Effective Meetings – Running the meeting
- Introduce yourself and welcome everyone
- Stick to your schedule and agenda
- Take speakers in turn
- Keep the meeting focused on one thing at a time
- Rule on procedural questions
- Listen and acknowledge everyone’s view
- Agree to clear follow-up action to items
When is a motion required?
Any time your council wants to do something, the action should be approved by motion. If the council wants to change the course of something already underway, the change should be sanctioned by motion. And, if your council wants to spend money, the expenditure must be approved by motion*.
*as detailed in your constitution and bylaws
When is a motion unnecessary?
If there is agreement, a motion is unnecessary. For example, in approving minutes or a treasurer’s report, the chair can simply ask,
“Are there any additions or corrections?” If there are none, the chair can say, “Seeing none, the minutes are approved.”
This can be done with any routine item