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Has anyone read an umpire manual? That's usually a good place to start when it comes to proper mechanics. Virtually every manual has the plate umpire take a position on the side of the team going onto defense. There are two main reasons for that. First, most substitutions that occur between innings are defensive changes. Offensive changes tend to occur when that player is actually coming to bat. Second, that puts the umpire in a better position to "encourage" the defense to take the field without wasting a lot of time.
The position can change if you think you're going to get an earful from the defensive team, but umpires should be careful not to hide from trouble either.
Umpires should not regularly talk between innings unless you're working with a new umpire and find it beneficial to point things out each half inning. If you wonder why your games take so long, ask yourself how much time you waste talking to your partner.
While not all codes have time limits between innings, umpires should establish a good pace for the game. That's part of your game management. Consider this for a 7 inning game: if you allow 60 seconds between innings (including to start the game) thats 14 minutes per game; 90 seconds = 21 minutes per game; 120 seconds = 28 minutes.
MLB usually allows 2:30 between innings (depending on the channel.) That's 45 minutes per game, not including pitching changes!
Encourage the defense to take the field without unnecessary delay. Don't talk to your partner unless there's a good reason for it. Never make the teams wait for the umpires.
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