Take a look at this recent commercial as it inspired this article:

We all will have conference calls while we are at the house or when on the road. There are some important and simple things you should practice when joining in on a call while away from the office. Here are my top 6:

• 1) Use the mute function at all times when not participating and just listening. I have heard people doing their dishes, dogs barking, and even using the bathroom! It is the easiest way to avoid an embarrassing phone blunder. Even when you are trying to be quiet, the phone mic will pick up most sounds.
• 2) Don't type on the smart phone you are using for the conference call while you are on the conference call. You may not hear the buttons being pushed when you type, but it comes through loud and clear on the other end and is very distracting to the other participants.
• 3) Park the car if you are calling in when on the road. It is not only safer, but also dropped calls are more frequent when you are moving. This eliminates the sign in and re-sign in. Don't you love it when everyone on the call hears "YOUR NAME - has left the call". Signing in again is a little like the walk of shame, you know you have to do it, and you know they know who left the call. Try to avoid this boner of a move.
• 4) Keep your home office door closed when on the call to avoid unnecessary interruptions from kids, pets, and the home phone ringing if you are not using it for the conference call. The commercial you just watched is a take on this simple mistake.
• 5) Keep short notes while the call is in progress. Depending on your manager, it may be a wise choice to ensure you are 100% focused on the conversation at hand instead of playing with your stress ball/youtube clips/facebook updates/twitter posts while the call is going on. Staying engaged and providing feedback makes the call much more worth your time and respecting the time of those you are participating with.
• 6) Keep your smart phone on vibrate or silent when using the home phone for your conference call. It is easy to forget that your smart phone is sitting next to you on the desk or in your pocket and it starts going off on during the call. This again is a simple thing to remember, but a huge distraction if you forget.

Here is my favourite commercial to date on this topic:

It is a video conference call which is likely an entire new article, but I am sure you get the point. Just keep your pants on in case you get up during the video conference call! Thanks for the time and keep it on the road!