Tips for a Better Hybrid Meeting Experience

Attention: For immediate meeting assistance in a Teams Room, contact the Building Audio/Visual (AV) Support Team for the building you are located in.  The Building AV Support Team phone number is posted in the room.

• Schedule a "Teams Room" Meeting (for Physical Rooms)
• Adding a Teams Room Account to a Calendar Invitation
• Join a Teams Room Meeting
• Join a Zoom Meeting in Teams Room
• Start an Instant Teams Room Meeting
• Share Content during a Teams Room Meeting
• Manage Participants from a Teams Room Meeting
• Accessibility in a Teams Room
• Best Practices for Hybrid Meetings
• Hosting a Microsoft Teams Meeting (Outside a Teams Room)
• Request Support for a Teams Room Meeting
• Troubleshooting Teams Room Meeting Issues
• How to know if Teams Room Devices are Live

 

Schedule a "Teams Room" Meeting (for Physical Rooms)

To schedule a Teams Room Meeting, FDA employees must complete the following two steps: 

1. See the IT Learning Portal’s FDA Teams Room List page for a list of available Teams Rooms and how to reserve the conference room.
2. Once the conference room is reserved, add the conference room’s Teams Room account to the calendar invitation via Outlook or Microsoft Teams.  See below guidance on how to add the Teams Room account in Outlook and Microsoft Teams.

Adding a Teams Room account to a calendar invitation

To reserve the conference room, you must add the Teams Room account to the calendar invitation in Outlook or Microsoft Teams.

Use Outlook to add a Teams Room to a new or existing calendar invitation:

Add to a new Outlook calendar invitation	Add to an existing Outlook calendar invitation
Open Outlook and go to your calendar. Select New Teams Meeting in the Teams Meeting section or New Meeting. Type the conference room name (e.g., WO1-3201) in the Required attendees line to add the Teams Room account to the meeting. Complete the meeting invitation as you would for any other meeting before sending.	Open the meeting in Outlook on your device. Type the conference room name (e.g., WO1-3201) in the Required attendees line to add the Teams Room to the meeting.  If there is no conflicting meeting and it is accepted by the room, it will appear on the console. Select the meeting on the console to join.

 

Use Microsoft Teams to add a Teams Room to a new or existing calendar invitation:

Add to a new Microsoft Teams calendar invitation

Add to an existing Microsoft Teams calendar invitation

Open Microsoft Teams and go to your calendar. Select New meeting to schedule a meeting. Select a meeting type from the drop-down menu to schedule a webinar or live event. Select Add required attendees in the meeting scheduler and type the conference room name (e.g., WO1-3201). Complete the meeting invitation as you would for any other meeting before sending. Note: For live events, you can add a room as a presenter but not as a producer or attendee.

Add the conference room name (it's on the console if you are in the room, e.g., WO1-3201) to the participants list.  If there is no conflicting meeting and it is accepted by the room, it will appear on the console. Select the meeting on the console to join. OR Join the meeting from your device. Select People. Search for the room name (it's on the console) and select OK. Accept the call on the console to join the meeting.

Join a Teams Room Meeting

Find your meeting on the console and select Join to enter. 

 

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Current meetings will be at the top of the list.  Any upcoming meetings will be shown in the list with meeting details. 

The room settings allow joining Zoom meetings.  To do this, see Join a Zoom Meeting in a Teams Room section.

If a scheduled meeting doesn't appear on the room calendar, or if there is no Join button on the meeting tile, you'll need to invite the room (see Adding a Teams Room account to a calendar invitation section), add the room on your device, or for Teams meetings you can select the More (ellipsis) icon, select Join with meeting ID, and enter the meeting ID and passcode and select Join meeting.

Note: It is recommended that in-person attendees bring laptops or mobile devices to the Teams Room.

Join a Zoom Meeting in Teams Room

Find your meeting on the console and click the Join button in the Zoom application icon.

 

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Start an Instant Teams Room Meeting

1. If the Teams Room console is showing no scheduled meetings, you can use the room for an instant meeting.
2. Select Meet (camera icon) on the room console.  Your meeting will begin automatically.
3. Under Type a name, search for who you want to invite.
4. Select peoples' names from the search results to request they join the meeting.

Share Content during a Teams Room Meeting

To share with both in-room and online participants from a device (during a Teams meeting):

1. Join the meeting on your device and select Share content in your meeting controls
2. Then select the item you want to share (your entire screen, a window, a PowerPoint file, or a Whiteboard).  Go to Share your screen in a Teams meeting to learn more.

Share in-room content (during a Teams meeting):

• If you're in a room that has a content camera, you can share to it by selecting Share > Content camera > Share on the room console.
• If your room has a touch display, you can use Microsoft Whiteboard in your meeting by selecting Share > Microsoft Whiteboard > Share on the room console. 

To stop sharing, select Stop sharing on the room console.

 

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Manage Participants from a Teams Room Meeting

Add a participant

1. In the meeting, type the name of the participant you want to add in the Type a name search bar.
2. Select the participant's name from the search results to request to join meeting.

 

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Pin a participant

When you want to focus on specific participant(s), select their name(s) on the room console, then Pin for me.

• Note: This will only pin the video for the room, not for others in the meeting.

Remove a participant from the meeting

To remove someone from a meeting, select their name on the room console, then Remove from meeting.

Accessibility in a Teams Room

When you are in a Teams Room, follow the below steps to change the accessibility features on the Teams Room console:

1. Select the More (ellipsis) icon on the Teams Room device.  
2. Select Settings (gear) icon.
3. Select Device settings.
4. Select Accessibility.
5. You can choose from the following accessibility settings:
   1. Toggle High Contrast Mode to On. 
   2. Select Large Text (Default) and choose Small, Large, or Largest.
   3. Toggle Color Correction to On.
      1. Select Correction Mode and choose from:
         1. Deuteranomaly (red-green)
         2. Protanomaly (red-green)
         3. Tritanomaly (blue-yellow)
   4. Toggle Talkback to On.
6. Please return the console’s accessibility settings back to its original state once you are finished using the Teams Room.

Best Practices for Hybrid Meetings

Teams Room Meetings

In-room and remote participants should follow Microsoft’s best practices for hybrid meetings to make them more inclusive and improve information sharing.  See Microsoft’s Teams Meeting Participant Best Practices page.

All meeting participants should review the below checklist for an effective hybrid meeting experience.

Effective Hybrid Meeting Checklist

Steps	Action	Benefit
Step 1	Request in-person attendees to bring laptops or mobile devices.	Provides ability to clearly view virtual environment presentations. Allows for close-up video views of meeting room participants, as room cameras may not be sufficient. Greater interaction for in-person attendees with those on virtually, i.e., chats, breakout rooms.
Step 2	Use meeting room’s audio/video equipment to connect to virtual environment.	Provides a single audio source for the meeting room with a consistent audio feed with no delays, sound distortions, or feedback from the laptop speakers. Meeting room’s video cams provide a presence for the whole meeting room for those on virtually.
Step 3	Ask all in-person participants to connect with no audio and video only to virtual environment. Microsoft Teams ZoomGov	As Step 2 indicates, using a single source for the meeting room audio provides a clearer audio experience and by joining video only and no audio, then in-person participants' laptops will not produce feedback noise.  And the webcams provide close-up views of in-person attendees.
Step 4	Hosts offer in-person external guest access to the FDA Guest Wi-Fi External Link Disclaimer	Allows external in-person guests to join the virtual environment and have full engagement to chats and other virtual environment benefits. [External guests can then use their own laptop or mobile device to join with video only and no audio.]
Step 5	Use Spotlight  Microsoft TeamsExternal Link Disclaimer ZoomGovExternal Link Disclaimer	The host can leverage the Spotlight feature to highlight and lock the focus of the key stakeholder’s web cams, who will be viewable to everyone throughout the meeting.
Step 6	Send Hybrid Meeting SurveyExternal Link Disclaimer	To be provided to all attendees by the host, the Hybrid Meeting SurveyExternal Link Disclaimer will aid FDA in pinpointing any areas, where we can improve, not only in the virtual hybrid meeting environment, but also in the FDA meeting rooms themselves.

 Hosting a Microsoft Teams Meeting (Outside a Teams Room)

1. Schedule a Meeting

Use the Teams Calendar to create and share meeting invites.

1. Go to Calendar → New Meeting → Teams Meeting.
2. Add Title, Date/Time, and Attendees.
3. Use the Channel field if you want the meeting linked to a Teams channel.
4. Click Save — attendees receive a join link automatically.

Pro Tip: Use recurring meetings for regular sessions; updates apply to all future instances.

2. Pre-Meeting Setup

Goal: Ensure your audio, video, and accessibility settings are correct before joining. 

• Test audio and video devices under Settings → Devices. 
• Mute your microphone before joining to prevent disruptions. 
• Enable Green Screen or use background blur for a professional look. 
• Make sure lighting faces you — avoid bright light behind you. 
• Turn on Live Captions to support accessibility. 

Pro Tip: If you dock and undock your laptop (for example, switching between a docking station and built-in speakers), Teams may change your audio configuration. Always check and test your microphone and speakers before joining. Go to Settings → Devices → Make a Test Call to verify sound quality and connection.

3. Joining the Meeting

1. Click Join Now from the calendar invite or meeting link.
2. Choose your preferred audio source (headset, speakers, or room system).
3. Turn camera on/off as needed.
4. Adjust Lobby Settings in Meeting Options → Who can bypass the lobby to control when attendees can enter.

If You’re a Participant:

• Mute your microphone before joining to prevent background noise or interruptions.
• When joining from a conference room, select Don’t use audio on your laptop or personal device — this prevents echo and feedback.
• Only one device in the room should have its audio active.

If You’re the Host or Presenter:

• Test your audio and video devices before the meeting begins.
• If using a Teams Room system, confirm that the room mic and speakers are the only active audio source.
• Join a few minutes early to check that presenters, files, and shared content are ready.

Pro Tip: For hybrid meetings, ask remote participants to confirm they can hear clearly before starting. If you’re in a shared space, always verify that only one audio source is active in the room.

4. Core In-Meeting Controls

Mute/Unmute – Toggle your microphone. Always mute when not speaking. 
Camera – Turn video on or off. 
Share Content – Share your screen, window, or PowerPoint Live. 
Participants – View or manage attendees and roles. 
Chat – Share messages, questions, and links. 
Reactions – Raise hand or use emoji for feedback. 
More (⋯) – Access captions, recording, and device settings.

5. Sharing Content (with Audio)

1. Click Share Content (↑). 
2. Select Screen, Window, PowerPoint Live, or Excel Live. 
3. Turn Include Computer Sound ON if sharing audio or video. 
4. Click Stop Sharing when finished.

Pro Tip: Choose the sharing option that fits your goal:

• Share Screen – Best for full-desktop demos or multi-app presentations.
• Share Window – Ideal when focusing on a single application or document.
• PowerPoint Live – Use for professional slide playback with captions and speaker notes.
• Excel Live – Collaborate in real time; all participants can view or edit data together.

6. Managing Participants

Open the Participants Panel. 
Mute All to control background noise. 
Promote to Presenter to allow screen sharing or co-hosting. 
Remove participants if needed. 

Pro Tip: Assign a Co-Organizer to help manage participants, chat, or technical support during large meetings.

7. Using Polls

Open Apps (⋯) → Polls. 
Create polls (multiple choice or rating). 
Launch during the meeting for engagement or feedback. 
Export results after the meeting for review. 
 

Examples: 
- Icebreaker: “How’s everyone’s energy today?” 
- Feedback: “Rate the clarity of today’s discussion.”

8. Breakout Rooms

1. Use for small-group collaboration or training sessions. 
2. Click Breakout Rooms icon. 
3. Choose number of rooms and assign participants. 
4. Send broadcast messages to all rooms. 
5. Close rooms to bring everyone back to the main session.

9. Accessibility and Captions

Turn on Live Captions: More (⋯) → Turn on captions. 
Enable Transcription during meetings for automatic notes. 
Use plain language and describe visuals. 
Share tagged PDFs or transcripts after meetings for 508 compliance.

10. Recording

Click More (⋯) → Start Recording. 
Participants are notified automatically. 
Recordings save to OneDrive under the organizer’s account. 
Stop recording before ending the meeting. 

Pro Tip: Only record meetings that require documentation or review.

11. Ending the Meeting

Click Leave → End Meeting for All to close the session for everyone. 
Confirm before ending to ensure recording stops correctly.

12. After the Meeting

Recording – Accessible in meeting chat or OneDrive. 
Transcript – Saved automatically in the meeting chat. 
Attendance Report – Found under Meeting Details. 
Poll Results – Export via Polls app. 

Follow-Up: Share summaries, decisions, or next steps via Teams Chat or email after the meeting.

13. Troubleshooting

No Audio – Check Settings → Devices and confirm correct source. 
Echo – Mute duplicate mics or devices. 
Screen Share Fails – Confirm Presenter permissions. 
Captions Missing – Enable via More (⋯). 
Lag or Delay – Turn off camera or switch to wired connection.

14. Live Meeting Checklist

Before: Test mic, camera, and connection. Upload slides or files. Assign Co-Organizer. 
During: Start recording and captions, manage chat, launch polls. 
After: End meeting properly, share recording and transcript, post recap or next steps. 

Request Support for a Teams Room Meeting

If you are having technical issues with a Teams Room device or meeting, please contact the Building AV Support Team for the building you are located in.  They will be able to investigate the cause of the issue and help resolve it.  If there are issues but the meeting requires use of a Teams Room immediately, please try rescheduling a different Teams Room.

See the Troubleshooting Teams Room Meeting Issues section below for a list of issues a user may experience in a Teams Room. 

Troubleshooting Teams Room Meeting Issues

When a Teams Room is not functioning as expected, please use the below troubleshooting steps to determine if the issue can be quickly resolved or assistance is needed.

Teams Room Issue	How to Troubleshoot
The meeting does not show on the Teams Room console.	Confirm that the Teams Room account has been added as an invitee to the meeting by following the steps provided in the Adding a Teams Room Account to a Calendar Invitation section.
On the Teams Room console, you are unable to join a meeting, the calendar will not populate, and you see "No internet connection" at the top of the screen.	Contact the Building AV Support Team for the building you are located in.
The Teams Room console appears to be turned off.	Contact the Building AV Support Team for the building you are located in.
The monitors, camera, microphones, or phone is not functioning.	Contact the Building AV Support Team for the building you are located in.

 

How to Know if Teams Room Devices are Live 

A person in the physical room must select Join on the touch console to enter the meeting. As the Teams Room devices don’t automatically start meetings in the room.   

If a Teams Room device joins a Teams meeting, virtual attendees will see the Teams Room resource account in the meeting participants list as a joined participant. 

Live Cameras and Microphones 

When in a physical Teams Room, users can determine if a camera and microphone is live by paying attention to certain indications.  Teams Room devices have status indicator lights that appear in different locations, depending on the model.  

 

Camera Device	Light Indicator Location	Privacy Shutter Functionality
Poly Studio X30	Large center light	Device is a single lens camera so there is no privacy shutter.  This means even if there is no meeting, the lens will appear unobstructed, and it will never be covered.
Poly Studio X50	Large center light	Device is a single lens camera so there is no privacy shutter.  This means even if there is no meeting, the lens will appear unobstructed, and it will never be covered.
Poly Studio X70	Small light to the right of the camera lens	Privacy shutter that covers the lens after 10 minutes of no use.
Poly Studio E70	Small light to the right of the camera lens	Privacy shutter will automatically open or close depending on the state of the connected video system.

On all the devices, the color of the status indicator lights specifies the following: 

• White means the unit has power. 
• Green means the unit is in a call with the microphone on. 
• Yellow means the unit is in sleep mode and will awaken with a tap on the TC8 screen.
• Red means the audio is muted (please note that the audio can be muted while the video is still on).