ms teams presentation take control

• Tom Arbuthnot
• Microsoft Teams Podcast
• Tom’s Email Update

No more “next slide please” with Microsoft Teams PowerPoint Live Presenter Mode

One of the great meeting features of Microsoft Teams is PowerPoint Live Presenter mode. For me, the killer feature is that anyone can “Take control” of presenting the deck seamlessly.

In my opinion, it really breaks the flow of a presentation for the presenter to keep prompting someone with “next slide please”. It became a running joke with the UK Government updates that they were constantly prompting for “next slide please”

PowerPoint Live Presenter Mode won’t be suitable for every meeting type, as you may not want everyone in the meeting to have the power to “take control” but for internal “All Hands” type meetings, where multiple presenters have a couple of slides each to present, each presenter can just “take control” in turn and drive the slides.

Using PowerPoint Live Presenter Mode

Firstly someone uploads the PowerPoint deck. Teams will show recent decks that the user has edited to make it easy to find the right deck to upload, but you can also browse OneDrive or the local computer.

The person uploading will be the initial “deck presenter”; they will initially have control to move the deck forward for everyone in the meeting

Presenter Options in PowerPoint Live Presenter Mode

The presenter gets a nice view of the overall deck and the current slide you are presenting. You will also see slide notes. This is so useful if you are presenting from a single screen. You can also see all the chat while presenting. This tight integration with PowerPoint is something that steps Microsoft Teams apart from other online meeting platforms.

You can also use the new “standout” mode (not sure about that name, I prefer “weatherman mode”) to appear over the slides which can help promote engagement. Note, standout mode person overlaid on the slides won’t come through on a recording, The recording will show normal bottom right video.

PowerPoint Live Attendee Features

Attendees can even personally move forwards and backwards in the deck, this is useful if they want to see what is coming up

the presenter can turn off this feature if they prefer

Attendees can also personally put the slides into “high contrast mode” for improved accessibility. This only affects their view of the slides.

“Take Control” – the “next slide please” killer

Often in meetings with multiple presenters, before PowerPoint Live, one person presents the deck for the whole meetings, probably via screen sharing, and as the current talker asks that person to move the slides forward; “Next slide please”. Saving the pain of one person screens sharing, then another, then another.

With PowerPoint Live, In the meeting, everyone other than the current person presenting the slides will see the slide the presenter is presenting, but they also have a “Take Control” button.

The person that presses that button then gets the presenter view and control, and the original presenter gets prompted that someone has taken over. They can see who took over as the current presenter is shown in the bottom left.

This allows seamless transfer of presenters with no interruption for the “viewers” of the presentation for a much slicker meeting.

See the banner prompt notifying the previous presenter that someone has taken over presenting and in the bottom left I can see it’s Tom Morgan now presenting

Note, PowerPoint Live won’t work well for meetings where presenters need to “screen share” outside of a single PowerPoint deck. If someone does drop the presentation to share their screen, or for any other reason, when the original deck uploader shares the deck again, it prompts them with the option to resume at the same point in the deck.

About the author

A Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Master, Tom Arbuthnot is Founder and Principal at Empowering.Cloud as well as a Solutions Director at Pure IP.

Tom stays up to date with industry developments and shares news and his opinions on his Tomtalks.blog, UC Today Microsoft Teams Podcast and email list. He is a regular speaker at events around the world.

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So they have finally caught up to WebEx and Adobe Connect

Not bad. Would definitely need to be able to share other things like videos outside of PowerPoint. Also, other online meeting tools have this feature but if the original presenter tries to use their own screen, it overrides what the remote user is doing. Does this happen in Teams Live as well?

The original presenter can press take control, like the others.

[…] No more “next slide please” with Microsoft Teams PowerPoint Live Presenter Mode. One of the great meeting features of Microsoft Teams is PowerPoint Live Presenter mode. The killer feature is that anyone can “Take control” of presenting the deck seamlessly. […]

Can you stop selected participants from taking control as well as moving forwards?

Yes, in the meeting settings

can you please give us more details how to do so?

thank you in advance!

Do you know of any way to make the Powerpoint slides bigger for the participants? The full screen command does not really go full screen anymore and all the zoom shortcuts zoom in on the controls, not the presentation – help!? I can’t find this anywhere – the old key commands that used to work now do not in Powerpoint Live. We are on laptops btw – not bigger monitors – hence the problem.

How To Give Control in Teams to Switch Presenter

Microsoft Teams continues to add new features and ways to engage meeting attendees. Sometimes when you’re a presenter in a Teams meeting, you’ll want to allow someone else to present or give control to someone else in the meeting. We’ll run through the different ways to present and how to give control in Teams to someone else.

The information below applies to all Microsoft Teams meetings, including breakout sessions and webinars. Some features, like PowerPoint Live, are only available while using the desktop version of Teams and cannot be accessed if you’re running Teams in a web browser.

Sharing Content in a Teams Meeting

When you’re in a Teams meeting and select the Share button, you can choose to share content in different ways:

• Share your screen : This option will allow meeting attendees to see anything that’s on the monitor you select.
• Share a specific window : This option will only allow attendees to see the specific window you choose to share.
• Create a Whiteboard : This option will launch the Whiteboard app so meeting attendees can collaborate. 
• Share a PowerPoint : Select a specific PowerPoint file to present to meeting attendees.

When you choose to share a PowerPoint presentation (rather than sharing the specific window the PowerPoint is in), meeting attendees will get a few extra features, and so will you.

When you share a presentation using PowerPoint Live, attendees will be able to move through the slides in your presentation at their own speed. Don’t worry—meeting attendees won’t control what other attendees see. You’ll still be in control of your presentation . However, if an attendee wants to skip a few slides ahead to see what’s coming, they can. When they’re ready, there’s a sync button which will sync them up with the presenter.

If you don’t want attendees to move through the presentation on their own, you can toggle that feature off by selecting the eye icon on the control panel that appears on the presentation.

When you share a presentation via PowerPoint live, you’ll be able to see your notes, slides, and the audience while you present. This is a feature that Teams users have been clamoring for, and we’re thrilled to see that Microsoft listened.

You’ll also get access to multi-colored laser pointers, pens, and highlighters to aid in your presentation.

Roles in Teams Meetings

First, let’s get clear about the various roles available in Teams meetings. The person who creates the link to join the meeting is the organizer. That person has ultimate control and can do things that no other attendee can do like manage breakout rooms .

The organizer can designate other meeting attendees as presenters. Only the organizer and presenters can share content during the meeting. Besides the organizer and presenters, everyone else in the meeting is called an Attendee.

The organizer can set presenters in advance of the meeting or on the fly during the meeting. To set presenters in advance of the meeting, the meeting organizer should select the Meeting Options link in the calendar invitation for the meeting.

A web page will open where you can choose who will be able to present during the meeting.

If you choose Specific people , next type in the names of the people who you want to be Presenters.

How To Promote an Attendee to Presenter in Teams

If you’re the meeting organizer, it’s easy to promote a meeting attendee to presenter during the meeting itself.

• Find the attendee in the participant list.
• Select the More options (three dots) link next to the attendee’s name.

• Select Make a presenter .

Now that person will be able to share content during the meeting.

Presenting vs. Taking Control

It’s important to understand the distinction between presenting in a Teams meeting and taking control of shared content.

Apps like GoToMeeting and Zoom have ways for meeting attendees to take control of another attendee’s computer. This usually happens in remote support sessions. So far, Microsoft Teams has not provided that functionality. However, Teams does allow presenters to give limited control to another attendee, and attendees can request control from presenters.

Obviously, you should only give control in Teams to someone you trust.

How To Give Control in Teams

In Microsoft Teams, if you want someone else in your meeting to edit a file you’re sharing or take over your presentation, you can give control to that person. It’s like adding a second, simultaneous presenter. You’ll both be able to control what’s being shared. You can take back control any time you want.

You can only give control to someone else in your Teams meeting when you’re presenting. Mouse over the content you’re sharing to activate the sharing toolbar and select Give control .

From there, select the person you want to give control to. The person you want to give control to will receive a notification letting them know that you want to share control of the presentation with them. When you share control with someone else, they’ll be able to make edits and other changes to the shared screen.

If you want to take control back from them, simply select the Cancel Control button.

How To Request Control in Teams

Requesting control while someone’s presenting in Teams works similarly. Simply select the Request control button. The presenter can then choose to Allow or Deny your control request.

When you no longer want control, you can select the Release control button.

Get Comfortable with Microsoft Teams

Love it or hate it, it doesn’t look like Microsoft Teams is going away any time soon. If your employer uses Teams, it’s worth learning a few Teams tips and tricks to get more comfortable with all its features. 

You can read about several ways to run polls in Teams meetings or learn how to hide your mess by changing your background in Teams.

Maggie Marystone is a freelance technology writer, human rights worker, and storyteller based in Chicago. Read Maggie's Full Bio

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How to enable request control in microsoft teams.

Microsoft Teams is a collaboration tool that allows users to work together. It has a feature called request control , which can be enabled. Here’s how to do it:

• Open the Teams app and go to the meeting.
• At the bottom of the screen, locate the “More actions” button (three dots) and click on it.
• Choose the “Request control” option from the menu. This will let participants take control of shared content during the meeting.

There’s an amazing story about request control in Microsoft Teams. A team of developers was working on a project presentation. Sharing screens without interrupting each other was tricky. But they found the request control feature. It helped them collaborate smoothly and present their project without any disruption.

So, if you want to collaborate better in Microsoft Teams, make sure to enable request control. Give everyone permission to take control when needed. That way, all participants can contribute and make changes in real time.

What is request control in Microsoft Teams

Request control in Microsoft Teams gives users the power to request permission to take control of someone else’s screen during a meeting or presentation. Seamless collaboration and increased teamwork is possible with this feature.

Users can click “Request Control” in their Teams toolbar. Then, the recipient of the request gets a notification to grant or deny access. It’s very useful for group projects and remote presentations.

Request control also encourages inclusivity and engagement. People who prefer visual communication can contribute without talking over others.

Sarah , an HR manager, uses request control while training new employees. John , one of the new employees, spots something he needs clarification on. He uses the request control feature to highlight it on Sarah’s shared screen. Sarah can then elaborate without disrupting the flow.

Request control in Microsoft Teams makes virtual meetings more efficient. It encourages individuals to contribute without hesitation and increases productivity. It also boosts teamwork.

Benefits of enabling request control in Microsoft Teams

Empowering request control in Microsoft Teams has multiple benefits. Firstly, it allows brilliant management of workflows by streamlining the process of asking for and allowing access to documents or files.

Secondly, it boosts collaboration between team members as it allows them to take responsibility for their work.

Thirdly, request control guaranteeing a higher security level , as only approved personnel can gain access. This reduces the danger of unauthorized access or data break-ins. Plus, it promotes transparency and accountability within the team.

Lastly, enabling request control in Microsoft Teams saves time and increases productivity by removing the need for extra back-and-forth conversations about file access permissions. With just a few clicks, team members can put in their requests and get approvals on time.

Pro Tip: It’s wise to set up clear guidelines and establish proper communication channels to guarantee hassle-free utilization and implementation of the request control feature in Microsoft Teams.

Step-by-step guide on how to enable request control in Microsoft Teams

Enabling request control in Microsoft Teams brings better control over meetings and presentations. With this feature, participants can ask to take control of the screen and be more involved during collaborations or discussions. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to enable it:

• Open Microsoft Teams and join a meeting.
• Look for the meeting controls at the bottom of the screen and click the “…” button.
• From the dropdown menu, select “Meeting options” for additional settings.
• Scroll down to the “Who can present?” section and choose “Specific people” or “Everyone”.

That’s it! Following these four steps enables request control in Microsoft Teams and improves collaboration.

It has many benefits, including promoting participation, boosting engagement levels, and aiding effective communication among team members.

Did you know? Request control is available for Windows and macOS users in Microsoft Teams meetings.

Troubleshooting common issues with request control in Microsoft Teams

Permissions? Check! Ensure you have the right permissions for request control on Microsoft Teams. If not, contact your admin!

Got the latest Teams app? Update it! Outdated versions can cause problems with request control.

Restart your device! Sometimes, tech glitches can be resolved this way. Close all apps and reboot before trying request control again.

Cache and cookies? Clear them! This can help resolve any temporary data conflicts that could be causing problems.

Conflicting extensions? Disable them! Third-party extensions can interfere with the functionality of Microsoft Teams, including request control.

Still stuck? Contact Microsoft Support! They’ll help diagnose and troubleshoot any underlying issues with request control.

Request control in Microsoft Teams requires persistence. These steps will help you get the most out of the feature. Microsoft is constantly improving their offerings to give users a seamless and productive experience. If you have any issues with request control or other features in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Support is just a click or call away, to get you back on track fast!

Request Control in Microsoft Teams gives users the power to lead their meetings. To turn it on, go to the bottom of your screen during a meeting. Then, click the “…” to show the menu and select “Manage Permissions.” Toggle on the “Request Control” option.

Now, participants can ask for control when you share your screen or an app. You will get a notification. You can choose if you want to grant control. That way, you stay in charge.

Here are some tips to get the most out of Request Control:

• Use it for specific situations where you want people to interact with your content. Don’t grant control too often.
• Let your participants know when and how they can ask for control.

Request Control helps you and your team collaborate. Try it now to boost teamwork and productivity.

Additional tips and considerations for using request control in Microsoft Teams

Enhance Microsoft Teams request control using some extra tips and considerations! Here’s a 4-step guide to optimize the feature:

• Enable the request control setting.
• Speak with team members before using it, so they understand.
• Set clear expectations and guidelines for using it during meetings.
• Review and refine the approach based on feedback from past sessions.

Be conscious and considerate when using request control. Give team members time to express their ideas before taking over. It’s not about dominating, but facilitating productive exchanges. Have a collaborative mindset that encourages active participation.

Unlock the power of request control in Microsoft Teams! With these extra tips, you can create an environment where everyone contributes to shared goals. Don’t miss out on improving your teamwork experience!

No credit card required

Your projects are processes, Take control of them today.

Vesa Nopanen – My Metaverse Day

Mr. Metaverse welcomes you to my Metaverse day to explore the Future Work.

The Ultimate How To Guide for Presenting Content in Microsoft Teams

Sharing / presenting content in Teams meeting is at the same time simple but is also has some options available that may not be known enough by everyone. This guide lets you get started and dive deeper what happens when you share your window, document or desktop in Microsoft Teams.

This article will be updated when there are new features or based on feedback.

Updated 22.3.2021 Presenter View section.

Community: I am happy to add Mac and iOS screenshots into the article as well if someone is willing to collaborate & provide them. 😎💪

Teams Desktop: sharing a screen (Windows)

Opening the sharing with Microsoft Teams Desktop (in the New Meeting experience mode).

This opens the Share Tray. From it you can choose to start sharing

• Your Desktop (Screen share)
• Specific application (Window)
• Whiteboard application: either Microsoft Whiteboard (natively with Microsoft 365) or available 3rd party Whiteboards
• PowerPoint document

TIP: When you choose to share something using Teams Desktop you can choose to include your computer sounds to meeting. This is a must-have option if you are playing music or video to your participants. You can not toggle this on later – you need to choose this when you start sharing.

When you choose to include computer sound included with the sharing you need to have configured the speaker for computer and Teams meeting to be the same one.

If you have multiple monitors available for your Microsoft Teams you can choose any of those displays.

And you have the sharing open. Shared area is marked with red rectangle around it. You will find the more smaller Teams meeting control window in one of your desktops – and if you have the camera on it will show the video.

But more importantly you can use that small window to control camera, audio or sharing (ending it with one press). Or you can click on the small window (not on meeting toolbar) and it will expand back to the full size.

You can use that same icon to stop sharing in the expanded window.

Tip: If you have two screens available you should consider presenting your PowerPoint presentation so that you share the external screen and project your presentation there (PowerPoint – Slide Show – Monitor). Share that external screen to Teams meeting so you can be sure that whatever you show in that screen it is shown to attendees. Just check that your second screen is not a ultra-wide display or 8k (or preferably even 4k) because the content is going to be tough to read and view by attendees. FullHD screen works the best here.

Tip2: when you are presenting PowerPoint in external screen (and sharing that to Teams meeting) do they advantage of inking and pen if you are using a device with touch screen (like Surface)!

Tip3: if you have an embedded video in your PowerPoint and you use screen/display sharing to present it to the audience: Don’t forget include computer sound with your share!

Teams Desktop: sharing a PowerPoint

You can choose from your recent PowerPoint documents in the list

• A PowerPoint document you opened or edited in Microsoft Teams (in a team you belong to) or in your OneDrive
• Browse for more

This list of sharing PowerPoints is causing often some big questions. PowerPoints will appear in the list once you edit or open the PowerPoint presentation in Teams or OneDrive (there may be some short delay). Generally it applies to the next meeting you join. Make sure you prepare for the meeting by opening the document in advance. Simply uploading a presentation to OneDrive or Teams does not bring it to the list – you need to open/edit it as well.

Browse-option lets you choose a PowerPoint from your OneDrive or from your computer.

What this one lacks is the ability to choose a file from a team you belong to.

TIP: Use OneDrive syncing to have an easy access to files in the most relevant teams you belong to .

Once you are sharing the PowerPoint you can see it in the presenter view mode! This feature is generally available ! This makes it easy to do presentations using Teams – without having to have a PowerPoint desktop app open at the same time. Seems to work only on Teams Desktop with new meeting experience mode at the moment.

The presented area (PowerPoint) is shown surrounded with a red rectangle.

Updated 22.3.2021. There are other controls in this as well for jumping between slides and accessibility controls.

I have a another article diving deeper to Presenter view in here !

NEW: PowerPoint Live has now laser pointer and inking capabilities. Read about them here !

Once the presentation is shared you can move back and forth easily with arrows in the screen.

Note: there is the “eye” icon. If you press that one it locks the PowerPoint for the participants so that they see the same slide as you do: they can not browse the deck on their own. This is called private viewing disable (arrows for other participants will be disabled). Private viewing is enabled on default.

Note: if you are a presenter in the meeting where a PowerPoint is shared to you can take control of the shared PowerPoint to advance slides. This does not ask for any confirmation and the feature is really useful when you have multiple presenters who use the same slide deck. Just be careful that everyone else are not presenters – or they know not to touch it.

You will get a warning that someone has taken the control and can easily take it back.

Whoever is in control of the presentation has also the control to disable/enable private viewing mode. As can be seen in the picture above (with Take control) the eye is missing and arrows are greyed out: this means someone else than you have the control and they have disable the private viewing.

Note: When you share PowerPoint to a meeting this way participants can click links you have in your presentation. Thank you Joe for this reminder!

If you add a online video to your presentation your participants can activate that on their own as well. It is good also to note that if you hit “play” it doesn’t reflect to attendees (=they need to play the video themselves)

Teams Desktop: sharing a Whiteboard

When you choose Microsoft Whiteboard from the Share Tray you are taken directly to the Whiteboard view. Everyone who is in the same organization as you are (the situation in January 2021) can co-author the Whiteboard with you. Once you are done you can Stop presenting (middle top screen) or share something else.

Teams web client: sharing a screen (Microsoft Edge)

Sharing looks a bit different when you are using Teams web client. Sharing is available in (new) Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome browsers. The toolbar is hovering on top of the meeting. From the toolbar you can open the share tray.

When you have the share tray open you can choose to share something of following

• Desktop (Screenshare)
• A specific PowerPoint document
• Whiteboard: either Microsoft Whiteboard or Freehand (3rd party).

• Entire screen
• Application window (a specific application only)
• With Microsoft Edge you have option to choose a selected, specific, tab

When(if) you have multiple monitors it is easiest to just share a one of them: it makes the sharing really simple and easy to manage: anything on that display is shared.

If you don’t have multiple monitors then you might want to just share a single application.

This is useful when you want to show something specific that runs in it’s own application but you can not share anything else on your screen.

Note: Teams is not in the list (not even on blurred ones) and nor is Spotify or ToDo. Not every application can be shared with this.

Note2: you can not share desktop audio to the meeting using Teams web client.

And the last option is to share a selected Edge tab – and if you have multiple Edge profiles open you can share from any of those by clicking the desired Edge active and choosing the tab.

In my example I chose to share one of my screens. You don’t get much feedback – you just click on the screen and hit Share. In one of your screens you will have this toolbar:

You can end sharing using either that toolbar or you can navigate to your web Teams meeting and choose Stop sharing from the toolbar there.

Teams web client: sharing a PowerPoint

This list of sharing PowerPoints is causing often some big questions. PowerPoint presentations will be in the list once you edit or open the PowerPoint presentation in Teams or OneDrive (there may be some short delay). Generally it applies to the next meeting you join. Make sure you prepare for the meeting by opening the document in advance. Simply uploading a presentation to OneDrive or Teams does not bring it to the list – you need to open/edit it as well.

Note: there is the “eye” icon. If you press that one it locks the PowerPoint for the participants so that they see the same slide as you do: they can not browse the deck on their own. This is called private viewing disable. Private viewing is enabled on default.

Whoever is in control of the presentation has also the control to disable/enable private viewing mode.

Teams web client: sharing a Whiteboard

Sharing a Whiteboard is initiated simply by choosing Microsoft Whiteboard (or Freehand or other available 3rd party application) from the share tray.

I have found out that sometimes when you start sharing Microsoft Whiteboard to the meeting using Teams web client it doesn’t do anything. The solution is to try again.

Once the Whiteboard opens you can work on it normally – or choose to open it in the Whiteboard app to have a broader set of tools available.

When you are done you can choose the “Stop presenting” that is hovering on the left bottom area (left of meeting toolbar).

Teams mobile: sharing a screen

Were you aware that you can also share content using your mobile device? I have examples and screenshots using a Android device but these also work with iOS – the user interface might be slightly different.

You initiate the sharing via … menu selection in the mobile to open the list of options

You choose Share and you get to choose what to share

Yes – you can share your mobile device screen to the meeting. This is really useful if you have a application you want to show or train to others.

You may have to adjust settings to turn on allowing Teams to display over other apps.

After that one you may have reshare the screen. And you get the next warning.

And your screen is now shared. You can see the red block that lets you know what are of your mobile device screen has been shared.

And if you pull down notifications area you have option to return to Teams meeting (if you have been using some other app) and there is also the notification that you are sharing your screen.

When you are done sharing you can return to Teams meeting and then choose to Stop presenting.

Teams mobile: sharing a PowerPoint

Sharing a PowerPoint works really well on Teams mobile! It is in fact even better than the version in other clients.

You start by imitating the sharing (as with screen share) and choosing the PowerPoint instead. You get a screen:

From this screen you can choose to browser thought

• A PowerPoint presentation from any Team and channel you belong to!
• Choose a PowerPoint presentation you opened or edited most recently (as you notice compared to other examples that this isn’t 1:1 in sync.. There are differences so that is why I am really happy that you can browse through Teams for sharing)

Once you have selected the PowerPoint to present it is very straight forward from that moment.

Using Teams mobile you can also take control of a PowerPoint someone else is presenting (if you are a presenter in the meeting). This means that you can participate in a multi-presenter meeting quite easily by using just your mobile device and Teams!

You will get a warning before you take the control – in case you pressed Take Control accidentally.

Teams mobile: sharing a photo or video

Follow the steps laid out earlier and instead of screen or PowerPoint you select this time a picture (from device’s picture gallery) or a video (using device’s video camera). Since sharing a picture is very straight forward I use the video instead as example.

You get to see a preview of video first. You can switch to other camera (front/back usually) & position the device properly and once you are ready you just hit Start presenting .

And when you are done you can press on “Stop presenting” to end your video feed.

This video is different from showing your own video using Camera icon the meeting toolbar. Instead of being a attendee video this one is shown in the shared area for every participant in the meeting. This is useful when you have something in the same room/space that you want to share to others in the meeting. Possible use cases: a model on table, physical whiteboard, view from the window, interviewing someone, view in the outside, …

Best practices from my experience

The way I use to share content when in Microsoft Teams meetings is

• I share one of my screens (I have three screens so this is a natural choice for me). This way I know what is being shared all the time since I always share the same screen (the one in the middle, my camera is on top of that screen). Be careful what you drag to the shared screen. This is the way I share my PowerPoint presentations (projecting the presentation to the shared screen)
• If you have a touch-screen device (like Surface-laptop) you should use pen/inking to enhance the presentation experience. This also works when you are sharing the external screen & presenting from touch-screen device: make your presentation stand out!
• Prepare the content you share in advance. Open PowerPoints, apps, browsers etc so you don’t have to spend any time with them when you are live.
• Share your screen early rather than later. This will give you time to reshare.
• When doing a presentation with multiple persons using just the PowerPoint deck share it directly to Teams meeting so you can switch between speakers easily. With the new Presenter view -support this is now a good option.
• Make use of Teams features: Put everyone but real presenters else as attendee so they can’t start sharing their screen accidentally – and you can hard mute them as well. Use meeting options -setting before they join in.
• When people complain they don’t see the share: check that you are actually sharing your screen. If someone is seeing your share and some others not: those who can’t see your share need to leave and rejoin the meeting. Sometimes restarting your sharing can fix that issue too but usually the issue is in the participant end.
• I rarely use application / window -sharing.
• Sharing a video in Teams meeting (or in Live event) is usually ok but you can expect some quality drop – especially if you have a lower bandwidth. Have a backup link to the video available. People seem to struggle more with videos embedded inside a PowerPoint.
• Use Windows Focus Assist and Teams Do Not Disturb mode so you don’t get any unwanted popups on your shared screen. Microsoft Teams will also have a upcoming feature (currently usable in public preview) that let’s users to choose if Teams notifications do their own “toast” (pop-up banner) or do they go directly to Windows notification area (honoring the Focust Assist setting).
• Use Teams Desktop version + new meeting experience when possible. Check that you have the latest version.

More information or different view into this?

Check out Microsoft Support article about Sharing content in Microsoft Teams meetings .

I hope you have enjoyed this guide and it has provided to be useful. Please do drop a comment from below if you have any questions or you want to send me greetings!

Sharing is Caring! #CommunityRocks

Aiheeseen liittyy.

Published by Vesa Nopanen "Mr. Metaverse"

Vesa "Vesku" Nopanen, Principal Consultant and Microsoft MVP (M365 Apps & Services and Mixed Reality) working on Metaverse, AI and Future Work at Sulava. I work, blog and speak about Metaverse, AI, Microsoft Mesh, Virtual & Mixed Reality, The Future of Work, Digital Twins, and other services & platforms in the cloud connecting digital and physical worlds and people together. I am extremely passionate about Metaverse, AI, natural language understanding, Mixed & Virtual Reality and how these technologies, with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Azure & Cloud, enable to change how people work together. Azure OpenAI Services - yes, I build AI solutions using those and other Azure AI services. I have 30 years of experience in IT business on multiple industries, domains, and roles. View all posts by Vesa Nopanen "Mr. Metaverse"

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Home / Blog / How to give control in teams?

How to give control in teams?

May 4th, 2023 by Emily Houssier

As remote work becomes more prevalent, Microsoft Teams has emerged as a popular communication and collaboration tool for businesses. Teams meetings are a standard feature of the platform and have become an essential way for teams to connect virtually. During meetings, the ability to share screens, presentations, and files with attendees is vital to creating a collaborative environment. However, controlling who has access to share and edit this content is crucial to maintaining the confidentiality and security of the meeting.

In this article, we will discuss how to give control in Teams meetings. We will walk you through the process of granting presenter access to specific attendees, managing permissions, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise.

Presenter and Attendee Roles in Teams Meetings

When you set up a Teams meeting , there are two primary roles: presenter and attendee. The presenter initiates the meeting and controls its content. In contrast, the attendee joins the meeting as a participant. Attendees can share their screens or enable video, but they cannot change the shared content. 

Are you a complete Microsoft Teams beginner? Learn how to  add an external person to teams

Meeting Control Features in Teams

The meeting control feature in Microsoft Teams allows presenters to grant attendees the ability to manage the shared content during the meeting. The host can share their screen, conduct a PowerPoint presentation, or collaborate with the attendees using the whiteboard feature. The ability to give control access to attendees is an essential feature that enhances the meeting experience for both hosts and attendees.

Step 1: Initiating Meeting Control Request

Before giving control to an attendee, the presenter must initiate the meeting request. 

Locating Meeting Control Options

• Open the Teams app on your computer.
• Click on the meeting to enter the meeting room.
• At the bottom of the screen, click on the ellipsis (three dots) to open the menu.
• From the menu, go to Microsoft Teams “Settings” , and select “Meeting options.”

Initiating Request for Control

• Once the Meeting Options opens, scroll down to the “Who can present?” option.
• Select “Specific people” from the drop-down menu.
• Enter the name of the person you want to assign control to in the search bar, or pick from the list of attendees.
• Click on “Save” to save the changes.

Step 2: Granting Control to Participants

After the host initiates the request, the attendees can request control by clicking the “Request control” button. The presenter can then approve or deny the request based on their discretion.

Approving Control Request

• When an attendee requests control, the presenter will receive a notification in the meeting chat.
• To approve the request, the presenter can click on “Give control” from the notification.
• The host can also approve the request by clicking on the participant’s name in the meeting window and selecting “Give control.”

Granting Control to Specific Attendees

• Click on the participant’s name in the meeting window.
• From the drop-down, choose “Make a presenter.”
• The selected participant will then have control over the shared content.

Granting Control to All Participants

• Click on the ellipsis (three dots) at the bottom of the screen to open the menu.
• From the menu, select “Meeting options.”
• Scroll down to “Who can present?” and choose “Everyone” from the drop-down.

Step 3: Managing Control Permissions

Presenters can monitor and manage the attendees’ permissions during the meeting. This is important to protect information in Microsoft Teams .

Monitoring and Managing Control Permissions

• Scroll down to “Who can present?” and select “Specific people” from the drop-down.
• Review the list of participants who have been given control rights.
• To revoke control access from a participant, click on their name and click “Remove presenter.”
• Click on “ Save ” to save the changes.

Revoking Control from Participants

• From the drop-down menu, select “Revoke control.”
• The participant will no longer have control access to the shared content.

Step 4: Troubleshooting Meeting Control Issues

Hosts or attendees may sometimes encounter issues with the meeting control feature. Here are some common issues and troubleshooting steps:

Issue: Unable to see “Request control”

• Solution: The presenter may have disabled “Request control”. To enable it, follow the steps in Step 1 and select “Anyone” from the “Who can present?” drop-down.

Issue: Unable to grant control to specific attendees

• Solution: Ensure that the presenter has initiated the request and the participant has requested control access. If the issue persists, try restarting the Teams app.

Issue: Unable to share the screen

• Solution: Ensure the host has enabled screen sharing in the meeting settings. Also, check that the presenter’s device is connected and functioning correctly.

Issue: Unable to see shared content

• Solution: Ensure the attendee has joined the meeting and the presenter has shared the content correctly. Also, check that the attendee’s device is connected and functioning correctly.

Why is it important to know how to give teams control?

Understanding how to delegate control effectively in Microsoft Teams is paramount for fostering collaboration and productivity within teams. By empowering team members with the ability to lead discussions, manage files, or schedule meetings, you distribute responsibilities evenly and capitalize on individual strengths. This cultivates a sense of ownership and accountability and ensures that tasks are handled efficiently, leading to smoother project progression. Moreover, with Microsoft Teams’ status settings allowing users to indicate their availability and workload, knowing how to grant control enables leaders to make informed decisions on task assignments, respecting team members’ bandwidth and ensuring a balanced workload distribution. Mastering control delegation in Microsoft Teams ultimately enhances communication, streamlines workflow, and promotes a more harmonious team dynamic.

In conclusion, the meeting control feature in Microsoft Teams is a powerful tool that enhances the collaboration and communication experience during virtual meetings. With the ability to transfer access to specific participants, presenters can create an interactive and collaborative environment that fosters teamwork and productivity. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily give control in Teams meetings, manage control permissions, and troubleshoot any issues that may arise. Remember to prioritize security and confidentiality by carefully managing Microsft Teams permission and controlling who has access to control shared content during the meeting.

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Manage the meeting presentation experience for sensitive Teams meetings

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• Applies to: Microsoft Teams

Using Teams admin policies, sensitivity labels, and templates, you can control a wide variety of settings that determine the in-meeting experience for participants, including:

• Who can present and who can give or request control
• How content is shared and what collaboration tools are available
• Attendee video, audio, and reactions

Meeting organizers can specify many of theses settings when they create the meeting, but you can enforce specific options for different users and groups in your organization by using admin policies, or for different types or meetings by using sensitivity labels and templates. This can help you meet your compliance needs for different types of meetings and meetings where sensitive information is being shared.

Meeting settings in sensitivity labels and custom meeting templates require Teams Premium.

Manage who can present

The following table shows where settings are available to manage who can present in meetings:

By using these controls, you can limit who is able to share content on screen in meetings.

Default value for who can present in meetings

The Teams admin meeting policy Who can present has the following options:

• Only organizers and co-organizers
• People in my org and guests

This setting doesn't enforce the value, but rather specifies the default for new meetings created by users. Users can override this setting and choose any of the other options unless a specific value is enforced by a sensitivity label.

The default value of Everyone allows anyone to present in a meeting by default. If you have compliance requirements in your organization around who can present in meetings, consider changing this value to People in my org and guests or Only organizers and co-organizers to provide a more secure default for users.

To set the Who can present policy

In the Teams admin center, expand Meetings , and then select Meeting policies .

Select the policy that you want to modify.

Under Meeting join & lobby , select a value for Who can present .

Select Save .

Manage who can present by using sensitivity labels

Meeting organizers can choose from the following options for who can present in a meeting:

• Only me and co-organizers
• Specific people

The default value shown when a user creates a meeting is specified by the Who can present policy mentioned above.

You can restrict this setting by using a sensitivity label. For sensitive or highly sensitive meetings, consider restricting this setting to Only me and co-organizers or Specific people by using a sensitivity label.

Teams admin policy: Participants can give or request control

By default, meeting participants can give control of their shared screen to another participant in the meeting. This is controlled by two Teams admin meeting policies:

Participants can give or request control - This setting determines whether the user with this policy can give control of their shared desktop or window to other meeting participants. It's On by default.

External participants can give or request control - This setting determines a guest or anonymous participant can be given control of an internal user's shared screen. It's Off by default.

Depending on the compliance requirements of your organization, you can change these settings for some or all of your users.

To configure who can give control of a shared screen

Under Content sharing :

To prevent participants from giving control of a screen share to others, set Participants can give or request control to Off .

To prevent external participants from being given control of a screen share, set External participants can give or request control to On .

Manage which content and video is shared with attendees

In meetings where sensitive information is being shared, it can be important to minimize the risk of sharing inappropriate information.

The following table shows settings that can help manage what content and video is shared on screen in meetings.

Screen sharing is a teams admin policy. With this policy, you can control if meeting attendees can share their entire screen or only a single application. Sharing the entire screen can be convenient, but it can increase the chances of accidentally sharing inappropriate information such as an email or open document. Consider if you want to restrict sharing to a single application for users or departments that often present sensitive information. You can also turn off screen sharing entirely with this policy. For more information, see Manage meeting policies for content sharing .

Manage what attendees see is an option available to meeting organizers that can also be set by using a template. When this option is enabled, meeting organizers can control what content is shared on screen and who's video is visible. Organizers must intentionally bring shared content and video on screen before attendees can see it. This can help minimize the risk of sharing inappropriate content in a meeting. Consider if you want to enable or enforce this experience for sensitive meetings by using a meeting template. For more information, see Manage what attendees see in Teams meetings .

Manage presentation tools

Teams offers several presentation tools that allow for interactive participation of meeting attendees. The following table shows features that can help manage these tools.

Each of these features can be managed through admin policies, but not through templates or sensitivity labels, nor by the meeting organizer. As such, they can be applied to users or groups, but not to specific meetings. For more information, see Meeting policy settings - Content sharing .

If you have meetings where sensitive information is being shared, you may want to disable Whiteboard and shared notes to avoid having sensitive information added to them.

PowerPoint Live allows attendees to navigate forward and back in a PowerPoint presentation being shared on screen. This may allow attendees to see sensitive information before it's presented by the organizer.

Consider if there are users or groups in your organization who shouldn't use these features to avoid sharing sensitive information.

Manage how meeting attendees interact

The following table shows features that can help manage how meeting attendees interact during a meeting.

Attendee audio and video can make it easy for attendees to communicate during a meeting. These can both be controlled by the meeting organizer or by a meeting template. Depending on the type of meeting, you may want to allow or restrict these capabilities.

For meetings that are presentations with minimal interaction from attendees, turning video and audio off can minimize distractions.

When recording meetings, video from participants might be considered personal data and infer regulatory requirements.

If you choose to turn off reactions, remember that this will disable the hand-raise feature. (For presentation-style meetings, the Q&A feature may allow the needed interaction for attendees to ask questions.)

Related topics

Configure Teams meetings with three tiers of protection

Manage access to Microsoft Whiteboard for your organization

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Microsoft Teams announces freely move toolbar for improved presentations

published on June 4, 2024

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• Microsoft Teams introduces movable presenter toolbar for screen sharing.
• Presenters can now optimize video playback for smoother presentations in Teams.
• These features are in preview for Teams Public Preview or Microsoft 365 Targeted Release.

Microsoft Teams is introducing two new features designed for the screen-sharing experience for presenters in virtual meetings.

Previously, the Presenter toolbar in Teams remained fixed at the top of the screen during screen sharing. This new update lets presenters to drag and reposition the toolbar anywhere on their screen.

This customization ensures that the toolbar doesn’t obscure important areas of the content being shared, such as menus or captions.

Teams now offer a new “Optimize” button on the Presenter toolbar. This button allows presenters to manually optimize video playback for a smoother viewing experience for meeting participants. This feature is particularly useful in situations where automatic video detection fails or experiences delays.

How it works 1. Start your Teams meeting and, when the time comes to present, select Share from the toolbar to share your screen. 2. You can now move the Presenter toolbar from its default location at the top of the screen and reposition it in any area of your screen. Just click on any non-interactive area of the Toolbar or on the new drag handle. NOTE: The Presenter toolbar will also minimize after 4 seconds when not in use; when minimized, the toolbar will still display a red badge to clearly indicate the ongoing sharing session. 3. If you are sharing video or other high-motion content, you can click the Optimize?button on the?toolbar for a smoother playback experience.

These new features are currently available in preview for users enrolled in the Teams Public Preview or Microsoft 365 Targeted Release program.

The update applies to the new Teams client for Windows and macOS.

It’s important to note that only the presenter needs to be using the preview version for everyone in the meeting to benefit from these improvements.

In summary, these updates aim to provide presenters with more control and flexibility when sharing their screen in Teams meetings.

More here .

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Jun 5, 2024

Mute and unmute yourself from Windows taskbar in Microsoft Teams

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Hi, Microsoft 365 Insiders! We’re excited to share with you that you can now mute and unmute yourself in Microsoft Teams by clicking the microphone icon in the Windows taskbar, making it even easier to control your input.   

Mute and unmute yourself from Windows taskbar in Microsoft Teams 

We know there are times during a Teams call when you need to switch to a different screen on your device. In the new Teams experience on Windows, thanks to your feedback, you can now check and see if you’re on mute right in the Windows taskbar. You can also easily mute and unmute yourself by clicking the mic icon.      

How it works 

You can mute and unmute your microphone during a call or meeting in Teams from the Windows taskbar in one of two ways:  

1. Click the microphone icon on your taskbar.

     NOTE: The microphone icon only appears when you’re in a Teams call or a meeting.  

2. You can also mute and unmute yourself by selecting Windows logo key+Alt+K .  

Availability   

To use this feature, you must be a member of the Teams Public Preview or Microsoft 365 Targeted release and use the new Teams client for Windows. Other meeting participants aren’t required to be members of the Teams Public Preview.   

To enable your Teams client for the Public Preview, IT administrators must enable Show preview features in their update policy. Learn more      

For Targeted release, global admins can go to the Microsoft 365 admin center and give access to a select set of individuals or the entire organization. Learn more    

Don’t have it yet? It’s probably us, not you.    

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it .        

Feedback 

We want to hear from you! Select Settings and more > Help in the top right corner of the Teams app, and then select either Give feedback or Suggest a feature to share your thoughts about this feature.  

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Muting and unmuting your mic in Microsoft Teams

When you join a Teams meeting, you can choose to mute your mic to prevent any unwanted noise or unmute your mic to participate in the meeting.

There are a few different ways you can mute or unmute your mic in Teams.

Mute or unmute before a meeting

Mute or unmute during a meeting 

You can also toggle your Mic on and off by pressing the shortcut keys Ctrl + Shift + M . To learn more, see Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Teams .

Note:  Some mic capabilities might be unavailable, depending on meeting settings or policies set by your IT admin. 

To automatically mute your mic if your screen locks:

Turn on the Turn off my camera and mic when my screen locks toggle.

Restart Teams to activate this setting.

Use Ctrl+Spacebar to unmute

On the Teams desktop app, you can also choose to stay muted to avoid unwanted interruption or noise during a meeting and rapidly respond when called upon. To quickly unmute, hold down the keys  Ctrl+Spacebar (Windows) and Option+Spacebar  (Mac). Release keys to go back to muted state again.

How to enable:

Turn on the Keyboard shortcut to unmute  toggle. 

Join a call or a meeting. Mute yourself.

On Windows, press and hold Ctrl+Spacebar . On Mac, press and hold Option+Spacebar . You'll see an alert regarding temporary unmute. Check to make sure you're unmuted.

When you release the key combination, your mic will be muted again.

Note:  Shortcuts in general—including Ctrl+Spacebar  and Option+Spacebar  to unmute—don't work within the chat box or when apps like PowerPoint Live or Whiteboard are shared in the meeting stage.

Want to learn more? See Meetings in Teams .

Related topics

Manage audio settings in a Teams meeting

Share sound from your computer in a Teams meeting or live event

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