meeting management
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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As I watch meetings roll along, the good, the bad and the ugly, I often wish that chairs would observe the habits of the crouching tiger. This Sumatran beauty is lying on the rock, perfectly calm, alert and at ease – but ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. If you are chairing a meeting,…
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Chairing a meeting requires two skills that are not easy to combine. The presider has to control the meeting, which requires strength. At the same time, he has to remain emotionally connected to the members, which requires warmth. Put too much strength into your voice, and you come across as cold and uncaring. Put too…
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Have you ever wondered whether a fill in the blank approach could be useful to your board or council? Sometimes a board of directors has to make hard choices about selling property, giving the executive director a raise, making an appointment or choosing a date to schedule an event. Robert’s Rules of Order offers an…
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In this country today, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is the foundation of our civil liberty.
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Using emotional intelligence will allow any leader to run better meetings. A successful leader has to be aware of his own emotions and those of others, and has to be able to deal with emotion constructively. Unfortunately many of us are prone to react impulsively in tough situations, unless we have done the hard work…
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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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The motion “to call the question,” which has the technical name of “previous question,” may be the most abused motion in all of Robert’s Rules of Order. It is very common for people to shout out the word “question” or “I call the question” in the expectation that debate will immediately stop, and a vote…
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Updated July 14, 2021 Special rules of order are permanent rules, specific to your group, that guide your discussions and meetings. They allow you to make sure that your group talks about things and makes decisions in the way that works best for you. Robert’s Rules of Order encourages groups to set up their own special…
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