02 — Configure & Manage Meetings, Webinars & Town Halls 15–20%

🗺 Domain Overview 

mindmap
  root((Domain 2 15–20%))
    Teams Meetings
      Meeting Policies
      Meeting Settings
      Meeting Templates
      Avatars
      Breakout Rooms
      Polls & Q&A
      Recording & Transcription
      Teams Premium Features
      Virtual Appointments
      CVI Policies
    Audio Conferencing
      Conference Bridge
      Toll & Toll-Free Numbers
      Per-User Numbers
      Dial-Out Settings
    Webinars
      Webinar Policies
      Registration
      Presenter Roles
      In-Org vs Public
      Advanced Features
    Town Halls
      Town Hall Settings
      eCDN Configuration
      Advanced Features
      Viva Engage Integration

🎥 2.1 Configure and Manage Teams Meetings

Meeting Policies

Meeting policies are assigned to users and control what features are available when they organize or participate in meetings:

Policy Category Key Settings
General AllowMeetNow, AllowChannelMeetingScheduling, AllowPrivateMeetingScheduling
Recording & transcription AllowCloudRecording, AllowTranscription, RecordingStorageMode
Audio & video AllowIPVideo, AllowIPAudio, MediaBitRateKb
Content sharing AllowScreenContentDigitization, AllowExternalParticipantGiveRequestControl
Participants & guests AllowAnonymousUsersToJoinMeeting, AutoAdmittedUsers
Engagement AllowMeetingReactions, AllowMeetingChat 
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# Create a custom meeting policy
New-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity "ExecutiveMeetings" `
    -AllowCloudRecording $true `
    -AllowTranscription $true `
    -AllowIPVideo $true `
    -AutoAdmittedUsers "EveryoneInCompany"

# Assign to a user
Grant-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity user@domain.com -PolicyName "ExecutiveMeetings"

Meeting Settings (Tenant-Wide)

Meeting settings apply to all meetings in the tenant — they are not per-user:

Setting Purpose
Anonymous join Allow/block anonymous (unauthenticated) users from joining meetings
Meeting invitation customization Add logo, legal URL, help URL, footer text to meeting invites
Network settings Configure IP ranges for media bypass and QoS
Email communication Control whether Teams sends email notifications for meetings

Meeting Templates & Template Policies

Concept Description
Meeting templates Pre-configured meeting settings (who can present, recording, lobby bypass) applied at scheduling time
Custom templates Created by admins in Teams Admin Center — enforce specific settings
Template policies Control which templates are available to which users
Controlled-content policies Restrict what meeting features are available based on template (Teams Premium)

Meeting Features

Feature Description License Required
Breakout rooms Split meeting into smaller groups for discussion Standard
Polls & forms Interactive polls using Microsoft Forms Standard
Q&A Structured question and answer panel Standard
Meeting apps Third-party apps pinned to meeting stage Standard
Avatars 3D avatar representation in meetings Teams Premium
Custom branding Organization logo and colors in lobby/meeting Teams Premium
Watermarks Watermark on video feeds and shared content Teams Premium
End-to-end encryption E2EE for 1:1 and group calls/meetings Teams Premium

Recording & Transcription

Setting Details
Recording storage OneDrive (non-channel meetings) or SharePoint (channel meetings)
Transcription Enables real-time captions and post-meeting transcript
Copilot dependency Microsoft 365 Copilot in meetings requires transcription to be enabled
Expiration Recordings can auto-expire (default: 120 days, configurable)
Recording consent Compliance recording can be enforced via policy

Virtual Appointments

Feature Details
Purpose Scheduled B2C meetings (healthcare, financial services, retail)
SMS notifications Send SMS reminders to external attendees
Waiting room Custom branded waiting experience
Advanced policies Lobby customization, analytics, queue management (Teams Premium)

Cloud Video Interop (CVI) Policies

Setting Purpose
CVI policy Controls whether users’ meetings include CVI coordinates for third-party video devices
Providers Pexip, Poly, BlueJeans, Cisco (via certified CVI partners)

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Meeting policies apply to the user (organizer or participant), not to the meeting itself
  • Meeting settings are tenant-wide and cannot be scoped to specific users
  • Recording storage moved from Stream (Classic) to OneDrive/SharePoint — know where recordings go
  • Copilot in meetings requires both a Copilot license and transcription enabled in meeting policy
  • Teams Premium features (watermarks, branding, avatars) require the add-on license even for E5 users

🎧 2.2 Configure and Manage Audio Conferencing

Audio Conferencing Bridge

The Audio Conferencing bridge provides dial-in phone numbers for Teams meetings:

Component Description
Shared numbers Microsoft-provided toll numbers shared across the tenant
Dedicated numbers Toll or toll-free numbers assigned to specific users
Default bridge number The number shown on all meeting invitations by default
Bridge settings PIN length, entry/exit notifications, meeting join behavior

Configuration Steps

Step Action
1 Assign Audio Conferencing license to users
2 Configure the default bridge number (toll)
3 Add additional bridge numbers (toll and toll-free)
4 Assign dedicated numbers to specific users if needed
5 Configure toll-free numbers (requires Communication Credits)
6 Set dial-out policy (who can dial out from meetings)
7 Customize meeting invitation phone numbers per user 
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# View conference bridge numbers
Get-CsOnlineDialInConferencingBridge

# Assign a dedicated number to a user
Set-CsOnlineDialInConferencingUser -Identity user@domain.com `
    -ServiceNumber "+14255551234"

# Configure toll-free numbers
Set-CsOnlineDialInConferencingUser -Identity user@domain.com `
    -TollFreeServiceNumber "+18005551234"

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Toll-free numbers on the conference bridge require Communication Credits set up and funded
  • Users’ default dial-in number is based on their usage location setting
  • The conference bridge PIN is used by organizers to start meetings when they’re the first to join via phone
  • Audio Conferencing is included in M365 E5 — for E3/E1 it’s a separate add-on

🎤 2.3 Configure and Manage Teams Webinars

Webinar Configuration

Setting Options
Who can schedule webinars Controlled via meeting policy (AllowMeetingRegistration)
Registration Required for attendees — captures name, email, custom questions
In-org vs. public In-org webinars limit registration to tenant users; public allows anyone
Presenter roles Organizer, co-organizer, presenter (can share, unmute), attendee (view-only)
Engagement reports Post-event registration and attendance analytics

Webinar Policies 

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# Allow webinar scheduling
Set-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity "WebinarOrganizers" `
    -AllowMeetingRegistration $true `
    -WhoCanRegister "Everyone"   # or "EveryoneInCompany"

# Grant to users
Grant-CsTeamsMeetingPolicy -Identity user@domain.com -PolicyName "WebinarOrganizers"

Advanced Webinar Features (Teams Premium)

Feature Description
Custom registration Branded registration page with custom questions
Waitlist When webinar is full, attendees join waitlist
Manual approval Organizer approves/denies registrations
Reminder emails Automated email reminders before the event
Attendee interaction Controlled chat, reactions, Q&A for attendees

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Webinar is a meeting type, not a separate product — it’s controlled through meeting policies
  • Public webinars allow external anonymous registration — in-org restricts to authenticated tenant users
  • Advanced webinar features (waitlist, manual approval, custom branding) require Teams Premium

🏛️ 2.4 Configure and Manage Teams Town Halls

Town Hall Configuration

Setting Details
Who can schedule Controlled via meeting policy
Capacity Up to 10,000 attendees (20,000 with Teams Premium)
Roles Organizer, co-organizer, presenter, attendee
Q&A Structured Q&A with moderation
Attendee experience View-only — no audio/video/screen sharing for attendees

Town Hall vs. Webinar vs. Meeting

Feature Meeting Webinar Town Hall
Interaction Full (audio, video, chat) Presenters + limited attendee Presenters only; attendees view
Registration No Yes No
Max capacity 1,000 1,000 10,000–20,000
Q&A Optional Optional Built-in
eCDN No No Yes
Recording Yes Yes Yes
Breakout rooms Yes No No

eCDN for Town Halls

Configuration Details
Microsoft eCDN Built-in — enable in Teams Admin Center
Third-party eCDN Hive, Kollective, Ramp — requires partner setup
Purpose Reduces network bandwidth for large same-site audiences
How it works Peer-to-peer content distribution among viewers at the same site

Town Halls with Viva Engage and Stream

Integration Description
Viva Engage Host town halls within Viva Engage communities — combines social engagement with broadcast
Microsoft Stream Town hall recordings are stored in Stream (on SharePoint) for on-demand viewing

Advanced Town Hall Features (Teams Premium)

Feature Description
Capacity beyond 10,000 Up to 20,000 attendees
Custom branding Organization logo and colors
RTMP-in Ingest external video feeds (e.g., production cameras)
VOD (Video on Demand) Published recording for on-demand viewing

⚠️ Exam Caveat:

  • Town halls replaced Live Events — know the migration path
  • eCDN is primarily useful for town halls, not regular meetings or webinars
  • Attendees in town halls are view-only — they cannot unmute, share video, or share screen
  • Viva Engage town halls combine Yammer-style social engagement with the Teams broadcast experience
  • Town hall Q&A is the primary attendee interaction method — it supports moderation

📝 Quick-Reference Scenarios

Scenario Answer
CEO wants to address 8,000 employees with Q&A Town hall
Marketing wants a branded event with registration for 500 external attendees Webinar with Teams Premium (custom branding)
Need to add dial-in numbers to all meetings Audio Conferencing license + configure conference bridge
Toll-free dial-in numbers not working Verify Communication Credits are set up and funded
Need to restrict recording in sensitive meetings Create meeting policy with AllowCloudRecording = $false
Third-party Cisco video rooms need to join Teams meetings Configure Cloud Video Interop (CVI) policy
Meeting recordings expiring too soon Adjust recording expiration setting in meeting policy
Copilot not available in meetings for licensed users Enable transcription in meeting policy
Need to enforce specific meeting settings for executives Create meeting template with locked settings
Large event causing bandwidth issues at office Enable Microsoft eCDN for town halls

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