Have you ever sat in a Teams meeting and found yourself gritting your teeth every time someone said, “Next slide, please”? Me too. If your business runs a lot of online meetings or webinars, you’ll know the frustration of clunky handovers and awkward pauses when switching between presenters. Well, there’s good news. And it’s about time. Microsoft is rolling out a small but mighty update to Teams that’s going to make a surprisingly big difference to how your meetings run.
Before diving into the exciting new feature, it’s worth making sure everyone’s on the same page about what Teams actually is. Microsoft Teams is an all-in-one communication platform designed to streamline how businesses and teams collaborate. It brings together video calls, chat, file sharing, and collaboration tools all under one roof. Whether your team works remotely, hybrid, or physically together in the same office, Teams helps everyone stay connected and productive without the headache of switching between multiple apps.
This powerful platform has become central to many businesses, especially in the era of virtual meetings and remote work, where seamless communication is key. However, despite its many strengths, Microsoft Teams hasn’t been perfect — which brings us back to the update everyone has been waiting for.
If you’ve ever tried co-presenting during a Microsoft Teams meeting, you’ll know the pain of limited slide control. At present, only one person can control the presentation slides at a time. Everyone else has to politely wait and ask the designated presenter to move through the slides. This results in those awkward pauses and interruptions that kill the flow of a meeting or webinar.
Anyone who has sat through these clunky handovers knows they can make a presentation feel disjointed and less professional. It’s frustrating, time-consuming, and frankly, unnecessary with today’s technology. For a tool as sophisticated as Teams, something as basic as multi-person slide control should have been addressed years ago. It’s a common headache that Blowfish Technology IT support has heard countless times from clients seeking smoother team presentations.
Enter the new feature that will transform how presentations run in Teams: multiple presenters will now be able to control the slides during a single meeting or webinar. Instead of only one person having control, the meeting host can assign slide control to several presenters in advance or during the session. This allows each presenter to buy in when it’s their time to speak — no more awkward requests, no more delays.
Practically, this means if your presentation is split into sections with different team members handling each part, they can independently take control of moving through their slides. This leads to a smoother, more natural presentation flow, elevating the professionalism of your online meetings.
Microsoft has started rolling this update out on the Windows desktop version of Teams, with plans to expand it to other platforms. The process seems straightforward: the meeting host picks the co-presenters who will have slide control. We can only hope the setup is as seamless as the new presenting experience promises to be.
On the surface, this feature may seem like a small change, but it’s one of those upgrades that can drastically improve the meeting experience. By removing friction around slide control, Teams can focus more on the content and less on logistics.
Alongside other recent enhancements such as real-time text messaging during calls — which supports participants who prefer typing over speaking — this tweak signals that Microsoft is committed to making Teams more flexible, intuitive, and user-friendly.
In a world where virtual meetings are the norm, a smoother presentation experience benefits everyone: the presenters, the attendees, and ultimately, the business. This tiny tweak helps avoid the unnecessary interruptions that thorny slide handovers cause, making your meetings flow more naturally and effectively.
If this update has you excited about improving your meetings, there’s more to explore within Microsoft Teams and the broader Microsoft 365 ecosystem. From advanced collaboration tools to productivity hacks, there’s a wealth of features to help your team work smarter.
Need help optimising your use of Microsoft Teams or other tools within Microsoft 365 hosting? That’s what my team and I at Blowfish Technology IT Support, IT Support Frodsham, IT Support Prescot, IT Support Maghull, IT Support Kirkby are here for. We specialise in helping businesses around Manchester, Liverpool, and beyond get the best out of their digital workplaces to drive productivity and enhance collaboration. Whether it’s training, troubleshooting, or custom solutions, we’ve got you covered.
This tiny tweak to Teams will make meetings smoother by empowering multiple presenters with control over slides, eliminating those awkward “Next slide, please” moments. It enhances professionalism, improves flow, and brings Teams another step closer to being the seamless collaboration hub businesses need.
If your team regularly runs online meetings or webinars, whether through Microsoft 365 hosting Manchester or Microsoft 365 hosting Liverpool, this update is a welcome change that saves time and reduces frustration. And with Microsoft continuing to introduce thoughtful improvements to Teams, the future of online collaboration looks brighter than ever.
Remember, getting the most from your collaboration tools is vital — and sometimes, it’s the small changes that make the biggest impact. So, keep an eye out for this Teams update and start enjoying those slicker presentations soon!