Class Etiquette

Please review the What to Do Before the Class

Call in to the class on time so the class can start on time with minimal interruption.  Classes will begin at the designated time and if you are late, we will not repeat content.  We do this to avoid interruption and create a smooth flowing class for all participants. If you’re late to the call, no problem, just dial in and be silent until you catch on to what’s being discussed. The moderator may or may not officially welcome you. That doesn’t mean you’re not welcome. Go to World Time Server to find your own corresponding time.

Find a nice, quiet space if possible for the call. Background noise, the dog barking, radio, etc., could be a problem for the other participants.

Some people breathe “heavier” than others do. Most of the heavy breathers don’t realize it… (who ME?) Be sure to hold the mouthpiece or telephone headset away from your mouth and nose until you are speaking. This may sound silly, but when you’re on a call with a heavy breather, you’ll understand why!

• Don’t use cell phones or cordless phones when possible. These phones frequently cause background noise and cause disruption to the class.  If you must call in from a cell phone, please be prepared to either mute yourself or hang up and call back on a different line if you bring an echo or static to the call.
• Speakerphones are wonderful things, but for the sake of your fellow participants, do not speak into them when sharing. Pick up the handset when you share and put the mute button on when you’re just listening. The clarity/quality simply isn’t good enough on any of these phones.

• Since your fellow participants can’t see you, they have no other way of knowing who is speaking. When you speak, be sure to lead with your name and city/state even if you’ve spoken previously as in, “Hi, this is Lisa again…” It may feel awkward at first, but it alerts others of your intent to speak and they won’t be preoccupied wondering who is speaking.
• Don’t shout, but speak slightly louder than conversational volume. If you have trouble hearing clearly, interrupt and say so.
• Please keep your questions or observations short and to the point.

If another caller says something that you want to comment on or ask more information about, please go through the moderator, rather than speaking to the person directly.

• If you have trouble placing the call, first double-check the time, time zone, and number of the call. Most difficulties are solved with this step.
• If the phone rings but won’t connect, one of two things has occurred. You might have mis-dialed or your timing is off. Check the number and redial. If still no success, again, check to see if you have the correct meeting time and are referencing the correct time zone.
• If you receive a busy signal, it means you dialed incorrectly. Check the number and dial again.
• If the phone rings and you receive a recorded message saying something like “All circuits are busy, please try your call again later, it means that not enough long distance lines are available to connect you. This sometimes happens between the hours of 7PM and 11PM. Keep trying.

If you need to interrupt your participation, please do not use the “hold” feature on your phone.  Different phone systems can cause music, ringing sounds, and other disruptions to those still on the call.  Please hang up and call back when you are ready to rejoin the call. It’s very difficult to conduct a class over the music or commercials piped in from your hold feature.

Use class handouts for recording information, not tape recorders.  Handouts will be emailed to you before or at the end of the class (depending on the class.) By law, you can only record a class with permission.