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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.