Please note that the suggestions below apply only to the Marijuana Anonymous Women in Recovery (WIR) Phone Meetings group. The goal is recovery for everyone, chairperson and participants alike.
Trusted Servant
- Please call in using the host code only when chairing a meeting.
- Do not pass on the host code to anyone (or without verifying with the chairperson coordinator).
- It is suggested that each chairperson build their own network of qualified chairpersons that they can call on for back up in case they are unable to chair a meeting they are scheduled for. *Qualified means someone known to have chaired a WIR in the recent past that already has the host code.
- Make an effort to attend WIR GC meetings but if unable, read the minutes to stay current with business decisions/discussions.
- The service commitment is for 6 months, you are welcome to continue longer, but we ask that this be the minimum. Please talk to the chairperson coordinator if this might be a problem. We are grateful for service.
Tips for chairing a meeting
- Please strive to be on the line five minutes before the meeting starts. Every minute or two mention that the meeting is going to start at the top of the hour. You can also mention the topic and encourage people to volunteer for reading. This helps newcomers that only hear silence on the line, it also lets everyone know that the chair is there. This is also a good time to clear the lines with *5 as mentioned in the technical tips.
- For the reading of the 12’s, (Questions, Steps, Traditions), generally at the start of a meeting only read one. Save the others to fill in if no one is sharing for an extended length of time. Try to encourage the reading of the steps and traditions.
- If you are the chairperson of a topic discussion meeting, please come prepared with a topic and have MA approved literature in case the line is quiet and you need to do a reading. When fellows suggest a topic, do your best to frame it around recovery or link it to a step.
- It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with all MA approved literature, including "Life with Hope" book and workbook, pamphlets, prayers and our publication, "A New Leaf". These can be valuable sources of topic inspiration or things to read to the group if the line is silent for an extended length of time.
- When asking for topics from the group, or when there is silence on the line, the chair may say “Newcomers feel free to share on whatever is going on with your recovery today”.
- A timekeeper will time the shares, if available. If no one volunteers, the chair will time the shares. Adhere to the timing of share requirements. This ensures that it is consistent and fair to all fellows. (Second shares can always be called for if the meeting is quiet). Be sure to require the one minute acknowledgement and be comfortable with giving a one minute notice. You can choose to say “one minute” or use a timer sound, or bell, just be sure to mention and explain how you will give the time notice. If a share exceeds 4-minutes please offer a gentle reminder at 4.5 minutes
- Please be sure to greet each person and respond to each share with a similar tone. Keep the newcomer in mind and the potential vulnerability to perceived exclusivity or favoritism.
- After each person shares, thank them and resist the urge to comment on their share. However, special situations call for brief consolation, such as when a person mentions a death or something similarly traumatic, but keep it brief. Saying, “Congratulations on your _#__ days” is appropriate as well. The meeting guidelines of no crosstalk, giving advice or criticism applies equally to the chairperson as well as participants. Crosstalk is discouraged, even to say ,”not to crosstalk, but…”. In other words, typically only say “thank you for sharing, glad you’re here, who’d like to share next.”
- Chairpersons may share the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline phone number (at bottom of the script page) after someone's share if they actively talk about committing suicide. Sharing the number is permitted but the guideline of not giving advice or criticism still applies.
- Note that as the chair of the meeting, you guide the meeting and are captain of the ship and thus can make a change at will should the situation call for it. Situations like this might be:
- A new person cross-talks inappropriately.
- A new person starts sharing when only a request for topic is asked for.
- Note: when the new person (or long-timer) is done sharing, consider if it is best to gently and kindly suggest the appropriate behavior as soon as they finish, or wait and attempt to mentor them after the meeting. If possible, as soon as possible, but gentleness and kindness supersede timing.
- Sometimes you may need to remind people that when they are sharing, especially if they are using “speaker” mode on their phone, they need to not generate background noise. They can clean house or do the dishes when they are listening on mute, but when they share they must be still. Please let them know if you are having difficulty hearing them (because other fellows likely have the same issue) -we want to be able to hear their share.
- Consider contacting the chairperson coordinator if you need to discuss how to handle these situations.
- If the sharing pauses, remind people of the topic. Feel free to let the pause linger for a bit before encouragement. It’s ok to have some degree of silence between shares. If it is a small meeting with few participants, open to second shares or reading. It is a judgement call.
- Please remember that there are many WIR meetings per week, thus when you chair please try to give as much sharing time as possible to the other participants and save your sharing for another meeting, go last, or share only if there is a long pause. Remember just a suggestion.
- Please allocate 15 minutes after the meeting for questions and/or fellowship. This is a suggestion and you can always hand off to someone else.
Technical (Touch Tone Controls)
Please be sure as chair, your phone is muted when you are not speaking. It is recommended that you use *6 to mute, but you can also use the mute on your phone – just pay attention that you could be double-muted.
Phone meetings have many advantages such as giving a participant the freedom to attend a meeting while driving, exercising, and doing other tasks or chores. However, with this freedom and flexibility comes with challenges in the form of background noise. Please be mindful of yours.
Mute Mode:
It is possible to mute all the lines using *5 if there is background noise. The host needs to be aware that there are three “states” for *5. *5 (Star five) can be thought of like a three position switch on a table lamp where you must cycle through all three positions
- *5 to first time mute all lines, callers use *6 individually unmute
- second time will mute all lines and individual callers CANNOT unmute
- third time will unmute all the lines
- *6 mute / *6 un-mute for participants
- It is a good idea to clear the line when you arrive at the meeting to ensure that it wasn’t left in mute mode from the previous meeting. When logged in as host in the five minutes prior to the meeting start, press *5 to ensure that either the lines are unmuted or that it is muted and callers can unmute themselves.
- If you are closing the meeting with call and response and no one is responding please cycle through the positions of *5 as all participants may be muted and unable to mute.
Anyone can use *2 to get a participant count.