Parliamentary procedures

In this article we’ll touch on the mechanics of meetings. Known as parliamentary procedure, it’s a set of rules by which business is conducted. Any large assembly, such as Parliament (where the name originates), Congress, or a corporate board meeting, follows a set process. A standard parliamentary procedure has been codified in Robert’s Rules of Order, first published by US Army General Henry Robert in the 1800s, revised many times since, and in nearly universal use in deliberative bodies around the world. Continue reading “Parliamentary procedures”

Agenda planning

True or false: Having an agenda is the most important part of a meeting? Most people think that, but it’s not entirely correct. The agenda is simply a tool to get you to your destination. In other words, the agenda is the road map for your meeting. Without it, you have an aimless discussion that wastes everyone’s time. Continue reading “Agenda planning”

Planning committee meetings

We concentrate so much on making sure that we plan successful den and pack meetings and that the boys plan effective troop meetings that sometimes we neglect to consider what makes for an effective committee meeting. Just as with troop meetings, we can divide things up into before the meeting, during the meeting, and after the meeting. In this article we’ll look at what to do before the meeting. Continue reading “Planning committee meetings”

Effective committee meetings: The purpose of meetings

In the last post I opened the topic of how to have effective meetings of your troop or pack committee. Meetings are not effective if they are a random discussion on random topics among whoever bothers to show up, when they show up. You can learn techniques for being effective in your role as committee chair and for accomplishing real results within an efficient time frame. Continue reading “Effective committee meetings: The purpose of meetings”