Teams Basics: Chat, Channels, and Meetings

Microsoft Teams is your hub for communication and collaboration. It brings together chat, video meetings, file sharing, and apps all in one place. This article covers the essentials every user needs to get started.

 

Part 1: Chat vs. Channel - When to Use Which

This is the question most new Teams users get wrong at first. Here's the definitive answer:

 

	💬  Chat	📢  Channel
What it is	A private conversation between you and one or more people	A shared conversation space inside a Team - like a topic-based group inbox
Who sees it	Only the people in the chat	Everyone who is a member of that Team
Files shared here go to...	Your OneDrive	SharePoint (the Team's document library)
Best for	Quick questions, personal conversations, one-on-one follow-ups	Team announcements, project updates, ongoing discussions the whole team needs
Avoid using for	Important decisions or info others on the team need to see	Sensitive or personal conversations

 

💡  Simple rule: If the whole team needs to know about it, use a channel. If it's just between you and one or two people, use chat.

 

Part 2: Starting a Chat

 

One-on-one chat

1. Click the Chat icon in the left navigation bar.
2. Click the pencil/compose icon (New Chat) at the top.
3. Type the person's name in the To: field and select them from the dropdown.
4. Type your message in the text box at the bottom and press Enter to send.

 

Group chat

5. Follow the same steps above, but add multiple names in the To: field.
6. Click the pencil icon at the top of the chat to give the group chat a name — this makes it easier to find later.

 

Tagging someone in a message (@mention)

Type @ followed by the person's name anywhere in your message to get their attention. They'll receive a notification even if they're not actively looking at Teams.

 

• @Name — notifies one person
• @channel — notifies everyone in that channel (use sparingly)
• @team — notifies every member of the entire Team (use rarely — only for critical announcements)

 

Part 3: Using Channels

 

Finding your channels

7. Click the Teams icon in the left navigation bar.
8. You'll see a list of Teams you belong to. Click the arrow next to a Team name to expand it and see its channels.
9. Click a channel to open it. The General channel is the default in every Team.

 

Posting in a channel

10. Click New conversation at the bottom of the channel.
11. Type your message. Use the formatting toolbar (the A icon) to add bold, bullets, or headers for longer posts.
12. Click the paper plane icon or press Ctrl+Enter to post.

 

Replying to a channel post

Always click Reply under an existing post — don't start a new conversation for the same topic. Replies keep the thread organized and make it easy to follow the discussion.

 

⚠️  Common mistake: Starting a new message instead of replying creates a separate thread and makes conversations hard to follow. Always use Reply when responding to an existing post.

 

Channel notifications

By default you won't be notified about every channel post — only when someone @mentions you. To change this:

13. Right-click a channel name in the left panel.
14. Select Channel notifications.
15. Choose All activity to be notified of every post, or Off to mute the channel entirely.

 

Part 4: Joining and Scheduling Meetings

 

Joining a meeting

• From a meeting invite email: click the Join Microsoft Teams Meeting link.
• From Teams Calendar: click the Calendar icon in the left nav, find the meeting, and click Join.
• From a channel: if a meeting was scheduled in a channel, a Join button appears in the channel at the meeting start time.

 

💡  Join early: Teams will show you a pre-meeting screen to check your camera and microphone before you enter. Use this to make sure everything works before the meeting starts.

 

Scheduling a meeting

16. Click the Calendar icon in the left navigation bar.
17. Click New meeting in the top right corner.
18. Fill in the title, date, time, and duration.
19. In the Add required attendees field, type names or email addresses.
20. To add a Teams channel to the meeting (so it appears in the channel for everyone), click Add channel and select the appropriate channel.
21. Click Send — attendees will receive a calendar invite with a Teams meeting link included.

 

Meet now (instant meeting)

Need to jump on a quick call without scheduling? In any chat or channel, click the video camera icon in the compose bar to start an instant meeting with just those people.

 

Part 5: Screen Sharing in Meetings

To share your screen during a meeting, click the Share content button (the rectangle with an arrow) in the meeting toolbar at the top of your screen. You'll see these options:

 

Option	What it shows	When to use it
Desktop / Screen	Your entire screen - everything visible on your monitor	When you need to switch between apps during the meeting
Window	One specific app window only - nothing else	When you only want to show one document or app and keep everything else private
PowerPoint Live	Slides from a PowerPoint file - attendees can scroll independently	For formal presentations - cleaner than sharing your whole screen
Whiteboard	A shared digital whiteboard everyone can draw on	Brainstorming, diagramming, visual collaboration

 

💡  Best practice: Use Window instead of Desktop whenever possible. Sharing your whole desktop risks accidentally showing notifications, personal tabs, or other windows. Window keeps it clean and professional.

 

Part 6: Audio Troubleshooting

Audio issues are the most common Teams problem. Here's a quick-reference table:

 

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Nobody can hear me	Mic is muted or wrong device selected	Check the mic icon at the bottom of the meeting — click to unmute. Then click the arrow next to it to select the correct microphone.
I can't hear anyone	Speaker volume is low or wrong device selected	Click the arrow next to the speaker icon in the meeting toolbar and select the correct audio output device.
My audio is robotic / cutting out	Poor internet connection	Turn off your video to free up bandwidth. Move closer to your Wi-Fi router or plug in via ethernet.
Echo on the call	Mic is picking up speaker audio	Use headphones, or mute yourself when not speaking.
Teams can't find my mic/camera	App doesn't have device permissions	Go to Teams Settings → Devices and select your mic and camera manually. On Windows, check Privacy settings → Microphone and make sure Teams is allowed.

 

🎧  Pro tip: Before any important meeting, run Teams' built-in audio test: go to Settings (click your profile picture → Settings) → Devices → Make a test call. Teams will record and play back your audio so you can confirm everything works.

 

Part 7: Quick Tips to Work Better in Teams

 

• Pin important chats: Right-click a chat and select Pin to keep it at the top of your chat list.
• Mark messages as unread: Right-click any message and select Mark as unread to remind yourself to come back to it.
• Save a message: Hover over a message, click the three dots (...) and select Save this message. Find saved messages by clicking your profile picture → Saved.
• Use the search bar: The search bar at the top of Teams searches across all chats, channels, files, and people. It's faster than scrolling.
• Set your status: Click your profile picture at the top right to set your status (Available, Busy, Do Not Disturb, Away). Do Not Disturb silences all Teams notifications.
• Keyboard shortcut: Press Ctrl+Shift+M to mute/unmute yourself during a meeting without clicking anything.

 

🛟  Still stuck? Contact the IT Help Desk. Have your username and a description of what you see ready.