A meeting is a gathering of a group of people to make decisions.
- One question at a time
- One person, one vote
- Only people present can vote
When these rules are followed, it makes a meeting a deliberative assembly: a gathering of members (of any kind of collective) who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions:
- A group of people meets to discuss and make decisions on behalf of the entire membership.
- They meet in a single room or area or under equivalent conditions of simultaneous aural communication.
- Each member is free to act according to own judgement.
- Each member has an equal vote.
- A member can remain part of the group, even after disagreeing with a decision.
- The members at the meeting act for the entire group, even if there are members absent.
- A mass meeting is announced and publicized and open to everyone interested in the purpose
- A general assembly is a meeting of all the members of an organisation
- A local assembly is a meeting of all local club or local branch members of an organization
- A legislature has the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city
- A board is a recognized group of people who jointly oversee the activities of an organization
- A convention is a meeting or series of meetings in close proximity of representatives or delegates
Note: A committee is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly.
- Regular are normally scheduled by the organization at set intervals
- Special scheduled separately from a regular meeting, as the need arises.
- Adjourned (or continued) are scheduled as follow-up
- Annual held every year and may have elections or special reports
- Executive are secret or confidential
- Public are open to the general public
- Electronic are done electronically or online
Meetings can be multiple types, such as an annual, electronic, public meeting.
- attend meetings
- make motions
- speak in debate
- vote
A motion is a proposal to do something. The steps are:
- A member makes a motion,
- A member seconds the motion
- The presider states the motion and says "If there is no objection, the motion will be adopted. [Pause]
- If there is no objection, "Since there is no objection, the motion is adopted."
- Otherwise, debate proceeds and the presider puts the motion to a vote,
- The presider announces the results of the vote.
- Main brings business before the assembly.
- Subsidiary deals directly with a main motion.
- Privileged is granted precedence over ordinary business
- Incidental relates to another motion
- Restorative bring back a question that was previously dismissed
Many deliberative assemblies (e.g. city councils) use a procedure known as the "consent agenda." Matters believed to be noncontroversial are placed on the consent agenda, and they are all adopted by a single motion. If any member object to one or more items on the consent agenda, the items objected to are removed from the consent agenda and handled in the ordinary course.