A Chairperson’s Introduction to Surviving
Some very basic information to conduct a meeting in a logical, organized, and
professional manner.
Developed by Tom Condon, Centerville FFA
Keep this in mind when presiding over a meeting:
Do only one thing at a time.
If there’s more than one thing happening, members will be confused and
then become angry and frustrated.
Only one person speaks at a time.
Vote on one thing at a time.
Maintain a courteous environment.
If someone’s behavior gets out of hand, call him or her out of order and
remind them of this rule.
Members are allowed to disagree with a person’s ideas but may not attack
the person.
Respect the rights of the minority.
Every voice is equal, even if they are the only one.
Try to alternate between debates that are for and against if you know who
is on what side.
If something is done to try and control the debate or situation, it is
probably out of order.
Majority rules.
When it is all over and the voting is complete, the majority rules.
If a person is not on the winning side, they are allowed to disagree
however they are also expected to accept the outcome.
Parliamentary Procedure
The generally accepted authority in the FFA for parliamentary procedure is Robert’s
Rules of Order, Newly Revised. It has everything about how to organize a society or
group, write a constitution and by-laws, take minutes, hold elections, do votes and
conduct business.
It is written as a reference book, like a dictionary. Don’t get a copy to sit down and
read front to back; it won’t make much sense- sort of like trying to read a dictionary to
learn to write.
The FFA is widely respected as having the most advanced contest for developing
skills and knowledge in parliamentary law. This is something to be proud of as we
should all try to do things the very best we can. We must also realize that very
competitive teams spend many hours learning all of these skills and that they are trying
to do an entire meeting in only ten minutes.
There are some very basic pointers to help you and your group along. These are not
acceptable in a contest format but you need to start somewhere and you need to
operate a meeting that all of your members can take part in regardless of their
parliamentary procedure skills.
1.
Discussion is discussion; it takes motions to make business happen. In the
grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter if you talk about something first then
make an official motion to vote on. A motion should start with “I move….”, not “I
motion…” or “I make a motion to…”, be nice about correcting members so you
don’t discourage their participation. In a perfect world, the motion would be
entertained and put on the floor first, then debated. If you and your group can do
this, it is preferred, but again, you want to encourage participation.
2.
Votes are important, don’t let them get done poorly. Everyone should vote yes
or no. If you’re not sure about the outcome, re do the vote in a counted manner.
The loudest voices should not win, the most voices should win.
If a member questions a vote, they can demand a revote by calling for a “Division
of the Assembly”.
The quickest way to vote is by voice. “All those in favor say aye (pronounce
eye), all those opposed say no.” You can also ask for a show of hands or to
stand up, or you can do a secret ballot.
3.
You can modify a motion by amending it, but there are some rules. A) The
amendment can’t change the intent of the motion. B) You can only add things to
the end; strike things out, or insert words. C) You must vote on the amendment
before you can go back to talking about or voting on the original main motion you
are amending.
4.
You can put a group of people in charge of something; this is called to refer to a
committee. This allows your chapter to get things done in between meetings.
All committees should report back at the next meeting. Committees are given
powers, either to research or to act. The power to research is so they can go get
the info and let the whole chapter make the decision. The power to act is given
so a committee can take action, make decisions and/or spend money.
5.
You can postpone action if you can’t or don’t want to deal with something at the
current meeting. There are two types. Postpone definitely pushes a motion to
the next meeting and makes it old business. Use this almost like a "refer to a
committee" except nobody is directed to do anything. Postpone indefinitely is
used to never take a vote. Use this when you don’t want to go on record as
either supporting or defeating an idea. The last one is rarely used.
6.
There are very good charts to use regarding the rules of motions (if they can be
debated, if they need a second, if they can be amended, etc) in both the FFA
manual and the FFA Student Handbook. Make a copy for yourself to have in
front of you during a meeting.