Real Time Text in Teams Meetings
To support accessibility, Microsoft Teams now has Real Time Text (RTT) enabled – a feature that allows participants to view text-based communication as it’s typed, character by character during meetings and calls.
RTT can be enabled from the meeting toolbar by selecting the … menu:
More > Speech and language > Enable RTT.
When RTT is turned on:
- It is enabled for everyone in the meeting.
- Messages appear instantly, letter by letter, as you type, so others can read it in real time.
- It cannot be turned off unless everyone leaves and rejoins the meeting.
RTT is designed to improve accessibility and also supports users who prefer typing instead of speaking. It can be used together with other features like captions or chat to create a more inclusive and flexible meeting experience.
This feature is available for staff in Glow to use now.
Send Messages to Attendees in the Meeting Lobby
It can be challenging to communicate with attendees before a Teams meeting begins, especially if they’re waiting in the lobby. Some attendees in the lobby don’t have access to the meeting chat until they are admitted and using private messages or Teams chat outside the meeting can be difficult to manage.
Meeting organisers and co-organisers can now send one way messages to attendees in the meeting lobby using Lobby chat. This may help with running meetings with external participants or larger meetings and streamline or personalise the experience.
When someone joins the lobby, the meeting organiser/co-organiser can see a new Lobby tab in their Chat experience (meeting chat, one-on-one chat, or group chats).
The meeting organiser/co-organiser can send one-way messages to attendees in the lobby in the Lobby tab:
Visibility: Messages appear in a new Lobby chat panel on the pre-join screen for attendees.
This feature is now available in Glow.
Please note this feature is not available in channel meetings.
Coming Soon: New Slide Control Feature
No more “next slide please” when sharing a PowerPoint! Instead of the meeting host controlling the slides while other presenters request changes verbally, a new Teams update will allow the meeting organiser to assign slide control to multiple participants. Each speaker can take control of the presentation when it’s their turn, hopefully making transitions smoother.
The slide control feature enables presenters to share control of their PowerPoint slides without having to promote someone to a Presenter role. Assigned users can move slides forwards or backwards for everyone in the meeting, giving each speaker control over their content.
Note that Slide Control only allows for presenters to share control of their slides with the users they choose; users cannot request control themselves.
The person controlling the slides will get a pop up message to let them know.
This feature is rolling out between July and September 2025 and will be available in the Teams Desktop app.
Find out more about other ways to enhance your presentations using PowerPoint Live in Teams below:
