Chairing Meetings Successfully

The person charged with the duties of chairperson of a meeting has a serious responsibility but a little preparation can help you chair your meetings successfully.

Tutorial

There are some preparations you should make if you are charged with the responsibility of chairing a meeting. The two most important are to know the topic(s) of the meeting and to know the laws and rules governing the body that are meeting.
In order to chair a meeting successfully, you should know everything you can about the topics being discussed. If there is an agenda, be sure you go over the points of the agenda carefully. Do you fully understand each agenda item? Do you know who will be making presentations on particular points and what those people are expected to say? Are you aware of conflicts and potential conflicts that may arise and how you can head those off? Take time to prepare well ahead of the meeting date, talking with those who play major roles in the meeting.

You should also know the accepted standard for rules of meetings. There are several options and the one you choose will depend largely on the group itself.

The rules and laws governing the meeting body range from the organizational bylaws to state and federal laws regarding the Freedom of Information Act – sometimes called FOI or FOIA. The organization’s bylaws become second to the state and federal laws and you should be especially aware of FOI requirements if the meeting body represents a public organization and if members of the public and media are in attendance. The FOI requirements are very clear about specific points, including the reasons a public body can go into an executive session. If you as chairperson allow the organization to violate those laws, you could all face severe penalties. At the very least, your actions could be declared void because you were outside the law but you could also face fines and even jail time, depending on the action. If you expect the meeting to be controversial, you might consider hiring an attorney who will help ensure that the meeting is held within the boundaries of the applicable laws and rules.