ground rules for meetings
City councilmembers and nonprofit board leaders should not get chummy—too familiar—with their constituents or regular members. Here’s why.
You can make better decisions about complicated proposals by using the Exploratory Round Robin.
Updated November 18, 2022 One of the surprising rules about voting is that when taking the vote, the chair MUST call for the negative vote—even if the chair is perfectly certain that there were enough votes in favor to pass the motion. This ensures that everyone enjoys their full right to vote, even if they…
Staff interaction in local government meetings can be effective or disastrous.
Interrupting is one of the most common conversational gambits in our American society. It is not allowed at meetings run according to Robert’s Rules of Order.
Many small casual groups spend too much time in discussion. Seeking consensus, time can be wasted and little progress made.
Updated July 22, 2021 What happens when a vote is tied? Here are a few angles to this question. A reader writes: I am the Vice-Chair of a small board—three people, Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary. We have dual roles. One voted yes. One voted no. One abstained. Does the motion pass or is the motion…
It’s common for people to say “so moved” when they agree with something a speaker says. Often this is a kind of enthusiastic endorsement. BUT…What exactly was moved? If the remarks or proposal were vague, it is not clear what was intended. We recommend that people NOT use this phrase. However, if someone does say, “So moved,” the chair…
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.
Unanimous consent is one of the most useful tools in Robert’s Rules of order. Yet this method of voting is little known. Use it well, and your meetings will be much more efficient. Your members will also be grateful!
