Is Teams just your video call app, or is it actually working for you?
Most organisations run on Teams, but most people only ever use it to dial in. Agendas live in someone’s inbox instead of the meeting itself, presenter roles go unused, and features that could shorten a meeting or sharpen its outcomes sit unopened.
This hands-on session shows your people how to turn Teams into a genuinely useful collaboration space, not just another way to have the same unfocused meeting. They’ll learn to prepare with intention, run meetings that keep people engaged, and use Teams’ built-in tools, from breakout rooms to AI-powered summaries, to make every meeting clearer and shorter.
We recommend:
Online
2hrs
20 people
What you’ll learn & do
This workshop empowers your teams to:
- Set up meetings for success using agendas, Q&A, presenter roles and the Teams lobby
- Know which type of Teams meeting to use and when (webinar, live event, virtual appointment)
- Manage energy and focus with cameras, reactions and breakout rooms
- Turn good conversations into a clear follow-up plan
- Use AI to prep agendas, transcribe discussions and capture key decisions and actions
94%
of participants would recommend our workshops
Who is this workshop for?
- Organisations running on Teams where people only use it as a video call tool, missing features that would make meetings shorter and clearer
- L&D or HR leads wanting a focused, time-efficient session with immediate, practical impact
- Teams who’ve already run Fixing Meetings and want the natural next step
- Managers who want their people confident using agendas, breakout rooms, polls and AI to run meetings that don’t drain everyone’s energy
What this workshop offers
- Learning by doing. A hands-on, practical session built around participants’ own upcoming meetings.
- A format that fits. 2 hours, or 3 hours with time for action planning, in person or live online, for up to 20 people.
- Learning that lasts. Every participant gets access to the Productivity Ninja® Academy.
- AI as an ally. Practical ways to use AI to prep agendas, anticipate questions, transcribe discussions and highlight key decisions, so meetings run themselves a little more.
- Built to stick. Add an Impact Clinic 1 and 3 months later to keep new habits alive.
What you’ll do
You’ll start with preparation, the part most meetings skip. That means agendas that actually get used, Q&A tools, presenter roles and the Teams lobby, so people arrive knowing what the meeting’s for and what’s expected of them.
From there you’ll get into the features that shape how a meeting actually feels: breakout rooms, polls, whiteboards and reactions, all aimed at keeping energy and focus high instead of letting attention drift. You’ll also look at where AI genuinely helps, from drafting agendas to transcribing discussions and pulling out decisions and actions, and where it doesn’t replace judgement.
Participants bring a real, upcoming meeting to redesign live in the session, so what they learn transfers straight into how they work, not just what they remember from the day.
What happens when Teams meetings work
When teams learn to run meetings with intention, everything changes:
- Meetings start with a clear purpose instead of just a calendar invite
- Energy and focus stay high, instead of draining out halfway through
- Everyone knows what’s expected of them, from presenter roles to next steps
- Follow-up actions are clear and owned, not lost in the chat afterwards
- Productivity rises without pushing harder
Uni of Bristol
“Meeting agendas, notes and actions as a first step, but also whiteboard and polls to make meetings more engaging.”
Claire Ireland
Benefits & Results
The most immediate benefit is meetings that feel different from day one: shorter, clearer, and easier for people to actually follow. But the deeper shift is in how your people prepare. Once they know which Teams feature solves which problem, they stop defaulting to “just get on the call” and start designing meetings with intention.
What your organisation gets
Teams meetings that reflect the purposeful, structured, inclusive habits you’ve already built through Fixing Meetings, put into practice inside the tool your people use every day. Less time wasted, clearer follow-up, and fewer meetings that should have been an email.
Forestry Commission
“I am more confident now in Teams, thank you.”
Katherine Patterson
Why it matters
Teams meetings don’t drag because the tool is weak, they drag because nobody’s shown people how to use it with intention.
- Meetings default to “just get on the call” instead of being designed with a purpose
- Features that could shorten or sharpen a meeting, agendas, breakout rooms, AI summaries, sit unused
- Without shared habits, energy and focus drain out of every call, whoever’s running it
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes. We look at how AI features, including Copilot, can make meetings clearer, faster and more structured. We focus on practical examples such as summaries, action capture and preparation prompts, and show where AI supports good meeting habits and where human judgment still matters.
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It’s a blend of both. We teach simple technical features inside Teams that improve meetings, but the core of the workshop focuses on the habits, decisions and behaviours that make meetings effective. The goal is not to become a Teams expert but to run meetings that feel shorter, clearer and more purposeful.
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Yes. We encourage participants to bring upcoming meetings so they can redesign them live in the session. This ensures the learning transfers immediately to real work.