How do you run meetings?

[emb021]

Originally Posted by Zillini

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.