If your board is made up of elected members, or is a non-profit organization or similar public entity, there may be laws in place that require open meetings. These laws, also known as Sunshine Laws or Open Meetings Acts, require that board business be conducted in a public setting. Non-members are also permitted to attend and, in some instances, make comments.
When the board is set to begin the member who presided at the last meeting will “call the meeting to order”. This usually means saying”I call this meeting to order’ or similar in a voice that commands. Most of the time the next step is two taps on the givel to signal that the meeting has officially started.
Make sure you have a well-organized agenda before the board meeting begins. The agenda should be clear and concise and should highlight the most important issues and the decisions that the board will need to make. Beware of putting too many things on the agenda, or reusing an agenda from the previous meeting.
The constant stream of new topics to discuss can consume time and distract people from the things you have on your agenda. Consider adding a parking space at the end of your agenda so that you can discuss topics that aren’t high on your list and make a promise to revisit them in the future or add them to the next meeting.
Get feedback from your board on how meetings have been going and what you could do to improve them. This will make your board members more invested in the outcome and engaged.
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