Exercise 2, Task 2: Use Copilot Chat to prepare for a town hall meeting

Now that the launch announcement for TR‑Pulse is live, Trey Research is preparing for its first TR‑Pulse quarterly town hall—a cornerstone of the new communication experience. This town hall is designed to bring TR‑Pulse to life by giving employees direct visibility into recent progress, leadership priorities, and how employee feedback is shaping next steps.

One of the core promises of TR‑Pulse is responsible transparency: sharing what’s working, acknowledging what’s not, and clearly communicating what actions leadership is taking. To deliver on that promise, the Communications team must help executives translate complex project data and candid employee feedback into messaging that feels open, empathetic, and grounded in reality—without overwhelming or sanitizing the truth.

As Trey Research’s Communications Manager, your role is to support leadership by preparing employee‑centered discussion topics for the TR‑Pulse town hall. You plan to use Microsoft Copilot Chat to synthesize recent project updates and employee engagement survey results into a structured, presentation‑ready discussion outline that:

• Highlights meaningful progress and momentum
• Transparently addresses areas of employee concern
• Reinforces trust by clearly naming challenges and commitments
• Ends with a motivating call to action that demonstrates accountability

This task demonstrates how Copilot can help Communications teams close the loop—turning employee input and operational updates into credible leadership communication that aligns with TR‑Pulse’s goals of trust, clarity, and connection.

Using Copilot Chat

In Copilot Chat on the web, the response mode selector lets you control how much time and reasoning Copilot uses when answering your prompt. You can leave it set to Auto (the default option) so Copilot balances speed and depth for you, or choose a faster or more in-depth response style depending on the task.

In Work IQ mode, Copilot chat is optimized for secure, work-context queries, while when Work IQ mode is disabled it operates in Web mode and retrieves external information from public sources. In either mode, you can use the response mode selector to choose between faster responses or deeper reasoning, or leave it set to Auto to let Copilot decide the appropriate response depth.

If you’ve used Copilot in Excel, you know that it also includes a response control selector. However, its options are different from the Copilot chat selector. In Copilot Chat, the selector controls how deeply Copilot reasons about your request. In Excel, the selector controls which AI model performs the work. Although these selectors might look similar, they control different aspects of Copilot and aren’t the same setting.

Perform the following steps to complete this task:

1. Select the following links to download the files used in this exercise:

   • Trey Research Year-End Survey Results.xlsx
   • Trey Research Q1 Project Status Summary.docx

2. Store the downloaded files into your OneDrive.

3. In your web browser, go to the Microsoft Copilot home page.

4. Since you want Copilot to use the Trey Research Q1 Project Status Summary.docx as its knowledge source, turn on the Work IQ toggle if not already enabled.

5. Attach the Trey Research Q1 Project Status Summary.docx file to the prompt.

6. In the prompt field, ask Copilot to review the attached document and identify the top five project updates to be featured in the upcoming TR‑Pulse town hall. It should prioritize projects based on business impact, alignment with company goals (for example, sustainability, innovation, and efficiency), and level of progress and cross-functional visibility. For each selected project, it should provide a brief in-depth summary that includes: Project name, Industry segment, Current status, Strategic importance (Why it matters), Quantified outcomes or business benefits (if available), Any executive or cross-functional visibility. Format the output for use in a leadership presentation.

7. Review the results. Everything looks good, so ask Copilot to create a downloadable Word document containing this analysis.

8. Download the document by closing the document preview if it’s open, selecting More options (…) next to the file name on the document card, and then selecting Download. Store the document in your OneDrive.

9. You now want Copilot Chat to review Trey Research’s year-end employee survey results. In Copilot Chat, attach the Trey Research Year-End Survey Results.xlsx file to the prompt.

10. In the prompt field, ask Copilot to review the attached employee survey results and summarize employee sentiment relevant to TR‑Pulse’s goals of transparency and trust. For each category, Copilot should provide:

    • A brief summary of overall sentiment (for example, positive, mixed, or areas of concern)
    • Key themes or patterns based on favorable and unfavorable responses
    • Notable highs or lows in specific questions that stand out
    • Opportunities for leadership to respond or improve engagement

    Conclude with a short paragraph summarizing company-wide morale and any cross-category trends. Use a tone suitable for leadership communication, with clear and actionable insights.

11. Review the results. Everything looks good, so ask Copilot to create a downloadable Word document containing this analysis.

12. Download the document using the download link. Alternatively, if the document preview is open, close it, select More options (…) next to the file name on the document card, and then select Download. Store the document in your OneDrive.

13. Now that Copilot Chat summarized both the TR‑Pulse project highlights and the employee feedback themes, attach the two generated documents to a new Copilot Chat prompt.

14. In the prompt field, ask Copilot to create a 30-minute discussion outline for the TR‑Pulse quarterly town hall that includes project highlights, employee feedback themes, and a closing motivational message for an employee town-hall meeting. In the closing section, include a Call to Action that identifies areas the leadership commits to addressing.

15. After reviewing Copilot’s response, you feel that it’s a bit formal and not very engaging. To correct this situation, ask Copilot to change the overall tone to a warm, employee‑aware voice for virtual audiences, and to rephrase the discussion topics to be more casual and engaging.

16. After reviewing Copilot’s response, you feel the tone is a bit too formal for a virtual, employee‑focused town hall. Ask Copilot to revise the outline using a warm, conversational, employee‑aware voice suitable for live and remote audiences.

17. Upon reviewing the revision, you notice that some employee feedback, especially areas needing improvement, feels overly softened. Ask Copilot to increase transparency by calling out specific unfavorable response percentages, naming low‑performing areas directly, and adding a note in the closing section such as: “We hear you—and here’s what we’re doing about it.”

18. Lastly, ask Copilot to update the Call to Action to explicitly acknowledge that leadership recognizes serious challenges related to recognition and work‑life balance, and that it’s committed to treating these items as top priorities moving forward. Emphasize why these factors matter to employee morale, productivity, and well‑being.

19. Review the final results. Once satisfied, ask Copilot to create a downloadable Word document containing the complete TR‑Pulse town hall discussion outline. Download and save the document in your OneDrive.