Work Smart by Microsoft ITSuccessful meetings with Lync 2010Customization note: This document contains guidance and/or step-by-step installation instructions that can be reused, customized, or deleted entirely if they do not apply to your organization’s environment or installation scenarios. The text marked by yellow highlighting indicates either customization guidance or organization-specific variables. All of the highlighted text in this document should either be deleted or replaced prior to distribution.

Traditional meetings, large and small, can be a challenge when people are spread out over long distances and include internal and external participants. Communication technology can overcome physical boundaries by allowing people to attend from any location by using Internet or phone access. By understanding best practices and using Microsoft Lync 2010 communications software, you’re on your way to conducting or participating in successful meetings.

Topics in this guide include:

For more information

Installing and using the Lync 2010 mobile client

Using Lync for an online meeting or conference call

Using Lync to place a call

Preparing your computer to use Lync for meetings

Applying best practices for meetings

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Applying best practices for meetingsA successful meeting is one that runs smoothly. A meeting is more likely to run smoothly when all participants—attendees and presenters—apply best practices.

Best practices for attendees include the following:

Use a wired Ethernet connection whenever possible, because it offers a more reliable network experience. If you’re using Wi-Fi and you experience audio quality or network reliability issues, try switching to a wired connection. You may need to rejoin or restart the call after you change your network connection.

Be prepared to use an alternative method of connecting to the meeting in case you get disconnected.

If your network is unreliable, consider dialing in to the conference bridge and using your PC for Microsoft PowerPoint presentations or desktop sharing only.

Use one of the recommended audio devices. Many current laptop microphones/speakers or webcam microphones may introduce echoes or other audio issues. These issues can cause distractions to others or draw unwanted attention to you in the meeting. It’s important to note that the creator of audio anomalies rarely hears them.

Mute your audio unless you’re speaking. This will avoid introducing any unnecessary typing sounds, background noise, and so on. It’s also worth noting that if you have a camera plugged in and you’re not muted, the slightest noise will cause you and your video to be shown as the active speaker.

When multiple people are in the same conference room, only one computer should log on to the online meeting, to prevent audio feedback. If you must log on while someone else is logged on, make sure that the microphone and speaker on your computer are muted.

Best practices for presenters include the following:

Provide a clear and complete invitation. Include a meeting agenda as part of your invitation to let everyone know the purpose of the meeting and to help keep the meeting on track.

Consider using a Microsoft SharePoint site to manage your agenda items and meeting notes. Join your meeting early and get your content ready. Upload documents, programs to be shared,

or presentation slides a few minutes before the meeting starts. Set up and test your audio and video devices before your attendees join. Set your screen display to 1024 × 768 pixels so that your participants have a good viewing

experience. If you must use a Tablet PC (not recommended), set the screen to portrait mode by using a screen resolution of 800 × 600.

3 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

Use your mute capabilities. If a participant is creating a poor audio experience for the rest of the meeting attendees, mute them or ask them to rejoin the meeting by using a recommended audio device or a telephone. By default, you’re automatically muted when you join a conference by using Lync but not when you join by using a telephone.

If you’re using both a physical meeting room and a virtual meeting, ensure that side conversations in the room are not providing a bad experience to online participants.

Enlist the help of an assistant when you’re conducting large meetings. Ask the assistant to monitor the meeting for technical problems, to help field questions, and to run meeting polls.

Preparing your computer to use Lync for meetingsTo set up your computer to use Lync for online meetings:

1. Install the Lync software.2. Select an approved audio device. An audio device, such as a headset with a microphone,

enables you to use the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) component of Lync to connect to an audio conference by using your computer. For a list of your organization’s approved audio devices, see URL.

3. Select an approved video camera (webcam). You use a webcam to participate in video conferencing through Lync. For a list of your organization’s approved video cameras, see URL.

4. Set up Enterprise Voice, if Enterprise Voice is available at your work site. For a list of Enterprise Voice–enabled sites, see URL. Sign up for Enterprise Voice to integrate voice communications with email, instant

messaging, and online meetings. Install the Enterprise Voice device. For more information about Enterprise Voice devices, see

URL. Get Enterprise Voice training, see URL.

To test your audio device:

1. In the Lync main window, tap or click the Audio Device icon (on the lower-left side).

2. Tap or click Audio Device Settings.

3. Verify that your audio device is correctly recognized. Also verify that your webcam is not your default audio device.

To test your webcam:

1. In Lync main window, tap or click the Audio Device icon (on the lower-left side).

4 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

2. Tap or click Audio Device Settings.3. Under Video Device, verify that your video device is selected and the

preview is working properly.4. Tap or click OK, and then tap or click OK again.

Using Lync to place a callLync works best for meetings when you need to have real-time conversations with small numbers of people. You can place:

Phone calls if you have an Enterprise Voice account and an Enterprise Voice device. The contact can receive a call on any phone.

Video calls if you have a webcam. The contact can view your video feed even if the contact doesn’t have a webcam. If the contact has a webcam, you can see the video feed for that contact in your Lync conversation window.

To make a phone call in one tap or click:

In the Contacts list, tap or click the contact’s Call button.To call an alternate phone number:

In the Contacts list, tap or click the arrow to the right of the Call button, and then tap or click the number that you want to call.

To enter a phone number to call:

Type the number in the Search box, and then tap or click the Call button next to the number as it appears in the Search Results box. You can enter an internal phone extension, an external number, an alphanumeric number, or a contact’s name.

To invite someone to a call:

In the conversation window, under People Options on the right side, tap or click the Invite by Name or Phone Number button, and then select a contact, enter a name, or enter a number to call.

Alternatively, you can drag a contact that you want to invite from your Lync Contacts list to the call window.

To start a video call:

In the Contacts list, right-click a contact, and then tap or click Start a Video Call. After the video call is accepted, the conversation window expands to display the video.Tip: Be aware that video uses more bandwidth, so it’s better to use a wired network connection.

To search for a contact by using keywords that describe the contact’s skill set, area of interest, or company name:

1. On the search bar in the Lync main window, type the keyword that you want to search by.

2. Click Skill. The Skill Search feature searches for contacts that match the keyword.

5 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

Using Lync for an online meeting or conference callYou can use the Online Meeting Add-in for Lync 2010 to schedule a Lync 2010 online meeting or conference call from the Microsoft Outlook 2010 messaging and collaboration client. The add-in is installed automatically when you install the Lync software. Online meeting tools that are integrated into Outlook 2010 work best when you need scheduled or unplanned conferences with both internal and external participants (up to 250 people).

Attendees can be placed in a virtual lobby, which helps you control access when you’re the meeting organizer. The meeting roster clearly displays the titles and names of the attendees.

Scheduling an online meeting or conference callTo schedule an online meeting or conference call:

1. On the Home tab in Outlook, tap or click Calendar, and then tap or click the New Online Meeting button.

Note: Lync supports both online meetings and conference calls. One meeting request is used for both purposes.

2. On the Subject line, type your meeting subject.3. On the To line, type the email addresses for your invitees. Use a semicolon to separate the

addresses. You can also use your Outlook address book to select your invitees.

6 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

4. To change the presenter settings (everyone is a presenter by default), tap or click the Meeting Options button in the invitation window, and then select the appropriate level under Presenters.

5. To customize the dial-in settings, including the dial-in phone number that appears in your meeting invitation, tap or click Audio and Phone on the left side, make the customizations that you want, and then click OK.

6. When the meeting invitation is as you want it, tap or click Send.

Joining an online meeting or conference callYou can join an online meeting or conference call from your computer over the Internet, or by using a traditional desk phone or mobile device, regardless of whether the attendees are members of the corporate network.

Notes:

Joining an online meeting doesn’t require a PIN. You’re authenticated automatically. If you’re an authenticated user, others will see your name appear in the call window or the

Attendee pane in the Online Meeting Add-in for Lync 2010.

7 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

Scenario 1: Join by using your office computerWhen you’re working on your office computer, you can use Lync and an approved audio device to join an online meeting. This is a typical scenario.

To join an online meeting by using your office computer:

1. In your Outlook Calendar, open the meeting that you want to join.2. In the meeting request, tap or click Join Online Meeting using Lync.

A Lync conversation window appears.

3. Wait for the other participants to join the meeting.Note: All the attendees are muted by default.

Scenario 2: Join by using any standard phoneWhen you’re away from your office or you don’t have an approved audio device, you can join an online meeting from any standard phone. Dial-in phone numbers are provided in the meeting invitation.

To join an online meeting by using a standard phone:

Dial the conference dial-in number and enter the Conference ID when you’re prompted.Scenario 3: Join by using any computer that has Internet accessWhen you’re away from your office but you have a computer and Internet access, you can join an online meeting by using your web browser.

To join an online meeting by using a web browser:

1. At the meeting time, open your email invitation, and then tap or click Join Online Meeting in the message.

2. On the Lync screen that appears, tap or click Join the meeting using your web browser.3. If you have an account with the organization that set up the meeting, tap or click Join using

your corporate credentials. Otherwise, tap or click Join as a guest.4. When you’re prompted, enter the Conference ID.Note: When you use your corporate credentials, you can join the meeting without waiting for the leader to approve you.

8 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

Sharing your desktop, an application, or a presentationDuring a conversation or an online meeting in Lync, you can easily share your desktop, an application, or a presentation.

To start sharing:

Tap or click Share on the Lync toolbar, and then select what you want the meeting participants to see.

Giving control of your desktopTo allow conversation or meeting participants to provide mouse and keyboard input to your desktop, tap or click the arrow next to Share on the Lync toolbar, and then tap or click Share Control with Participants. The participants will tap or click the Take Control button to control your desktop.

Adding videoTo add video to your meeting:

1. Tap or click Video on the Lync toolbar.2. Tap or click Add Video.

Note: When conferences include attendees both in a physical meeting room and attending virtually, RoundTable enables users to interact by using concurrent video and audio transmissions.

9 | Successful meetings with Lync 2010

Installing and using the Lync 2010 mobile clientIf you’re away from your desktop computer or any other computer, you can use your Windows Phone (or other mobile device that’s running the Lync 2010 mobile client) to keep up with instant messages and the availability of contacts. You can also join the audio portion of a Lync online meeting by using the Lync mobile client.

To learn about installing and using the Lync mobile client for Windows Phone, go to URL.

For more informationMicrosoft Lync product pagehttp://lync.microsoft.com/en-us/Pages/unified-communications.aspx

Work Smart by Microsoft IThttp://aka.ms/customerworksmart

Modern IT Experience featuring IT Showcasehttp://microsoft.com/microsoft-IT

This guide is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. © 2014 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.