We love it when volunteers participate in Women’s Connection conference calls, whether it’s through prayer, questions, or creative ideas. Not long ago, we changed our conference call service. Room numbers have replaced pass codes (and we can turn off the dings when a new caller joins once the call’s program begins).

Here are some tips to help everyone get the most out of these phone conversations:

• We should announce our names and states when prompted so we get a good idea of the representation on the call. It’s fun to hear from long-time friends across the country, isn’t it?
• The program runs smoother when callers leave our phones on mute except for the times when we speak. To mute, we can use the mute button on our cell or press the “star” (*) key, then 2. This action (star-2 or “unmute”) also allows us to unmute our phones when we want to pray or talk. Then simply hit star-2 or “mute” again when we’re done sharing.To avoid unnecessary background noise during the call, we should make sure our phones are muted when-
  • we make a quick trip through the drive thru (Do we really want our peers across the country to know we supersize our fries?)
  • someone walks into the room and begins a conversation. This could be a husband complaining about the lawn mower or a grandchild finagling you out of something from the cookie jar.
  • there’s a radio or television playing the background.
  • pets bark at passersby or meow for treats. Fido and Fluffy may be adorable but their voices don’t add anything to the conversation on the call.
  • we slip the phone into our pockets to take them to another room or even walk around the block. The swish-swish-swishing from fabric friction leads listeners to think we’ve thrown the phone into the dishwasher.
• Oh, we shouldn’t put the call on “hold” either. “What’s New, Pussycat?” is not good background music for prayer, no matter how cute Tom Jones was back in the 1970s.

Simply put, it’s best to remember that when we aren’t sharing or praying, we need to mute our phones. Following these suggestions provides a more enjoyable and fruitful experience as we join our mission-minded friends across the country in prayer and conversation.