Microsoft Teams is trying to make video calls a little less tedious during the pandemic era of remote working with new presenter modes. This allows you to customize the way you appear when you are presenting on Teams. Three new modes will be available soon, including a “Reporter” option that lets you place content over your shoulder as a visual aid, like a news anchor during a TV segment.
The highlight mode allows you to float above the content as a silhouette on top of a slide deck. And the third option, side by side, displays your webcam feed along with the content you are presenting. The highlight will be released this month, with Reporter and Side-by-Side modes available soon.
All three modes are part of a greater push by Microsoft to respond to comments on how to make meetings more engaging while working remotely. “In my opinion now, we need to make presentations more like TV shows,” said Nicole Herskowitz, general manager of Microsoft Teams, in an interview with The Verge. “We really have to find ways to make these digital experiences more powerful.”
These new modes take advantage of the technology that Microsoft uses in its Together Mode to remove the entire background behind you on a webcam. Together Mode was one of the first major changes in teams designed for pandemic meetings, placing meeting participants side by side in a virtual environment.
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Along with the new presenter modes, Microsoft is also launching PowerPoint Live on Microsoft Teams today. It is designed to make the PowerPoint slide show much easier for the presenter and meeting participants. Presenters will now be able to view notes, slides and a meeting chat in a single view, and attendees can browse the slides themselves. This is great if you missed a specific slide and want to skip back, and it’s a big boost to accessibility for those with learning disabilities who want to read and learn at their own pace.