# Create a meeting You can start a new meeting in MeetingTrack in three ways: - From your **dashboard** - From the **navigation bar** - From the **Meetings** tab Choose one of these routes and then follow the steps below. 1. You will arrive at the **meeting creation screen**. 2. Enter the **name of the meeting**. 3. Choose whether it will be a **private meeting** or a **public meeting**: - Private: visible only to the participants - Public: visible to all workspace members 4. Optionally add a **reference** to easily find meetings later via the references tab or filters. (More info can be found in the references demo.) 5. Enter a **goal** or **description**. This helps clarify the purpose of the meeting and achieve results faster. 6. Set the **date and time**. 7. If you have connected your Microsoft account, you can send **calendar invites** to participants. (See the Microsoft integration demo.) 8. Specify the **location** of the meeting. 9. Choose whether the meeting will be held in **Microsoft Teams**. With this option, a Teams link is added automatically. 10. Enter the **chairperson** and **minute-taker**. These people may edit the meeting and take minutes. 11. Add **participants**: - **Participants:** members of your workspace who are present - **External participants:** people outside your workspace (such as clients or partners). You can email them the minutes afterwards or give them access to the guest portal. 12. Add **informed users**: members of your workspace who do not participate but may view minutes and decisions. 13. Choose whether **everyone may take minutes** or only the chairperson/minute-taker. 14. Click **Create meeting** to start. Your meeting is now ready and you can start minute-taking immediately. Want to know how to take minutes? See [[Taking minutes during a meeting]].