In parliamentary procedure the process for disagreeing with the chair involves two motions, Point of Order, and Appeal from the Decision of the Chair. It is the process of using one or both of these motions that keep the democratic process of decisions by the people alive and well. It also keeps the chair humble! Understanding the use of these two motions will assist you in appropriately handling a disagreement you might have with the ruling of the chair. In this newsletter, I am going to focus on the first of these two motions Point of Order. In my next newsletter, I will follow up with the second of these two motions: Appeal from the Decision of the Chair.

It is not unusual for a group to change its mind – circumstances change, information changes, the politics of the situation causes a change. Robert’s gives us several ways to change our minds. But they are so complicated that people frequently get them mixed up and misuse them. At a very high level, let’s look at how a group of people can change their minds, either right away, or at a later date. 

If you are interested in more complete information on these motions as well as a table that compares these motions, please go to the article Reconsider & Rescind Part 2. There you will find this article followed by a much more detailed analysis of these motions.

In my over thirty years of experience in meetings (both meetings using parliamentary procedure and not using parliamentary procedure, such as meetings in businesses) I have learned many tactics that can make the meeting more effective and efficient! Many of these tactics are explained in greater detail in my book The Guerrilla Guide to Robert’s Rule. This article is a summary of the tactics that can be useful in all of the meetings you attend. This is the first part of a multi-part article.

In part one of this series I covered the following subjects: Share Ownership of the Meeting, Purpose of Meeting Clear to All, No Agenda, No Meeting. In this part of the series I will cover: Role of the Meeting Chairman, The Importance of a Second, Focus Attention on One Issue at a Time

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series I covered the following subjects: Share Ownership of the Meeting, Purpose of Meeting Clear to All, No Agenda - No Meeting, Role of the Meeting Chairman, The Importance of a Second, Focus Attention on One Issue at a Time. In this part of the series I will cover: Preparing for the Contentious Meeting, Focused Issue Discussion, Ownership of the Idea.

This part will focus on the following subjects: Speaking Rules Equal Knowledge of the Rules of the Group Impartiality of the Chair.

If you are ever in a meeting and can´t remember the parliamentary rule that applies, here is the test to give as you try to figure out what to do. Ask yourself three questions:

1. What is the fairest thing to do in this situation? Be sure to consider what is fairest to all, not just to you.
2. What is the most logical answer to this problem? This one is hard, because most of us don´t have a mind that is as logical as Robert´s.
3. What is the most efficient way of doing this? If you can get there in two steps, don´t take three!

In this country we treat being a board member much like many other fields of endeavor such as parenting and leadership. We assume that if you have the desire to be one and we know how to become one, then we will know how to be a good one! Unfortunately, all around us we see examples of how this theory fails. Seldom have I ever met or worked with a board member who didn't really care about the organization and want to be a good board member. Often I have met board members who wanted to be a good board member but didn't know how or went about it in the wrong way. In this article we will review an understanding of board governance, some board basics and some board training subjects to pursue.

This article is designed to help you improve your business presentation skills by looking at the presentation from the point of view of the purpose, the preparation, the organization, the support and the delivery. Give the perfect presentation!

This article examines the agenda, tools that are in place to assist with the running of the meeting, processing a motion and the script of a motion.

Four articles on how to effectively plan, run, and follow-up on a meeting to maximize time, achieve goals, and develop participant enthusiasm.

Basic characteristics of motions, their purpose and the order of precedence.

When I tell people that I am a professional parliamentarian, they look at me like they think I just told them I have some strange, incurable disease. After I assure them that it is not a disease, I then proceed to explain the profession. Just in case you did not know there are such creatures as professional parliamentarians out there, let me explain my profession to you.

A parliamentarian assists the organization before, during, and after meetings. A parliamentarian also may be of assistance to the organization throughout the entire year, not just at convention time. A parliamentarian can assist the organization in any of the following ways ...

Henry did not set out to be the leading authority in parliamentary procedure. He simply envisioned a need for a set of rules that were consistently followed everywhere. Therefore, when people moved to a new community, they would be able to use the same set of rules used in the previous community.

He wrote a pamphlet which he shared with his friends. The response was encouraging. He then proceeded to write a book of his rules. He had trouble getting a publisher to print them. There were 4,000 copies of the first book printed with the idea that they would last a couple of years and then he would have enough comments for a revision. Instead, the copies sold out in a few months. That was the beginning of what is today the most recognized authority on parliamentary procedure.

The following are the foundational concepts upon which parliamentary procedure is based ...

Ever wonder how in the world presiding officers remember every step in the motion making process? While it's certainly the case that many presiding officers have a complete understanding of parliamentary procedure and know exactly what to say in almost every circumstance, a lot of presiding officers rely on what some might call "cheat sheets" but in the parliamentary world are called "scripts." That's right – they read from a prepared document which tells them exactly what they need to say and do for any particular motion. Here is a script of what you should say in processing a main motion. It is meant to make you more comfortable in a meeting. Take it to meetings with you that you chair so you are prepared to say it correctly!

Try requiring a second on an idea before the group spends time discussing it! In a convention or board meeting, when a motion is made, it must be seconded before it is discussed.

Is your board lost in the day-to-day operations of the organization? If so, join the crowd! Probably the greatest shortcoming of boards is the focus on the "How are we going to get this done?" instead of the "Where do we want the organization to be in five years?" The focus on the day-to-day operations is an easy trap to get caught in. It is much easier to discuss what the new stationary should look like than how is the organization going to be prepared for the monumental changes that will occur in the next five years.

Most management teams have realized by now that you can not walk into a company, turn on a switch and have teams! But, if that is not the way to do it, what is? I offer to you that training is a major contributor to the success of conversion to a team environment.

I am frequently asked to explain the meaning of various votes. Here are the definitions ...

Minutes are the official record of an organization. It is crucial that they are accurate since they are the legal record of the proceedings and actions of the organization ...

In August, 2004, the Executive Committee of the Rockford Regional Chamber of Commerce asked me to serve as Interim President. After I accepted the responsibility, I realized I didn´t know how to be an interim! I spent a significant amount of time giving serious thought to the role of an interim president and how that role differs from the role of the president. My years of study of governance issues told me there was a huge difference and now I was challenged to put that concept into practice. In my last president´s message I wanted to share with you some of the lessons I learned.