Many times, I start this column with a question from a reader.

But this week, the topic comes from me.

Some of us apparently still need to learn how to silence our phones.

Just this past week, I’ve been in several situations where phones should have been silent, but a ringtone interrupted my enjoyment of a comedy show, church and dinner.

I firmly believe 99% (OK, maybe 95%) of people know how to silence their phones when necessary.

We all know phones should be silent in church, or at a movie or live theatre performance.

Some places still make an announcement beforehand.

I am always tempted to stand up and ask if anyone needs assistance finding their mute setting, but I don’t.

This advice is for the tiny minority whose phones never quite make it to silent mode.

On every iPhone, there is a small switch on the left side to silence the ringer. When the switch is flipped to silent, you’ll see a thin orange mark, showing you that silent mode is engaged.

The mute switch is the fastest way to make sure your ringer will not sound.

Be aware, this switch only silences the ringer. If you have an alarm set to go off in the clock app, the alarm will still sound even if the mute switch is turned on.

Apple does this on purpose, so you don’t accidentally miss an alarm because you forgot to unmute your phone.

Because there are dozens of Android phone manufacturers, there is no universal way to mute those phones.

Android users can usually mute their phones by holding the down volume button until they feel a small vibration.

You can also swipe down from the top of the screen to expose some settings icons, then swipe down again to see the sound tile (it looks like a little speaker). Touch the sound tile and you should see the mute symbol appear.

You can also set up Do Not Disturb modes, but be aware, some Do Not Disturb modes can be set to allow calls through, depending on how you set it up.

What should you do if you are the one with the ringing phone in church or movie?

Please don’t ignore it.

Reach for the phone and press ANY button on the sides.

The sleep/wake button, or the volume up or volume down button will all silence a ringing phone.

 - TNS