Robert’s Rules

This is a post that I wrote a few months back and for some reason never got around to publishing.  It’s appropriate now with the national convention coming up.  I hope it is also helpful for volunteers serving as delegates for their local councils.

So, here we are again with a topic that everybody just gets amped up about.  I’m so excited.  And I just can’t hide it.  I’m about to lose control and I think I like it.

I’m talking about Robert’s Rules of Order.  What is that?  Who is Robert?  And why is he so OCD?  This is another entry in the category Delegate Duties, a hopefully helpful guide to those of us who are council delegates and are doing our best to figure out what the heck we’re supposed to be doing.

Robert’s Rules of Order is a guide originally written by one Henry Martyn Robert because apparently he became very disappointed after leading a meeting that dissolved into chaos.  He promised at that point that he’d study parliamentary procedure and do a better job next time, by golly.  Robert’s Rules was published in 1876, and today it sets the standard for meeting procedures in the United States.

Most of the non-business meetings I’ve ever attended loosely used Robert’s Rules.  I’d say the vast majority of people know nothing about it other than the ubiquitous “All in favor, say aye” phrase.  To be honest, I’d never heard of it until I became a delegate.  I’m presenting this information because I have a feeling Robert’s Rules is not well known to most delegates.  I would imagine most council delegate/annual meetings are formal, and if you’re not familiar with how they’re run, then you might feel a little uncomfortable or even a little intimidated by them.

I’m not going to go into the nitty gritty details of Robert’s Rules.  You can either buy the book if you so wish (not really necessary), or you can find them online here:  http://www.rulesonline.com

So what do I do with this knowledge you may ask?  Well, just being generally educated about the way it works might make you feel more in control during these formal meetings.  Most of them follow this order:

1. Call to order
2. Roll call of members present (or acknowledging that there is a quorum* present)
3. Reading of minutes of last meeting
4. Officers reports
5. Committee reports
6. Special orders
7. Unfinished business
8. New business
9. Announcements
10. Adjournment

*What’s a quorum?  It’s the minimum number in attendance that’s required to hold a meeting.  Usually this is set in your council’s by-laws.  Read here for a more detailed explanation.

Many delegates and volunteers express frustration because they feel like they are ignored or don’t have a voice.  The most important thing to remember is that parliamentary procedure establishes that all members have equal rights, privileges, and obligations.  This means that your voice is just as important as anyone else in the meeting.  These rules must be administered impartially.  All members, majority or minority, have the right to full and free discussion of all motions, reports, and other items of business.  But this means you’re going to need to know the rules in the first place to know when that discussion is appropriate, and that might take a little bit of studying.

The book is a reference guide, so it’s really not necessary to read it all the way through.  The Robert’s Rules for Dummies book may be helpful too.  I don’t know this to be the case, but I’ve always thought those Dummy series did a decent job.

There are plenty of cheat sheets out there, but I’ve found this one summarizes the most important topics very succinctly:  Robert’s Rules Summary

Good luck!  It’s boring but definitely worth taking the time to learn!

Addendum 1/31/18:  Total props to the San Gorgonio council for this Robert’s Rules patch program!