Club Bilingue

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURES: A BASIC INTRODUCTION

(based on Robert’s Rules of Order)

Rules of order prevent chaos in a meeting while allowing for a standard to follow. These rules allow everyone to be heard in a fair manner. But members need to understand the reason for the rules and a few basic rules. These rules can be placed on the lectern for each meeting to guide the President and the Chair. Each organization needs to have Robert’s Rules of Order in the hands of the Parliamentarian

for each meeting.

In each case that follows, a member needs to stand and state his point. Then, if the Chair recognizes him, the member proceeds to elaborate. Remember that the one chairing the meeting cannot move a motion. The parliamentarian of the club can rule on an issue or question but only when asked by the Chair. Typically, all business and motions are made during the club business portion at the beginning of the meeting.

A quorum must be met for business decisions to be valid. The business meeting begins at the striking of the gavel by the presiding officer. A quorum, typically, is one more than 50% of the active members. The presiding officer needs to ask the Secretary to confirm is a quorum is present by counting members present. So if we have 24 registered, but only 20 are attending regularly and have paid dues, then 11 would be a quorum for that meeting. The number for a quorum changes as often as weekly as active members change. A member is not attending regularly if he or she has not attended for three straight meetings without a reason being told to the club. Read the rest of this entry »

Ted Parsons, DTM has been a Toastmaster since 1966 and has been a member or our clubs for 38 years.

We all want to give a wonderful speech! Unfortunately, we try to deliver using all the many aspects of an award winning speech. What to do? I am going to share some tried and true, on the mark, and totally awesome lessons from my own personal experience! If you try it, you’ll like it!

1. Be a verbivore. Use specific and appropriate vocabulary for clear messages. Do NOT use cliches! How many did you count in my last two introductory sentences?
2. Be an outliner. Do NOT write your speech. All we do by writing everything is to try to remember every word. Remember that the best speeches are conversations with individuals in your audience. Outline your speech. Know your main points. If you must use note cards, do so. Using cards and the Rule of Threes means your talk will be much more spontaneous, real, and conversational. See Secret numbers 3 and 6.
3. Be spontaneous. Do NOT spend three weeks practicing every day. A key component of the best speeches are the spontaneity and the ease of delivery. Practicing too much leads to memorization. Practicing too much leads us to pass our peak of readiness. And practicing a lot takes a lot of time. Do not just practice. Remember that if we keep doing the same thing over and over and expect improvement, that is a definition of insanity. Practice correctly. And remember to time yourself. Make allowances for audience reaction, use of visual aids, and the occasional ad lib. Perfect practice (within reason) makes perfect.
4. Be lazy. I am. Why spend weeks on a talk when I can spend 10 minutes during the meeting outlining some thoughts? Heresy! See Secret number 5.

Read the rest of this entry »