The strange world of meetings
By Martin Worth - 25/06/2008
Imagine what it would be like to be propelled into another dimension. A peculiar, almost magical, place with strange rituals that warp the known conventions of space and time. You don’t have to go to outer space: just volunteer to serve on a committee! It can be almost any type of committee - an organising committee for the local fête, parish council, voluntary organisation, sports club, trades union or professional institution. Welcome to the strange world of meetings!
Many of us relish the opportunity of helping out with a cause or a project we care passionately about, or putting something back into a sport, hobby or occupation that has given us pleasure. But the joy of taking a seat on a committee can often quickly subside at the first meeting. It can appear as if we have a mountain to climb to understand the ritual of which we’ve just become a part. And we can’t get anything done until we can navigate our way.
Meetings defy the laws of physics: you may have to stand to sit – stand for election, that is. In the strange world of meetings, the chair will be taken, yet still be there with someone sitting in it!
Members of a committee may address the chair or, with permission, speak through the chair. They may bring business to the table, address the floor, and even speak to reports. They may also raise points of order and propose, second and vote on motions. It is even possible to move from the chair without leaving it. Where else can you hold the floor by speaking? And what about a table that can think? It is even possible sit on a standing committee.
All this is perfectly normal in the strange world of meetings. So you won’t be surprised to hear that meetings that may last for hours are recorded in minutes.
It’s hardly surprising that, on being confronted for the first time with time-served habitués of this weird and wonderful world, new committee members can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed.
How can you cope? First, arm yourself with any governing instrument of the organisation such as a charter, memorandum and articles of association or trust deed, a copy of the committee constitution (what it is) terms of reference (what it does) sometimes supported by standing orders (rules) and composition (who is on it).
Then you’ll be ready to pass a motion for all the right reasons!
How’s your Latin? If, like me, you must have been at home with a cold on the day they did Latin at school, here’s a basic survival kit.
Honorary - often best translated as ‘unpaid volunteer’ unless there’s an honorarium, a small token of appreciation. And small usually does mean small - often more like teeny-weeny.
Ex officio means 'by virtue of office' so the chair of one committee might, for example, be ex officio a member of another.
Co-opted members join at the invitation of existing members, often to bring a particular skill or knowledge.
Before a meeting can begin, it must be quorate - with the minimum number of voting members present.
'In camera' means in private - just the elected members. And no, the opposite of in camera is not 'out of camera'!
Motions can be carried nem con, which means with no-one dissenting. In absentia comes in handy when an absent committee member contributes
to a meeting, for example by a written report.
Watch out for the power of proxy - the authority to represent someone else in voting. If proxy voting is allowed, the rules for it need to be set out clearly in advance, not cobbled together on the hoof. Otherwise, a valuable chunk of meeting time may be lost trying to sort it out.
Don’t confuse officers with officials. Officers are the elected (or co-opted) honorary office holders such as Chair, Secretary, etc.
Officials are paid Sir Humphreys who can help to make the job of the volunteer Officers a pleasure - or a pain!
Minutes are records of decisions taken. The style and amount of detail recorded in the minutes can vary – most committees or orgnanisations have an established house style. Detailed minutes may summarise of the reasoning so those who were not present at the meeting can understand why a decision was taken. Minutes should always be written impartially and straight down the line: they are no place to be partisan.
An action column is vital. Who is to do what, and by when? Make sure the actions stand out resplendent in all their emboldened glory. It will help to get things done. Or if they’re not done, it will go a long way to ensure embarrassment for unactioned actions if the guilty party hasn’t acted in time for the next meeting – unless they decide to brazen it out by putting on an act. (‘Excuses are lies’, I remember one of my teachers once told me when I explained why my homework was late!)
Don’t confuse long minutes with good minutes. Minutes are not verbatim reports (transcripts). But good minutes may selectively use contributors’ key words and phases to bring their case alive.
Then readers may understand that issues are not always as straightforward as they may at first seem.
Good minutes get under the skin of a committee. A committee secretary once asked me ‘Did I manage to minute what you said?’. ‘No!’, I replied, ‘You minuted what I wish I’d said!’.
And when you proudly commit your committee service to your curriculum vitae, don’t make the mistake of saying ‘I have serviced the committee for many years’. This will bring a blush to many a maiden’s face, especially if the writer happens to be male!