father wearing headphones at computer dealing with his two distracting children

As Covid-19 runs roughshod over the globe, many businesses have had to shutter their offices and/or send employees to work from home in an effort to contain its spread. That means that suddenly phone meetings are taking the place of office meetings – and that a lot of people are abruptly having to cope with working remotely when they may never have done so before.

If you find that you have to have one of these meetings and you haven't done it before—or even if you have—you'll need some guidelines on how to do so, so that you don't shoot yourself in the foot by, say, forgetting to include some people who would have been invited had they been in the office or failing to make sure everyone has the necessary materials in advance.

And it's not just for the person running the meeting; those on the other end of the phone line need to follow some basic rules, particularly since they may now be working in the same space as a spouse or partner who is also suddenly working from home.

Below you'll find some suggestions from a range of sources, including Miro.com, Slack.com, Fast Company and Interaction Associates, for best practices on how to make those meetings work, even under today's difficult circumstances.

15. Review: Review your list of desired attendees to make sure you've included all the stakeholders.

14. Verify: Verify that schedules don't conflict and choose a time, insofar as possible, that includes employees in different time zones.

13. Check: Check with employees to see whether they can Skype or use other computer-based conferencing. If not, make sure they have a phone number for dialing in and a password for the meeting.

12. Procedures: Review the dial-in or login procedure with any attendees unfamiliar with the process, and perhaps even conduct a dry run before the actual meeting.

11. Send: Send out agendas and any additional materials in advance, so that everyone is on the same page.

10. Introduce: Make sure to introduce and/or recognize the attendees, just as you would if you were all in the office.

9. Mute: Remind everyone to mute their lines when not speaking so that others can be heard.

8. One at a time: And while you're at it, remind everyone not to speak at once. If you're running the meeting, make sure everyone has a chance to speak uninterrupted.

7. Ask: Make sure to solicit input from your participants; participation will hold their interest.

6. Minutes: When the meeting is over, don't forget to send out minutes and supporting documentation, as well as any recordings.

5. Camera: Those working from home need to be mindful of any live video links, lest they show up in their pajamas not realizing that others can see them.

4. Sounds: If you're at home, don't dial in to the call from the bathroom and expect that potentially embarrassing sounds won't be heard. They may not be remarked on, but they'll be noticed.

3. Quiet: If you and your partner are both working from home, be considerate about where you set up your teleconference so that your significant other, also trying to focus on work, isn't sucked into your meeting instead of concentrating on his/her own reports.

2. Prepare: Make sure all your materials are prepared and in good order, just as you would if you were attending a meeting in the office.

1. Resist: Resist the urge to play solitaire or Minesweep while you listen to others' presentations.

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15 best practices for remote phone meetings

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