C. Alan Jennings, PRP

Robert's Rules provides rules and procedures that allow a deliberative assembly to make its decisions efficiently, and with all due regard for the rights of the minority. Following the rules ensures more a fair and more achievable outcome without wasting time, but remembering all the details of parliamentary procedure can be a tall order.

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.

In an organization that's following Robert's Rules, when that light bulb goes off in your head and you have a great idea, you make a motion to get your idea discussed and a decision made. Here are the eight steps required from start to finish to make a motion and get the decision of the assembly. Each step is a required part of the process.

An easy way to remember the Robert’s Rules standard order of business is with the mnemonic 3R-SUN — you can see it clearly in the following list. This list is a quick reference to make it easy for you to set up a basic agenda for your meeting. Reading and approval of minutes Reports of officers, boards, a

The best presiding officers plan ahead. With an agenda and knowledge of the business at hand before the meeting, a plan can turn into a script like the following example that following Robert's Rules and will enable you to preside like a pro. President’s Scripted Agenda June 19, 2012 Call to order: 3:00 p.m.Rap the gavel once.

Robert’s Rules is very specific about what you should do with reports and recommendations. Consider yourself a prisoner of your words. When the time comes to present a report to your organization, be sure you use terms correctly and in the proper context — you don’t want to do or say something you wish you hadn’t!

You may already be familiar with Robert’s Rules and the motion to Lay on the Table, the highest-ranking subsidiary motion. This motion is used to temporarily set aside a pending main motion, permitting something else to be addressed or done.In most cases, the “something else” carries a sense of urgency, such as the need to allow your guest speaker to address your group at a particular time without compromising his schedule.