PRP

To save you time and unnecessary work, Robert’s Rules spells out exactly what needs to go into your minutes. Minutes are important because they’re the only surviving record of what was said and done at a meeting. They can be dry and boring. In fact, it’s probably a good sign if they are! Most importantly, they need to be informative and easy to navigate for whatever the reader needs to know six months from now.

According to Robert's Rules, minutes drafted ahead of time aren’t the official minutes until the members approve them. Today's technology has made its mark on meeting minutes. The secretary can now draft the minutes and easily send copies to the members for them to read before the meeting; then members can come to the meeting prepared with any corrections.

Your bylaws belong to your group, and only your group can decide what they mean. Sure, a parliamentarian can help you understand the technical meaning of a phrase or a section here and there. But when you come across something ambiguous (meaning that there's more than one way to reasonably interpret something), then the question remains to be answered by your organization by a majority vote at a meeting.

Using the motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted, you can undo or change any decision your group made in the past. Nothing is forever, and that saying is especially true in the world of clubs and organizations. Last year’s good idea can turn into this year’s problem. But thanks to General Robert’s wisdom and foresight, you always have a way out!

The motion to Reconsider is a distinct parliamentary motion! When you use the word reconsider in a parliamentary situation, it refers only to this specific motion. All the motions in the class of motions that bring a question again before the assembly assist your group in revisiting previously considered motions.

Parliamentary procedure refers to the practices used in meetings to keep things orderly and give everybody a fair chance to be heard for at least as long as it takes for everybody to realize that nothing new is being said and a large majority is ready to make a decision and get on with other business. Parliamentary procedure really goes a lot further than that, but you've probably guessed as much.

Robert's Rules offers quite a selection of voting methods, whether you're voting on motions or having elections. The methods range from asking for unanimous agreement to showing how you vote by voice or other physical action to voting by secret ballot. The voting methods recognized by Robert's Rules include Unanimous consent Quite possibly the most efficient way of conducting a vote, unanimous consent is the voting method of choice because it saves so much time.

The motion to amend is perhaps the single most-used of the subsidiary motions allowed by Robert's Rules. You use this motion when you want to change the wording of the motion under consideration. You can use it to make a good idea better or a bad idea more palatable. Amendments are really at the heart of the process of perfecting motions before a final vote, and the importance of understanding the basics of amending can't be overstated.

Fundamental to effective meeting participation is knowing how to get the attention of your presiding officer so you can be recognized and permitted to speak. Just as important is understanding the way to avoid getting personal in debate by asking questions of the other members through the chair. Addressing the presiding officer In meetings, your presiding officer should be addressed by title, such as "Madam Chairman" or "Mr.