the call.

Managing breakout rooms

• You can reassign participants at any time (manually).
• Organizers can join any room, send announcements to all rooms, and control when rooms open or close.
• If you’re running recurring meetings, the breakout room setup now saves between sessions, so you don’t need to start from scratch every time.

‍

How to Use Whiteboard in Microsoft Teams Meetings

The Microsoft Whiteboard lets you and your team sketch ideas, map out plans, and collaborate visually during a Teams meeting. It’s built into Teams, so there’s no need to open another app.

Opening the Whiteboard in a meeting

Image from Microsoft

1. During your Teams meeting, click Share in the meeting controls.
2. Select Microsoft Whiteboard from the sharing options.
3. Choose to start a new board or open an existing one.

Everyone in the meeting can contribute in real time, whether they’re using the desktop app or the Teams mobile app.

What you can do with the Whiteboard

• Use templates to plan meetings, brainstorm ideas, or run workshops.
• Draw and write using pens, highlighters, shapes, and text boxes.
• Insert images or documents to build visual context.
• React with emojis to give quick feedback on ideas.
• Group and move content around the board freely.

These tools make it easy to organize ideas visually, especially when working across multiple channels or teams.

Tips for using the Whiteboard effectively

• Encourage all meeting participants to interact with the board.
• Use different colors or shapes to organize ideas clearly.
• After the meeting, you can save the whiteboard or share it directly from Teams.

If you’re using the latest Teams experience, the Whiteboard now syncs faster and includes more collaboration features than before.

‍

How to Get Help for Microsoft Teams

If something’s not working in Microsoft Teams—a login issue, a problem with joining a meeting, or a bug in the Teams app—there are several ways to get support.

1. Use the Help on the web

• Visit the Microsoft Teams help & learning center.

2. Microsoft Support Chat

For technical issues, visit the Microsoft Support page.

• Use the virtual assistant for quick answers.
• If needed, request to chat with a live support agent.

3. Microsoft Teams Community Forum

The Microsoft Tech Community is a great place to ask questions and find answers from other users and Microsoft engineers. You’ll find help with:

• Setup and deployment
• Using breakout rooms or meeting controls
• Troubleshooting issues with the Teams mobile app

4. Submit a Support Request (for admins)

If you’re an IT admin, you can submit a support ticket through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This is the best route for organization-wide issues or license problems.

5. Follow Microsoft Teams Tips and Updates

Microsoft regularly posts updates, tips, and known issues on its official blog. If you're looking for proactive solutions or feature announcements, it's worth checking regularly.

‍

Mastering Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams brings everything—chat, meetings, files, and collaboration—into one place. Whether you're joining a Microsoft Teams meeting from your desktop or the mobile app, setting up a new team, or using breakout rooms and the Whiteboard, the tools are built to help you stay organized and connected.

You can take it further with automatic notes in Microsoft Teams, transcription features, and AI-powered tools like Tactiq or ChatGPT for MS Teams to save time and capture insights.

As you get more familiar with the platform, explore different views, meeting controls, and notification settings to fit how you work best.

Looking for ways to improve how your team captures meeting notes or actions? Try using AI meeting tools like Tactiq to create instant summaries, extract insights, and keep your projects moving forward.