Phone and video call etiquette for remote work
For anyone who joins calls from home or on the move: office and operations staff, coordinators, sales and support people, and team members in hybrid teams. It builds on 'Chat, channels and online meetings: working well and safely', so take that course first. You'll prepare your audio, video and surroundings before a call; take part without talking over people using mute, raise hand and live captions; share a screen without exposing other windows, notifications or control of your computer; protect a call's privacy by checking who has joined, spotting recordings and AI attendees and keeping links private; and set up voicemail, out-of-office greetings and call answering rules so phone callers reach someone useful. Examples use Microsoft Teams and Google Meet help pages and the UK NCSC's online meetings guidance; your organisation's rules on recording, AI tools and home working come first. Ends with a supervisor-observed mock call.
- Level
- Beginner
- Length
- About 80 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Prepare your audio, video and surroundings before joining a remote call
- Use mute, raise hand and live captions to take part in a video call without talking over others
- Share your screen in a call without exposing other windows, notifications or control of your computer
- Protect a remote call's privacy: check who has joined, spot recordings and AI attendees, and keep meeting links private
- Set up voicemail, out-of-office greetings and call answering rules so phone callers reach you or a useful message
Course outline
- 1.Prepare your audio, video and surroundings before joining a remote callLesson · 13 min
- 2.Use mute, raise hand and live captions to take part in a video call without talking over othersLesson · 12 min
- 3.Share your screen in a call without exposing other windows, notifications or control of your computerLesson · 13 min
- 4.Protect a remote call's privacy: check who has joined, spot recordings and AI attendees, and keep links privateLesson · 12 min
- 5.Set up voicemail, out-of-office greetings and call answering rules so phone callers reach you or a useful messageLesson · 12 min
- 6.Phone and video call etiquette for remote work: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 14 questions
- 7.Phone and video call etiquette for remote work: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- NCSC: How to secure your online meetings (published 19 March 2026)
- Microsoft Support: Mute and unmute your mic in Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Support: Change your background in Microsoft Teams meetings
- Microsoft Support: Raise your hand in Microsoft Teams meetings
- Microsoft Support: Present content in Microsoft Teams meetings
- Microsoft Support: Use live captions in Microsoft Teams meetings
- Microsoft Support: Reduce background noise in Microsoft Teams meetings
- Microsoft Support: Manage your call settings in Microsoft Teams (devices, test call, voicemail, call answer rules)
- Google Meet Help: Change backgrounds & effects in Google Meet
- Google Meet Help: Present during a video meeting
- Google Meet Help: Improve your video & audio experience
- Google Meet Help: Use live captions in Google Meet
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.