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Meeting Tips

Meeting is a characteristic of human civilization, an age-long universalactivity in which every humanbeing participates. Whether on a village square in a remote villageor in a board-room in an ultra modern office building, you have found,or will soon find, yourself involved in a meeting.

Yet a good number of us who participate in meetings, and even getelected as officers, with the responsibility of organizing and conductingmeetings, are ignorant of important meeting terms, meeting proceduresand practices. In fact, the fear of the embarrassing problem thatmay result from the lack of knowledge in correct meeting procedureshas literally stopped many from taking on roles or positions on decision-makingbodies.

This article is prepared to equip you with the essential knowledgeabout modern meeting procedures and practices, knowledge which willprepare you for the next meeting you will be taking part in, enableyou to make a contribution to various organizations and decision-makingbodies, and help you to make a success of your post as a chairmanor secretary of your organization.

Last Updated - 8th December 2005

Meeting Tips

As a member of the civilized human society, where regular meetingis an essential practice, you need to be familiar with meeting practicesand procedures, otherwise you may be compelled to remain dumb duringan important meeting, or worse still, bungle things if you are votedinto a position - like the Chairman's or Secretary's - where the successof the meeting depend on your knowledge of meeting practices and procedures.

What Meeting Is?

Meeting is an act or process of coming together as an assembly forcommon purpose. It is a gathering of people for discussion or anotherpurpose.

Meetings take place when groups of people gather to discuss, andtry to resolve matters which are of a reciprocal concern. Issues arediscussed and debated, recommendations are made, directions are givenand courses of action are decided.

Types of Meetings

Public Meeting - This is a meeting in a publicplace and which the public or a section of the public may be permittedto attend freely or for a fee. An example of a public meeting isa gathering of the people of a town, for discussion on a matterof public concern. The meeting is open to all the notable peopleof the town, or anybody who has something to contribute to the matterto be discussed.

Private Meeting - This is a meeting to whichonly the members of the body holding the meeting can attend. Meetingsheld by Associations, Societies, Unions etc. are examples of privatemeetings. Only the members can attend such meetings.

Bodies that meet privately may, however, organizepublic meetings once in a while for the purpose of educatingor informing the members of the public, or a section of themembers of the public, who are invited to the meetings.

Formal Meeting - This is a meeting planned,arranged or scheduled and held under supervision and control processeither of rules and regulations.

Informal Meeting - This is a meeting arrangedand conducted without formality or ceremony. There is usually noagenda and the rules and regulations guiding meeting are not strictlyfollowed, if followed at all.

Statutory Meeting - This is a meeting thatis held because the statute prescribes or authorizes it. It followsthe provision and requirements of the law. Under the statutory provisionof a meeting, for example, a public limited company must hold ameeting not less than one month and not more than three months afterthe date on which it is entitled to start business.

Validity of a Meeting

For the business of a meeting to be held valid and binding, certaincommon law requirements must be fulfilled.

Quorum

This is the minimum number of persons who mustbe in attendance before a meeting can be held. The quorum islaid down in the constitution or rules of the organization.If a quorum cannot be declared within 30 minutes after the designatedstarting time of the meeting, the meeting may be called againfor a similar time and place a week later.

If, however, no more members attend the reconvenedmeeting, the Chairman may be allowed by the standing ordersto conduct the business with those who have arrived.

Notice

This is a form of information, either oral orwritten, notifying a person that a meeting will be held at aparticular time. The notice must be issued under the authorityof those empowered by the constitution or regulation of theorganization or statute to do so, like the Chairman and Secretary.

The Agenda

An agenda is a programme of the detailsof the business to be discussed at a meeting in the orderin which they are to be taken. Prior to the meeting, anagenda is prepared and circulated to all members. This agendaforms the structure of the meeting. It states where andwhen the meeting will take place and what matters will bediscussed.

Chairman

There must be a chairman to preside over themeeting; otherwise the business of the meeting will not be valid.There is always a regulatory provision as to who shall be chairmanin the case of a registered body.

The chairman controls the meeting and all remarksare addressed to the chairman. He is usually addressed as MrChairman or Madam Chairman, if the chair is occupied by a woman.

The duties of the chairman are:

To see that the meeting is properly constitutedand that a quorum is formed.

To see that the business of the meetingfollows the order of the agenda.

To restrict discussion to the business ofthe agenda.

To maintain order in the meeting.

To ensure opportunity for expression ofopinions.

To see that motions and amendments are properlyput.

To maintain the ruling on all matters ofprocedures.

To decide on point of order submitted tohim.

To do whatever is necessary to pursue thepurpose of the meeting e.g. voting on a matter where necessary.

To give a second or casting vote if regulationallows

The Meeting Structure

For a meeting to effectively achieve its goals, a structure needsto be in place. If a meeting has little or no structure, it will notproduce the desired results.

Calling the meeting

The secretary, after consultation with or onthe instruction of the chairman, sends out ‘notice of meeting’to those who should attend.

Opening the Meeting

The meeting begins after the Chairman, satisfiedthat the quorum requirement has been met, declares the meetingopened. If a Chairperson has not taken the chair from 15 to30 minutes after the meeting was due to begin, the assistantchairman might preside over the meeting or another person fromamong the members present might be elected to preside over themeeting, acting temporarily as the chairman.

The meeting, depending on the religious beliefof the leaders, may commence with an opening prayer. It maycommence with the chairman’s speech or in some other way.

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Meeting Procedures

Apologies

The Chairman states the names of those memberswho have formally informed him in writing that they are unableto attend the meeting.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The Secretary reads the minutes of the previousmeeting in a way that it will be heard clearly and understoodproperly by the people in attendance. If the minutes has beenprinted and distributed to members before this time, the minutesmay not be read by the secretary. The Chairman moves that theminutes of the previous meeting be accepted or adopted.

If the members do not agree that the draft minutesare accurate, changes may be suggested. The Chairman may callfor a vote on those corrections and then decide if the changesshould be made to the minutes.

Once the Minutes have been adopted (approvedformally), the Chairperson signs every page of the minutes andhands them to the meeting secretary for filing.

Business arising from Minutes of the PreviousMeeting

Reports, pieces of information or other mattersof substance that were requested, put forward for considerationor proposed at the previous meeting are debated and a vote istaken on the appropriate action to take.

Correspondence

Letters that have been sent to the meeting aretabled and debated, if the chairman wishes. The Chairman presentsa piece of correspondence to the meeting with a motion thatthe meeting receive the correspondence. This is an acknowledgmentof the formal receipt of the correspondence by the meeting.It is also a notice that the correspondence may now be discussedand acted upon, if necessary.

If the correspondence is considered offensive,the meeting can vote on a motion, not to receive it. Alternatively,the meeting can decide that the correspondence should not bereceived and lie on the table. A letter or document is saidto lie on the table when it is decided at a meeting to takeno action upon the business contained in it.

Reports

Repots and submissions that have been producedfor the meeting or that include information relevant to thebusiness of the meeting are tabled and discussed. A motion thata report be received notifies the meeting that the report exists,as far as the meeting is concerned, and that the report or submissionmay now be discussed and debated.

General Business

Here, items listed under the ‘General Business’in the agenda are debated. General business items are announcedone by one by the Chairman and a discussion or debate followseach one. Motions concerning each item are put forward and toa vote. A motion becomes a resolution if it receives a simplemajority, or a majority as defined in the standing orders. Inthe case of more formal meetings, general business consistsof motions that are moved and seconded by people in the meetings.A person who seconds a motion or a seconder is someone who agreesthat a motion should be debated.

Any other Business

When all items on the agenda have been dealtwith, the Chairman may call for matters not listed in ‘GeneralBusiness.’ Here, the members are able to raise issues theyfeel are important. These issues may not be listed on the agenda.

Issues that are extremely important or complexshould not be raised unannounced during this part of the meeting.If an urgent matter must be dealt with by the meeting, the Chairmanshould be informed before the meeting begins. A revised agendacan then be drawn up in the time that remains before the meetingis due to begin. If the Chairperson feels that any of the issuesbrought up for discussion are too important, complex or difficultto be effectively dealt with in the meeting he may call foranother meeting to discuss the issue, or alternatively, putit on the agenda for the next scheduled meeting.

Close of Meeting

When the Chairman is satisfied that all theissues on the agenda have been put forward and discussed, headvises members of the date and time of the next meeting. Themeeting is now officially closed.

A meeting started with prayer may also closewith prayer.

Minutes

Minutes are a record of the proceedings of ameeting and are kept to preserve a brief, accurate and clearrecord of the business carried out.

The Secretary usually records the minutes. Afterthe meeting, he writes up the minutes, in the third person andusually in the past tense.

Minutes should be:

Accurate, so that they present a true recordof the proceedings;

Brief, so as to provide a readable summaryof the important matters discussed and the decisions reachedin the meeting;

Clear, so that anybody who reads it canunderstand the major things discussed and decided upon inthe meeting.

A draft of the minutes is submitted to theChairman for his approval before the final copy is typed.

What Can You Do As a Participant in a Meeting?

To be an active and effective participant of a meeting, you must:

Be well prepared. If minutes of the previous meetinghave been sent to you by the secretary, read it very well, notingpoints you would like to put forward for debate or discussion inthe next meeting. If you don’t think the minutes are accurate,make note of the changes you would like to be made to it at thenext meeting. If an agenda is included with the notice of meeting,study it. Write down points on the issues you would like to move.Make necessary research. Do your home work well before you attendthe meeting.

Be a good listener in the meeting. Don’t allowthe habit of focusing your thoughts on other matters not relatedto the meeting when the meeting is in progress. Don’t let otherthings distract your attention from what is going on in the meeting.Pay attention to the debates and the discussion. Make sure you understandwhat is being said.

Be polite. Don’t at any point in the meetinglose your temper. Don’t show anger when you respond to whatother people say. When you debate a point, don’t evince badtemper or aggressiveness or rudeness. Don’t indulge in sulkingbecause you feel insulted or offended.

Make yourself clear when you speak. Beware of ambiguousterms that may only befuddle your listeners. Use simple words andexpressions. Think clearly every time you speak.

Don’t be proud. In a meeting, let humilitybe your hall mark, even if all the people in the meeting are oflower education or are not as rich as you are. When you speak, don’tdeliberately use big, unfamiliar words, or the technical jargonsof your profession to impress other participants. Don’t lookdown on others in the way you speak, respond or act. Be polite tothe chairman and other officers. Never insist on having your ways.When you are out-voted, accept the majority decision in humility.Always remember, ‘pride goeth before destruction.’

Disclaimer: The Meeting Tips / Information presentedand opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarilyrepresent the views of TipsAndTreats.com and/or its partners.

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