Remote Meeting English: Phrases for Video Calls
The exact phrases for every stage of a remote meeting: joining, asking to speak, clarifying, handling technical issues, and closing professionally.
Remote video calls are now the default format for most IT teams. Whether you’re in a sprint review, a technical interview, a cross-timezone planning session, or a client demo — you need to navigate video meetings with confidence in English.
The challenge isn’t grammar. It’s knowing the right phrase for each moment: how to join without disruption, how to ask for the floor politely, how to signal confusion without seeming incompetent, and how to handle the awkward silence when the audio drops.
This guide covers every stage of a remote meeting with the phrases that actually work.
Joining the Meeting
The first 30 seconds set the tone. These phrases help you enter professionally:
When you arrival on time:
“Hi everyone — [Your name] here, joining from [city/office].” “Good [morning / afternoon], can everyone hear me okay?” “Hi team, just joining. [Name], can you hear me alright?”
When you arrive a few minutes late:
“Sorry for joining late — had a connectivity issue. Happy to catch up on what I missed.” “Apologies for being late. Please continue — I’ll follow along.” “Hi sorry — [brief reason]. What are we discussing?”
When it’s your first time with this group:
“Hi, I’m [Name] — I’m the [role] on the [team]. Good to meet everyone.”
Checking Audio and Video
Technical issues are universal. Knowing the phrases takes the stress out of them.
Checking your own setup:
“Can everyone hear me clearly?” “Is my audio coming through okay?” “Let me check my mic — can you confirm you can hear me?”
When you can’t hear someone:
“Sorry, you broke up there — could you repeat that?” “I’m having trouble hearing you. Could you speak a bit louder?” “I think there might be a connection issue on your end — we can hear some background noise.”
When someone’s screen share isn’t working:
“I can see your screen — go ahead.” “The share hasn’t started on our end yet. Could you try again?” “Your screen share cut out — could you reshare?”
When you need to drop and rejoin:
“I’m going to drop and rejoin — I’m having audio issues. Back in 30 seconds.”
Starting and Facilitating
Opening the meeting:
“Let’s get started — we have [X] items on the agenda today.” “I’ll share my screen in a moment. Before I do, quick agenda check: [item 1], [item 2], [item 3]. Any additions?” “Thanks for joining — I know some of you have a hard stop at [time], so let’s keep moving.”
Checking attendance:
“Are we waiting for anyone else, or shall we start?” “I see [Name] isn’t on yet — let’s give it two more minutes and then begin.”
Moving between agenda items:
“Let’s move on to the next item: [topic].” “We’re running a bit over — let’s table [topic] and follow up async.” “Can we park that for now and come back to it at the end if we have time?”
Asking to Speak and Taking the Floor
Video calls make interrupting difficult — these phrases help you join the conversation politely.
Signalling you want to speak:
“If I could just add something here…” “Can I jump in quickly?” “Before we move on — I had a thought on that.”
Actually taking the floor:
“So what I wanted to say was…” “Just to add to what [Name] said…” “I’d push back slightly on that — here’s my concern:”
Handing back to someone:
“That’s all I wanted to add — [Name], did you want to continue?” “Over to you, [Name].” “I’ll hand it back to [Name] now.”
When two people start speaking at once:
“Sorry — go ahead, [Name].” “Please, after you.”
Asking for Clarification
These phrases let you check understanding without sounding lost:
When you didn’t hear:
“Sorry, could you repeat that? I missed the last part.” “Could you say that again? I think the audio cut out.”
When you heard but didn’t understand:
“Could you clarify what you mean by [term/phrase]?” “Just to make sure I understand — are you saying [your interpretation]?” “Could you expand on that? I want to make sure I follow.”
Checking your own understanding:
“So if I understand correctly, [your summary]. Is that right?” “Let me make sure I’ve got this: we’ll [action] by [date], and [Name] is the owner. Does that match everyone’s understanding?”
Giving Your Technical Opinion
Agreeing:
“I agree — and I’d also add that…” “That makes sense to me. The only thing I’d flag is…” “Completely on board with that approach.”
Disagreeing diplomatically:
“I see where you’re coming from, but I have a different take on this.” “That’s one way to approach it. I’d suggest considering [alternative] because…” “I’d push back slightly here — my concern is [reason].”
When you’re not sure:
“I don’t have a strong opinion either way — I’d defer to whoever has more context on this.” “I’d want to look at the data before committing to that direction.” “I’m not sure off the top of my head — can I come back to you on that after the call?”
Presenting Technical Content
When you share your screen or walk through technical content:
Starting your presentation:
“Let me share my screen. Is everyone seeing [what you shared]?” “I’ll walk you through the architecture. Feel free to interrupt with questions as I go.” “I’ll show you the current state and then explain the proposed changes.”
Guiding attention on screen:
“If you look at the top-right of the diagram…” “The highlighted section here shows…” “Ignore the bottom part for now — we’ll get to that later.”
Handling questions mid-presentation:
“Great question — I’ll cover that in the next slide.” “Let me address that now since it’s relevant here.” “I’ll come back to that — I don’t want to lose my thread.”
Remote Meeting Etiquette Phrases
When you need a moment:
“Bear with me one second — I’m just pulling up the file.” “Sorry — one moment, I’m just switching screens.”
When you need to put yourself on mute:
“I’ll mute myself while you’re presenting.” “Sorry about the background noise — I’m in a café. I’ll mute when I’m not speaking.”
When you need to step away briefly:
“I’ll be back in two minutes — please continue without me.”
When you want to check if others have questions:
“Any questions before I move on?” “Does that make sense to everyone?” “I’ll pause here — anyone want to add anything?”
Closing a Meeting
Strong closings ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
Summarising decisions:
“To summarise what we’ve agreed: [decision 1], [decision 2], [decision 3].” “Before we close — let me confirm the action items.”
Assigning action items:
“[Name] — you’ll [action] by [date]. Is that confirmed?” “We agreed that [Name] will [action]. [Name], does that work for your timeline?”
Scheduling follow-up:
“Let’s pick this up in the next sprint review.” “I’ll send a calendar invite for the follow-up. Does [day/time] work for everyone?” “I’ll summarise the key decisions and action items in an email after this call.”
Closing phrases:
“Thanks everyone — that was productive. Talk soon.” “That’s all we have for today. Thanks for your time.” “I’ll send the notes around shortly. Thanks, everyone.”
Quick Reference: Phrases by Situation
| Situation | Phrase |
|---|---|
| Can’t hear someone | ”You broke up — could you repeat that?” |
| Want to interrupt politely | ”Can I jump in quickly?” |
| Didn’t understand | ”Could you clarify what you mean by…?” |
| Checking understanding | ”So if I understand correctly… is that right?” |
| Disagreeing politely | ”I’d push back slightly — my concern is…” |
| Not sure of the answer | ”I’d want to look at this before committing — can I come back to you?” |
| Handing the floor to someone | ”Over to you, [Name].” |
| Confirming action items | ”[Name] will [action] by [date] — confirmed?” |
| Closing the meeting | ”I’ll send the notes after this call. Thanks, everyone.” |
A Note on Time Zones
Remote teams span multiple time zones. Always:
- Specify the time zone when scheduling: “3pm CET / 2pm UTC / 9am EST”
- Don’t assume “morning” or “EOD” — they mean different things everywhere
- Say “I have a hard stop at [time]” to signal you must leave on time
“Just flagging — I have a hard stop at 3:30 CET, so I’ll need to drop then. Can we cover [priority item] first?”