Teams Town Hall - Organizer & Presenter Guide

Overview

Microsoft Teams Town Halls provide STRSI a structured, controlled environment for executive and company-wide presentations. Town Halls differ from normal Teams meetings by giving organizers enhanced control over the audience, presenter privileges, Q&A moderation, and overall meeting flow.

This document outlines the Organizer and Presenter workflow and recommended STRSI standards for hosting a successful Town Hall.

---

When to Use a Town Hall

Use a Town Hall instead of a Teams meeting when you need:

• Full control over attendee audio/video and participation
• Preventing interruptions or disruptions
• Moderated Q&A (including anonymous questions)
• Spotlight control for presenters
• A structured, broadcast-style presentation environment

---

Roles in a Town Hall

Organizer

The Organizer schedules the Town Hall and manages:

• Event settings & permissions
• Adding presenters
• Audience restrictions
• Q&A moderation
• Spotlighting presenters
• Controlling chat settings
• Ending the event

Presenter

Presenters may:

• Use microphone and camera
• Share screen or content
• Be spotlighted
• Participate in Q&A

Presenters cannot modify event settings.

---

Scheduling a Town Hall

1. Open Teams
2. Go to Calendar
3. Select New Meeting › Town Hall
4. Enter:
   • Title
   • Date & time
   • Presenters
   • Optional co-organizers
   • Description / agenda

---

STRSI Recommended Configuration

Meeting Access

Controls lobby and join behavior. Set in Meeting options → Meeting access.

Setting	Value	Where to set (Meeting options)
People dialing in can bypass the lobby	Off	Keep lobby control for dial-in users.
Who can admit from the lobby	Organizers, co-organizers, and presenters	Limits admission to trusted roles.
Show meeting info on join screen	Users allowed to bypass the lobby	Prevents early chatter while still giving basic info.
Announce when people dialing in join or leave	Off (large events)	Avoids audio interruptions for 100+ attendees.
Require unverified participants to verify before joining	On (if allowed)	Adds a verification step to reduce disruptions.

Production Tools

Controls stage management. Set in Meeting options → Production tools.

Setting	Value	Where to set (Meeting options)
Who has control of production tools	Organizer, co-organizers, and presenters	Keeps screen control with trusted roles.
Manage what attendees see	On	Let organizers/presenters manage the attendee view. Use On with preview if available.
Enable Green room	On	Lets presenters check AV and content before attendees enter.

Audience Restrictions (Participation)

Keep attendee AV off by default. Set in Meeting options → Participation.

Setting	Value	Where to set (Meeting options)
Allow mic for attendees	Off	Participation → toggle Allow mic for attendees off.
Allow camera for attendees	Off	Participation → toggle Allow camera for attendees off.
Allow attendance report	On	Participation → toggle Allow attendance report on.

Chat: If your tenant exposes a Chat toggle under Meeting access, disable it during presentations and re-enable for Q&A; otherwise rely on Q&A only.

Q&A Settings

Enable Q&A from Meeting options → Participation.

Setting	Value	Where to set (Meeting options)
Q&A	On	Participation → toggle Q&A on.
Allow anonymous questions	On	In the Q&A pane after joining meeting.
Moderation	On	In the Q&A pane after joining meeting: require organizer approval before publishing.
Who can manage Q&A	Organizers and co-organizers (or presenters if desired)	Participation → Who can manage Q&A dropdown.

Recording & Transcription

Set these in Meeting options → Recording & transcription.

Setting	Value	Where to set (Meeting options)
Record and transcribe automatically	Optional (policy-driven)	Turn on only if policy and consent allow.
Spoken language in this meeting	English (US)	Set the correct spoken language before start.
Enable multilingual speech recognition	Off (unless needed)	Enable only if multi-language captions are required.
Who has access to the recording or transcript	Everyone (or internal)	Choose the least-permissive option your run of show needs.

Copilot and Other AI

If available in your tenant, choose the allowed scope. Set in Meeting options → Copilot and other AI.

Option	What it allows	STRSI recommendation
Off	Copilot disabled for this Town Hall.	Use if leadership does not want AI.
Only during the meeting	Copilot is available live, but not for post-meeting review/summaries.	Use when you want live assistance only.
During and after the meeting	Copilot is available live and for post-meeting recap/summaries.	Recommended if AI is permitted for exec events.

Accessibility

Set these in Meeting options → Accessibility.

Setting	Value	Where to set (Meeting options)
Translate attendee captions	Off (enable if needed)	Turn on only if you need translation; choose up to 6 languages.

---

Running the Town Hall

Pre-Event Setup

• Join 10–15 minutes early
• Confirm presenter audio/video
• Confirm spotlight order
• Load slides or screen share content
• Test Q&A moderation

---

During the Event

Spotlighting Presenters

1. Right-click the presenter’s video feed
2. Select Spotlight
3. Add or remove additional spotlights as needed

Managing Audience Controls

Organizers may:

• Mute all attendees
• Prevent unmuting
• Disable/enable chat
• Moderate Q&A submissions

Moderating Q&A

• Review incoming questions
• Approve, dismiss, or respond
• Publish questions to all attendees
• Allow anonymous posts

---

Ending the Event

When the event concludes:

• Click End event (not just leaving the meeting)
• Download attendance or Q&A reports if provided
• Follow up with recording if enabled

---

Summary Checklist

• Presenters assigned
• Audience muted with camera disabled
• Chat set to STRSI standard
• Q&A enabled with moderation and anonymous posts
• Spotlight order confirmed
• Content loaded and ready
• End event properly after completion