For large audience events online, Microsoft Town Halls replaced Live Events on Teams in September 2024. Whether you're new to Town Halls or looking to refresh your knowledge, this page should tell you everything you need to know to successfully host large meetings. Introducing Teams Town HallsTown Halls provides a new way of hosting and delivering large-scale online events, simplifying the overall experience for users with its integration onto the more familiar Teams platform (that Live Events was not built on).What are the differences?Many features were already available in Teams Live Events, including maximum 10,000 attendees. However, as seen in the box below, Town Halls provides even more exciting opportunities for hosts and attendees alike. FeatureTeams Live EventsTeams Town HallsMaximum duration4 hours30 hoursManage what attendees can see (including Q&A)NoYesEssential emails*NoYesLive caption translationOne of six languages chosen by the hostOne of six languages chosen by each attendeeLayout**Single Video, Video + ContentDynamic focused curated view*Pre-configured, rather than manually-created, emails sent by the organiser for the event invitation and recordings.**Unlike Live Events limitations of layout, Town Halls will automatically optimise the layout for the audience automatically, based on the content and video feeds on screen.Can anyone host a Town Hall?No. A1 licensed users, including most functional accounts, cannot schedule or host a Town Hall. However, some adjustment to a regular Meeting can alleviate and work around this obstacle. For example, when scheduling a regular Meeting which you want to run in a 'Town Hall' style, you can update the meeting options to mute participants and turn off their cameras by default, disable the chat, enable Q&A, spotlight the presenter(s) so they are visible on screen for all attendees, and enable 'Green Room' so that hosts have a private space inaccessible to participants. These workarounds allow you to host a regular meeting with up to 1,000 participants. Once the capacity of 1,000 participants is reached, you can still add further attendees (up to 10,000) - however they will only be able to view and listen, not contribute to the meeting. If you're expecting such a high number of participants and would like them to be able to take part, you could use a separate platform such as Wooclap or Microsoft Surveys to replace or supplement the meeting chat - simply create a QR code or link in advance and share this with 'view/listen only' participants so they have the chance to join in if the meeting chat is full. For Microsoft guidance on using the Green Room, see the link below:Using the green room in Microsoft Teams | Microsoft SupportHow do I know what licence I have?Unfortunately, if you are not an admin, the only definitive way to check is by asking your local head of IT. Unfortunately, there is no clear section in your account which tells you what licence you have. You can try to figure out whether you have Premium by doing the following:Open Teams.Go to Calendar.Select New meeting.Add a title and at least one attendee, then open Meeting options.Check your options. A typical Teams meeting gives options for security, audio and video, recording and transcript, and roles. If you can see additional options such as Apply a watermark, Who can record, End-to-end encryption, or Template choices, this could indicate that you have Teams Premium.Always keep in mind that the University can add or disable features. Don’t rely on one feature as proof of whether you have a Premium licence personally assigned to you. Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat do the new roles mean?In Live Events, there were organisers, producers, presenters, and attendees. In comparison, Town Halls now enables organisers, co-organisers, presenters, and attendees.The Live Events producer role is to be divided up into the organiser, co-organiser, and presenter roles in Town Halls.More about the event rolesFor OrganisersHow to organise an event?Organising a Town Halls event is similar to organising a regular Teams Meeting or Webinar. However, we still recommend that you take time to familiarise yourself with it before attempting the real thing. See guidance about scheduling a Town Hall below:More about scheduling an eventMore about customising an eventMore about cancelling an eventTop Tips for Organisers:If the Town Hall will have a designated host (and co-hosts), consult them about the "Meeting Options" to ensure they decide which on/off settings will be optimal for their event.For our lunchtime seminars which are in a webinar format, we provide 'organisers' with a handy check list covering key steps to organise the event. This can apply to any format of event. This includes Event Planning Stages; task list at each stage; linked procedure; and event planning roles. Feel free to copy this example and modify your copy for when organising your events:Example Event Planning ChecklistFor HostsHow do I host a Town Hall?Guidance on this website is included for the event organiser, presenters and attendees. However, we appreciate that for this type of event you may have a dedicated host and co-hosts (such as a chairperson or event coordinator) separate to the organiser (the person administering the schedule). The following guidance is specifically about hosting a town hall.About the role of host:You might also be the person scheduling the event; this doesn't change the guidance. Multiple hosts can be designated by the organiser.When you're a designated host for a town hall, you direct the event flow from start to finish. You prepare in the green room, start and stop the event, spotlight presenters, and more.Hosting a town hall:If you've hosted a Teams meeting or Webinar, the experience should be more familiar to you. Despite a green room (off-stage private area for event officials to prepare), unlike live events, town halls are native to Teams, so there is no studio and no dedicated producer is necessary. You control what the audience sees on screen by sharing content (like in a regular meeting or PowerPoint Live) and bringing the presenter on screen (similar to spotlighting someone in a meeting).The host (or co-host), organiser, and other presenters can easily see and control who's off screen and who's on screen. See the information linked below for more:How to host a town hall in Microsoft TeamsTop Tips for Hosts: As always, the key is to schedule some practice events with colleagues to familiarise each other with the new experience, prior to the real thing.You might not be the organiser but if you are hosting the event, you can still schedule a practice Town Hall (just like a meeting or webinar) from your own calendar in Teams.Remember to check the on/off settings in your "Meeting Options" so they are appropriate for how you want to run your event.Options can be switched on/off when scheduling, or afterwards, by opening the event from the calendar (outlook or teams) and choosing "Meeting Options".If you will host the event but are not the organiser, make sure you review the "Meeting Options" with the organiser and tune them for your event.Agree who will control aspects of the Town Hall, practice how to do it, and stick with it to achieve a smooth-running event for your audience.For PresentersWhat are the changes in presenting styles?Teams Town Halls’ new features gives organisers and presenters more control over attendees and what they can see and access.Prior to the meeting, presenters and organisers can enter a green room. This is a separate space that attendees cannot access, dedicated to the hosts preparing for the meeting.Presenters and organisers have their own chat that attendees cannot access or see.More about the changes in presenting stylesHow are managing Q&As different?Better management of incoming questions for organisers and a focus screen on the presenter will make the experience more in-person like, removing opportunities for attendees to interrupt the Q&A.More about managing the Q&AWhat is new with sharing content?Sharing content is organised so that hosts will produce a more smooth-sailing meeting. For instance, only shared content by the presenters/organisers, and participants invited by the presenters/organisers, will be viewed on-screen by all.More about sharing contentFor AttendeesWhat's the difference for attendees?The attendee experience should be familiar to anyone who’s attended a live event, meeting or webinar using Microsoft Teams. Attendees can watch the live event and engage in Q&A. Attendee microphones and video feeds are automatically disabled at the beginning (and during) the event, and there won't be an open chat.More about the attendee experienceWhat will happen with recordings?No changes will be made to the recordings; hosts are able to publish them as normal. This will automatically send an email to the attendees, giving them access to the recording.Town Halls does allow hosts to extend the expiration date of recordings from the default 30 days to 60 days if desired.More about Town Hall recordingsHelp & FeedbackFor more information, click here.To give your feedback about how we can improve our guidance, please complete this form. This article was published on Tuesday 8 October 2024
