Considerations For Online Quilt Group Meetings

Your Guild, Bee, or quilting group now has its meeting by teleconferencing. This can mean a group telephone call or videoconferencing. But if you think in person meetings are tough, try to maintain order when teleconferencing! Smiling, frowning, or looking confused doesn't work over the phone.

As the president, chair, or leader, you have a responsibility to maintain order. You don't want to be bossy, but you do need to control the meeting. Here is a hugely simplified overview of Robert's Rules of Order (the Rules) to help you get started.

There is a reason for Robert's Rules. It is a framework that everyone can learn (if they choose) and therefore have a good idea what's going to happen in the meeting. The idea behind the Rules is to ensure that everyone participating in the meeting knows what is going on. This is their right as a participant in the meeting. There are some other beliefs behind this framework that are helpful to the meeting. One is that everyone has a right to speak and another is that only one topic is discussed at a time.

As leader, you have the responsibility and the right to set the agenda. Getting the agenda out before the meeting is probably THE most important thing that the leader can do to keep order in the meeting. It lets folks think about the items before the meeting and have an idea what they want to say. It also helps you know during the meeting who is speaking.

To make sure that everyone discusses the same item, a Motion is made. The motion must be seconded before discussion. If it is not seconded, the motion is dead. Reports from Committees come to the board as a seconded motion. In a teleconference, the person making the motion should have it written down. If videoconferencing, type the motion on your screen and share your screen with the group.

Here are some other things you need to know about Motions.

• You can vote to change the wording of the motion
• You can vote to refer the motion to a committee
• You can vote to close the debate
• You can vote to table the motion. NOTE: if the tabled motion is not taken from the table by the end of the next meeting, it is dead
• You can vote the motion up or down

If you want to know more about the Rules, there are so many options! You can purchase cheat sheets, order sheets, flow charts, and even complete copies of the Rules. You can download a copy to your smartphone, use a simplified copy from the Internet, or even use this article to help you along!

Happy Meetings!