C. Alan Jennings, PRP

Robert’s Rules is very specific about what you should do with reports and recommendations. Consider yourself a prisoner of your words. When the time comes to present a report to your organization, be sure you use terms correctly and in the proper context — you don’t want to do or say something you wish you hadn’t!

Robert’s Rules make it obvious that the secretary is one of the two officers your organization absolutely can’t do without. It needs a presiding officer and a recording clerk to conduct a meeting and have a proper record of it, and the secretary is the recording clerk for the assembly. No other office is more important to the smooth functioning of your group.

When it comes to determining election results using Robert’s Rules — well, you know about the hanging chads of the infamous 2000 U.S. presidential election. Rules for contesting elections are something this country is all about. All that counts is how you handle the challenge. Robert’s Rules has just the answer: more rules!

One sure thing in the world of meetings and Robert’s Rules is that, sooner or later, all motions are disposed of. No, that doesn’t mean they’re thrown out. (Well, some of them are, but that’s not how the term is used here.) Disposing of a motion simply refers to making some decision about the motion so that you can move on to the next item of business — in other words, it’s the end result of all the talk.

Robert’s Rules allow members to interrupt a debate when necessary. Most people were taught (or, at least, were told) that it’s never polite to interrupt someone who’s speaking. That etiquette rule works when it comes to interviews, dinner parties, and the like, but not when you’re dealing with Robert’s Rules. During debate in a business meeting, interrupting a speaker is often necessary to protect your rights or the rights of the other members.

When discussing Robert’s Rules and parliamentary procedure, the questions always comes up whether it’s okay to vote by email or by using a web-based service for Internet voting. The answer, as is so often the case with questions about parliamentary procedure, is “It depends.” First, unless you make provisions in the bylaws for absentee balloting, the answer is “No.

Robert’s Rules has guidelines for postponing meetings. In some ways, real life and meetings aren’t all that different. Sometimes you just need to put things off. Unfortunately, groups don’t always have all the information they need to reach a decision. As a result, continuing to consider particular motions becomes difficult.

Sometimes called open nominations, this method is probably the most familiar of Robert’s Rules. It’s used in the vast majority of situations when members elect their officers at a meeting. Even if a nominating committee is in place, under Robert’s Rules, nominations from the floor are in order at some point before the election is pending.

Filling vacancies can be tricky business. Robert’s Rules details what you need to know. Don’t get too comfortable! Just when the members are doing what they’re supposed to do and everybody is getting along, an officer resigns for some personal reason. Or maybe you have to throw out a bum officer. No matter how good or bad things are, vacancies in office occur.