Information Technology Solutions

Invite guests to MS Teams meetings

You can use Microsoft Teams for meetings with staff and students of RRC Polytech and people outside of RRC Polytech. However, you should review the meeting options in the Change meeting options section when inviting external participants.

Your Teams and Outlook calendars both connect to your RRC Polytech email account. This means that when you schedule a meeting in Teams, it will appear in your Outlook calendar, and vice versa.

You can scroll through all of the Microsoft Teams meeting topics on this page or click the individual topics below:


Schedule a meeting in Teams (recommended)

  1. In Teams, click the Calendar icon on the left side, and then click the + New meeting button in the top right corner.
    click new meeting
  2. The New meeting will open by default on the Details tab. Add the meeting title, meeting date and time, the attendees (can be internal, external, or an entire Teams channel), and provide more information in the details section. You may click Save.
    details window
  3. On the Scheduling Assistant tab, enter attendees if you have not done so in the Details tab, and then find a time that works for you and all of your attendees. Click Save in the top right corner when done.
    scheduling assistant window
  4. RRC Polytech attendees can join the meeting automatically when they click the meeting in their Teams calendar, and then click Join in the window that opens.

    join meeting from the teams calendar event

    NOTE: If it is a Channel meeting they can also join from within the Channel. External attendees who join the meeting will remain in the Meeting Lobby until you invite them in.

If you want to review the meeting options or change the default settings, please refer to the Change meeting options section.


Schedule a meeting in Outlook

New Outlook

  1. One the left side menu, click either Mail or Calendar, then click New, and then Event.
    click new and event
  2. On the Event tab, locate Response options, and then using the dropdown select your options.
    response options
  3. Enter the details of your event, including attendee(s), date and time, and a meeting description. You may also attach files or include links to them.
    enter details of the event
  4. On the Scheduling Assistant tab, confirm their availability, and then select the best date and time for your meeting.
  5. Back in the Event tab, confirm your selected options and information, and then click Save at the top left side.
    enter details of the event

    The meeting invitation will include Teams information to join the meeting or to dial in.
    meeting invitation

    NOTE: RRC Polytech attendees can click the Join Teams Meeting in the toolbar or under the date and time. You can also click the Join the meeting now link in the body of the meeting request. External attendees who join the meeting will remain in the Meeting Lobby until you invite them in.

If you want to review the meeting options or change the default settings, please refer to the Change meeting options section.

Desktop Outlook

  1. Click the Calendar icon on the left side, then click Teams Meeting, and then click Schedule Meeting.
    calendar tab teams schedule meeting

    You can also click Mail on the left side, then click New Items, and then Meeting.
    mail tab and then meeting

  2. On the Meeting tab, locate Response options, and then using the dropdown select your options.
    response options

    NOTE: As the meeting organizer, you can reduce scheduling conflicts by disabling the ability for recipients to propose new meeting times for nonrecurring meetings. To restrict meeting proposals, in the Attendees group, click Response Options, and select Allow New Time Proposals to remove the check mark.
  3. Enter the details of your meeting, including attendee(s), date and time, and a meeting description. You may also attach files or include links to them.
    meeting tab detail option
  4. On the Scheduling Assistant tab, confirm their availability, and then select the best date and time for your meeting.
    scheduling assistant tab
  5. Back in the Meeting tab, confirm your selected options and information, and then click Send at the top left side. The invitation will include information to join the meeting or to dial in.
    click send

    NOTE: RRC Polytech attendees can click Teams Meeting in the toolbar and then click Join Teams Meeting. You can also click the Join the meeting now link in the body of the meeting request. External attendees who join the meeting will remain in the Meeting Lobby until you invite them in.

If you want to review the meeting options or change the default settings, please refer to the Change meeting options section.


Audio Conferencing

Audio conferencing enables you to join a meeting via your mobile phone or landline rather than in Teams, so that you can listen to your meeting like a typical phone call. You will not be able to use the Chat feature, but you will be able to share in the audio conversation. You do not have to do anything on your end to enable this feature, it is automatically enabled for all staff. Users can dial the number as referenced in the upper highlight box, and then enter the Phone Conference ID, referenced in the middle highlight box, shown in their Teams meeting invite, when prompted.

New Outlook

dial in and meeting options

Desktop Outlook

email sent join and dial in options

Benefits of Audio Conferencing

Calling in to Teams meetings with Audio Conferencing is helpful when participants cannot attend a meeting using the Microsoft Teams app on their laptop or mobile device. This feature is especially useful when:

  • Internet connectivity is limited.
  • Meeting is audio only.
  • People tried to join a Microsoft Teams meeting and it failed.
  • Call quality is better when dialed in.
  • People find it is easier and more convenient for their situation.

Please visit Microsoft’s Audio Conferencing Common Questions webpage to learn more about the benefits of audio conferencing.


Change meeting options

  1. Open the meeting invite in either your New Outlook or the Desktop Outlook, and whether you have created the meeting invite in Teams or in Outlook.
  2. In the body of the meeting towards the bottom, click the lower highlighted box called Meeting options.

New Outlook

dial in and meeting options

Desktop Outlook

new meeting dial in and meeting options

Meeting options

Use the tabs on the left side of the window, as shown on the image below.

meeting options

  • In the Security tab, the Who can bypass the lobby setting is set for People in my org, trusted orgs, and guests.
  • In the Security tab, ensure that you leave the People dialing in can bypass the lobby toggle set to the default No position.

    NOTE: Based on the meeting policy, people joining without an account, from untrusted orgs, or people dialing in, may wait in the lobby until someone from the College or another trusted org joins the meeting and invites them in. This is true even if Everyone is selected from the dropdown. This helps to prevent unauthorized users from accessing and engaging in your meeting possibly in a malicious manner.
  • In the Audio & Video tab, the Allow mic for attendees setting is turned on by default. As the meeting organizer, you can turn it off manually to ensure attendees cannot unmute themselves during the meeting.
  • In the Roles tab, the Who can present dropdown menu is set to Everyone by default. Please visit Microsoft’s Roles in Microsoft Teams meeting web page for more information about the roles of participants and the specific capabilities for each role.

    NOTE: You can change this default setting to an option that suits your preference, but only after you send your meeting request. The options include People in my org and guests, Specific people, or Only organizers and co-organizers.
  • Click Save after you have completed the previously mentioned meeting options and any others that you might have chosen.

Change a participant’s role during a meeting

  1. Click Show participants in the meeting controls for a list of the people in the meeting.
  2. Hover over the name of the person and then click More options.
  3. Select Make a presenter or Make an attendee.

    NOTE: Teams meetings are different from adding a user to an existing RRC Polytech team on Microsoft Teams. To add an external user to an RRC Polytech team, open the ITS Service Desk website to submit a Service Desk ticket and include the business email address of the organization the external user represents. IT Solutions requires a business email address, not a consumer email address like Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.

← Back to Teams

RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

Learn more ›