bad behavior
In the 20 years since Jurassic Parliament began, we’ve seen a lot of dumb things happen at meetings. Here’s our dirty dozen—a list of the 12 stupidest meeting mistakes. If you have more to add, let us know! Failing to give notice Poor agenda Ignoring the quorum requirement Chair acting like a dictator A few…
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We see so many instances of rude behavior in public life today that it is not easy to keep our bearings about civility. Polite people who have been well brought up sometimes feel stymied when public discourse disintegrates.
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Here in Salt Lake City for the Utah School Boards Association, I find an interesting news item. The Kaysville city council is scheduled to pass a motion to censure a council member and request his resignation at this evening’s meeting. Read the Salt Lake Tribune news story here. Why pass a motion to censure? The…
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If you serve as a director on a nonprofit board, you should know the types of remarks that are inappropriate during discussion at a meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order and the common parliamentary law it is based on require that: Directors on a board must be courteous to one another. They must speak to the…
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If you serve as an elected official on a local government council or board, you should know the types of remarks that are inappropriate during discussion at meetings. Robert’s Rules of Order and the common parliamentary law it is based on require that: Members of a council or board must be courteous to one another.…
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This week a reader called me for advice about whispering and sidebar conversations. He is an officer in a small club dedicated to German shepherd dogs. At the last meeting, when a member was giving a report on research she had done, there were two separate sidebar conversations going on. I was happy to tell…
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What can you do when the chair is a bully, or out of line? Unfortunately, sometimes the chair lets their position go to their head. We outlined some basic principles about bullying in this post, “Do you have a bully on board?” If you are burdened with a chair who bullies or intimidates others, we suggest…
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Updated July 22, 2021 The “motion to appeal” is one of the least-known motions in Robert’s Rules of Order, and the most powerful. All of us are very familiar with the role of the chair of the meeting. Under Robert’s Rules of Order, the chair has the duty of keeping things on track. The chair…
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Don’t you hate it when you’re interrupted? How about when somebody else says something that feels like a personal attack? Being disrespected feels awful for any normal person. And the good news is that you don’t have to put up with it! Rude behavior is absolutely forbidden under Robert’s Rules. When you are a member…
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The First Amendment is not the last word
In this country today, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the foundation of our civil liberty.
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