Thursday 9am - Technical Information

For the Secretary/Chair to read before leading a phone bridge meeting

 As the Secretary/Chair for this meeting you will be given a “leader code” that will give you more features on the key pad than other members.

          Here is some information that will help before dialing into the meeting once you have been given the leader code.

1. Dial the phone number and then use the regular pin number followed by the # sign that everyone else uses.

2. There will be a voice prompt after entering the regular pin # that says “IF YOU ARE THE MODERATOR PLEASE PRESS 1.”

3. Follow the prompt and Press 1. The word “moderator” and “leader” mean the same thing.

4. The voice prompt will again say “PLEASE ENTER THE MODERATOR PIN (Leader Code) number FOLLOWED BY THE # SIGN”.

5. You will join the phone meeting muted after entering the leader code and # sign.  Press *1 to unmute yourself and then introduce yourself as the Secretary/Chair of the meeting. Press *0 for a menu of all features.

Probably one of the most important services you can give as the Secretary/Chair is to have the highest sound quality on the phone bridge system.  This means without background noise and weak sound quality. “Sound” is all we have for the phone meeting to work.

Background noise can be taken as disrespectful or interruptive while members are speaking.  As a trusted servant you can guide the meeting without background noise or interruptions to the best of your ability.

Along with your own skills; here are a few tips and a few pieces of information to help you: 

1. Technically the phone bridge system is built for “only” one person to be unmuted at a time.  This of course would include, You (the Secretary/Chair) as well as the Timekeeper to stay muted by using the *1 keys.  The timekeeper only unmutes to say “time”. The Secretary/Chair unmutes a few seconds before the member is done sharing to welcome the next share.  You can remind the timekeeper to please stay muted except to say “time”. (Only one line unmuted at a time).

2. As the Secretary/Chair (with the leader code) you are encouraged to use the *5   to clear the line to address the noise.  This ensures that members will be able to speak so their share can be heard.  Then the member can press the *1 keys to continue sharing without the previous background noise.  We call this “Cycling Through”. (Most of the time people forget to mute and don’t know they are not muted). This can be done by saying “Excuse the interruption, I’m going to clear the line” and then press *5 keys. You then could say, “Whoever was sharing please press *1 and begin again,” or “Whoever would now like to share please press *1 to unmute yourself.”

3. Some meetings have multiple readers. The extra unmuted lines will cause the reading to be heard by some but not by other members.

Here are some suggestions.

1. Organize the readers so they know the order they will be reading.

2. Then tell the rest of the readers to mute until a few seconds before it is their turn to read.

3. After each member reads remind them to mute again.

4. (AS A Rule of Thumb), just because you can hear does not mean that other members can.  These phones meetings have global coverage. Not all phones have equal sound. Only one line unmuted at a time will keep a clear worldwide phone line for everyone during the meeting.

These 4 technical points can promote safety, warmth and recovery similar to face to face meetings. This was written to assist you to know and understand the phone bridge technical features.

Thank you for taking the time to read these suggestions. If you need help, just ask.   Congratulations on doing service and beginning the flow that opens our heart to what it already knows---that we all need each other. 

Sincerely,

Your Web Coordinator

The Meeting Format Starts Now

(This is the part you read out loud)

FORMAT:

Thursday 9 am Gratitude Meeting

INTRODUCTION: We welcome you to the Thursday 9 am topic meeting on Gratitude. “This is a 90 minute meeting.” At this meeting we read selections from our 3 Meditation books on Gratitude which can be found in the index in each of the books.

1) My name is _____________, a grateful Al-Anon member and your chair/secretary for this meeting.

2) Please un-mute and open the meeting with the Serenity Prayer

3) Phone Etiquette:

a. Prior to joining the meeting, we ask members to temporarily disable their call waiting by dialing *70 before calling the number to the phone bridge (example *70-1-712-432-8733). If a member does not disable their call waiting, we may hear your conversation or beeping.

b. When you dial in, you will start the conference being muted.

c. Stay muted at all times unless you are sharing. You can un-mute by pressing your *1 keys. You will hear a voice saying “you are now un-muted”.  Some phones do not have a long enough beep for the muting and un-muting to happen. You may have to press *1 several times for this function to work. When the voice comes on, you will know that the *1 keys have worked. 

d. We ask members to use the *1keys to mute even if they have a mute function on their individual phones. The *1 keys ensures the greatest sound strength for the entire phone line and provides the greatest service to all members of the phone bridge during the meeting.

e. Please do not use a speaker phone for sharing or we will all hear an echo.  Some speaker phones will not mute even when pressing your *1 keys.

f. To hear a menu of all the features--such as volume control or member count--simply press * by itself.

4. Ask for volunteers to read:

a) Al-Anon’s Preamble to The Twelve Steps

b) Al-Anon’s 12 Steps (one page after December 31 in all three mediations books)

c) One Tradition & One Concept of the month (one and two pages respectively after the 12 Steps in all three meditation books)

5)   Let’s go around the globe and introduce ourselves. Hi, I am ______(Name)_____ from (_______State___)

6) Announcements: Reminder: This is a 90 minute meeting. The Business meeting is on the 1st Thursday of the month.

          We request a newcomer greeter to stay on the line and facilitate the after meeting.

(Note to secretary: On day of business meeting please request the newcomer greeter to leave their phone number for newcomers to call with any questions)

7) Readings:  At this meeting we read selections on the topic of Gratitude from our three meditation books, which can be found in the back of each of the books. (The daily readers are: One Day at a Time, Courage, to Change and Hope for Today) Can we please have 3 volunteers?

Following the readings and before the shares the secretary announces that the page numbers will be repeated at the end of the meeting.

8) ANONYMITY STATEMENT: In Al-Anon this is a gentle reminder that we speak from our own experience and ours is derived from living with the effects of alcoholism. We ask those who are members of other anonymous fellowships not to break their anonymity and to try and identify with the Al-Anon approach for the family illness. Ours is a different experience and calls for a different interpretation.

Please resist the desire to cross-talk, or to comment on another person’s share.

Your intention may be to show support, but, could be misinterpreted.

9) Timekeeper: Do we have a volunteer to be our spiritual timekeeper and will you be able to stay until 10:25? Thank you. The shares are 3 minutes. When the timekeeper gently says “time”, speakers are asked to acknowledge that they’ve heard the timekeeper and begin to wrap up their shares. The timekeeper is asked to stay muted at all times, unless he or she is saying, “time”.

10) Sharing:  We will now begin sharing.  Would our spiritual timekeeper like to share first?

11) CLOSING: It is now 3 minutes before the close of the meeting (90 minute meeting). Thank everyone for their service. Is there anyone who would like to leave their number for outreach or wants to request a number? We will give them out after we close the meeting. We will also read the list of all the Al-Anon phone meetings on the phone bridge. The bridge remains open for questions and sharing after the official meeting ends. Are there any available sponsors? Is there someone who can stay after the meeting to greet newcomers, answer questions and continue fellowship?

And now the suggested Al-Anon Closing

In closing, I would like to say that the opinions expressed here were strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest. The things you heard were spoken in confidence and should be treated as confidential. Keep them within the walls of this room and the confines of your mind.

A few special words to those of you who haven’t been with us long: Whatever your problems, there are those among us who have had them too. If we try to keep an open mind, we will find help. We come to realize that there is no situation too difficult not to be bettered and no unhappiness too great not to be lessened.

We aren’t perfect. The welcome we give you may not show the warmth we have in our hearts for you. After a while, you’ll discover that though you may not like all of us, you’ll love us in a very special way the same way we already love you.

Talk to each other, reason things out with someone else, but let there be no gossip or criticism of one another. Instead, let the understanding, love and peace of the program grow in you one day at a time. (Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual pg. 22)

Now would all who care to, please un-mute and join together to say The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

and wisdom to know the difference.

Meeting is now closed * Get numbers

Meeting Schedule

All Eastern Time Zones on the same phone and pin number as you dialed in for this meeting.

8am Saturday and Sunday

9am Weekdays (Monday thru Friday)

11am Sunday

12 noon Monday - Saturday

2pm Sunday

4pm 7 days a week

8pm 7 days a week

10pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

12 midnight Thursday