How do you run meetings?
 

We're a local sorority and recently our meetings have unorganized and a free for all, basically.

We used to operate under Robert's Rules as stated in the Constitution, but over the years we've gotten away from that idea. Although Robert's Rules is a great method, it seems that none of the members want to revert back to that because they feel it's too formal. While I myself would love to revert back to RR, I'm alone in this.

What other methods of communication do you follow in your GLO? How are your meetings structured?

Any insight would be great.

Following parliamentary procedure is really the best method. Its the standard means to run all business meetings, ie meeting in which decisions are made. It seems your chapter members need to learn some basics.

Formality is NOT a bad thing. It gives structure and helps ensure that things get done properly and without violating anyones rights. How formal you are will depend on the size of the group. A group of 12 can be less formal then a group of 20-30. A group of 100+ will need to be more formal.

You need an agenda to set down the basic structure of your meeting. Standard agenda is:

* Opening
* Reading/approval of minutes of last meeting.
* Reports of Officers & Committees
* Special Orders (anything mandated for this meeting by your Bylaws)
* Unfinished Business (anything not finished at the last meeting)
* New Business (all new items brought up for this meeting)
* Good of the Order (non-business item people want to bring up)
* Announcements
* Adjourn

Our ritual guide and our membership book both outline how our meetings are to be run (very similar to what emb021 posted). We also use RR and our meetings run fine. When I have meetings for orgs that don't use RR, it's just a pain.

To be clear for the OP though, parliamentary procedure =/= Robert's Rules. Although Robert's is by far the most familiar guide, there are other guides to parliamentary procedure, and many organizations adapt the rules to the own preferences.

That said, parliamentary procedure is certainly the way to go. It may seem formal, but it works, it protects the rights of everyone and it prepares members for participation in many other organizations where a knowledge of parliamentary procedure comes in very handy.

Quite true. I didn't want to bring that up as it just confuses the matter for some people.

And another thing that alot of people don't realize, is that parliamentary procedure ensure a more organized and usually quicker meeting.

It can IF everyone (or most members) do understand and follow it.

Some are put off by the formality, because they think it 'slows things down' or 'gets in the way', not realizing that the formality is more to ensure things are done properly.

Too often instead of learning the basics, some just want to chuck it out.

Its like a game. If you want to play a game and play it well, you learn the rules (doesn't mater if the game is Monopoly or baseball). The rules for a meeting are parliamentary procedure. So if you want to 'play' you need to learn the rules.

It's very helpful if the Exec committee meets prior to the chapter business meeting. The business meeting agenda gets set, plus a lot of plans can be made there then simply announced to the chapter. Not everything needs to be a chapter-wide discussion/vote. That's the sort of thing that tends to turn meetings into "free-for-alls" and/or drag on forever.

Something we do, anyone who wishes to make an announcement or address the chapter must attend the Exec Comm meeting to be placed on the agenda. If they can't make it due to a scheduling problem, they need to tell the EVP the specifics of what they'll say before the committee meeting. This limits the random discussions that can pop up and disrupt things.

Speaking of chapter-wide discussions and votes, announce limits before they start. For example allow X amount of pros and cons or specify the length of time allowed. Then after that, call for a vote.

Some things to note.

A meeting agenda should not be a rigid, set in stone document. ALL members should be free to bring up new business at the meeting, not need to get prior approval to 'put it on the agenda'. The new business section of the meeting should always be treated as an open forum for new items to be brought up.

As noted, not everything needs a chapter-wide discussion/vote. IF your group is properly using a committee system, it shouldn't be. You should have several standing (permanent) committee for your group. Some could be fundraising, membership, philathropy, etc. For large events/activities, these should be handled in one of these committee. So the discussion/planning for these things should be done in separate committee meetings (NOT in the chapter meeting), and then the final plan & approval is just brought to the chapter meeting for a vote. You can also create special committee (short-term committee) to deal with complex items brought up. assigned a small group of people who are truly interested in it.

A proper use of committee, more so then restrictions on your agenda, will do the job of controlling 'free for all meetings'.

Limits on discussion (how long, how often) are built into parliamentary procedure. A group is free to change them overall for their group, and groups are also able to change it 'on the fly' for a particular meeting or item of business, as desired. Standard is 2 times for 15 minutes each, btw.

It has always been my practice in groups that I have chaired to encourage (not require) committees to furnish a written (or email) report to members prior to the meeting, with any motions that the committee will bring to the floor highlighted in some way. This also saves time in the meeting. The chair of the committee doesn't need to take time during the meeting giving a committee's report or outlining the committee's plan -- instead, the group can move straight to questions and discussion (if any).

There are times when this may not be the best way to do things, but for routine reports, I have found it very useful.

MysticCat's recommendation is a good one.

Emailing of meeting agenda AND proposed meeting minutes is also a good idea. Doing this with minutes speeds up the approval process as members can review them in advance and you can just ask for corrections instead of reading thru the minutes.

Thanks for that reminder. I have always made sure that the agenda/docket and minutes are provided to everyone prior to the meeting.