How the Spotlight Feature Works
You can see how this new feature works via a YouTube video made by Mike Tholfsen. While this feature was announced back in August 2020, it’s only just rolling out now.
To use the feature in a meeting, you need to have Presenter privileges. Once you do, you can “put the spotlight” on anyone in the call.
When someone receives a spotlight, their camera feed is prioritized over all others. This is useful when someone wants to give a talk, present data, or act as the main host.
Microsoft Teams already has a similar feature, which allows you to pin a feed to the front. However, pinning only changes what you see; nobody else sees your pins. As such, it’s only useful if you personally want to focus on a specific feed.
In comparison, spotlighting is a meeting-wide feature. When someone is spotlighted, that person’s feed becomes the primary focus for everyone in the meeting.
This update is Microsoft’s efforts to make Teams the best service in a post-pandemic remote working world. Recently, the company implemented automatic transcription into Microsoft Teams, which sped up how businesses carry out meetings.
Organizing Meetings Better With Spotlights
Microsoft is updating Teams to be the best service for remote workers, and this new spotlight feature is a step in the right direction. If you use Teams a lot, keep your eyes on Microsoft as the company continues to enhance the service.
With the world moving toward a fully-digital workspace, Microsoft is adapting teams to accommodate huge participant numbers. Recently, the company increased the maximum participant limit to 20,000 people.
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