While the President of each club is responsible for conducting orderly meetings and the Executive Board is responsible for removing any member who causes harm to the reputation and/or finances of the club in order to maintain their charter, it is important for all members to agree to help the club succeed by observing the following ground rules.
Only one person speaks at a time, no one will interrupt while someone is speaking. (If you use a microphone at meetings this is easier to control.)
Each person expresses his or her own views, rather than speaking for others or attributing motives to them.
Respect the groups’ time and keep comments brief and to the point.
No personal attacks. Challenge ideas, not people.
Everyone agrees to make a strong effort to stay on track with the agenda and to move the deliberations forward.
Everyone will seek to focus on the merits of what is being said, making a good faith effort to understand the concerns of others. Questions of clarification are encouraged. Disparaging comments are discouraged.
Everyone will follow the “no surprises” rule. Concerns should be voiced when they arise, not later in the deliberations when a “surprise” objection is raised.
Each person will seek to identify options or proposals that represent shared interests, without minimizing legitimate disagreements. Each person agrees to do their best to take account of the interests of the group as a whole.
Each person reserves the right to disagree with any proposal and accepts responsibility for offering alternatives that accommodates their interests and the interests of others.
Club presidents will find it helpful to read Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th Edition, 2011) or one of the many quick reference books for running meetings.
Rules for Effective Meetings