Parliamentary Procedure Quick Start

Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised provides a lot of helpful information about minutes. Here are a few tips to help you out:

• Be sure your minutes inlcude only what was done; not what was said. Leave out the discussion, comments, and other information. Minutes are not supposed to be a great American novel. They are just supposed to remind members what happened at the meeting. They also just happen to be a legal record of your organization.
• In the first paragraph, include the following items:
1. the kind of meeting (regular or special)
2. the name of the organization
3. the time and date of the meeting
4. the location if meetings are not always held in the same place
5. whether the chairman and secretary were present or absent, and, if they were absent, the names of the substitutes
6. whether the minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved or corrected
• In the body of the minutes:
1. include all the main motions and the name of the person who made the motion.
2. Do not include the name of the seconder.
3. If the motion was amended, write the final version of the motion.
4. Also indicate if the motion was referred to a committee or if it was postponed to the next meeting.
• Put each individual topic in a separate paragraph. It will so much easier to find it when months later, you have to look up what happened on a subject.
• Motions should be written exactly as they were stated right before the chairman took the vote.
• When you have a program or a guest speaker, include only the name of the speaker and the title of the program.
• The person who took the minutes should sign them, but it is not necessary to use "Respectfully submitted."
• If you send minutes out to the members to read before the meeting, be sure to mark them "draft." That will help eliminate confusion about which set of minutes is the official set. 
• When the minutes are approved by the members, they become the legal, official record of the organization.

A new, exciting online course, “Parliamentary Procedure Made Easy,” is now available for persons beginning their study of parliamentary procedure.     The unique course is designed for those who have no experience with parliamentary procedure or those who are just beginning to learn about the basics of parliamentary procedure.                    

The online course is now available through NAP at the cost of $110 through May 31. After that date, the cost of the course will be $125. The fee includes unlimited use of the online course for 60 days. Learners may exit the course at any time and then log back on and resume their study where they left off. A novice should take about five to seven hours to complete the interesting and educational course.

Learning is made fun through the use of lessons on a variety of subjects including:

• Rules of Organizations
• Conducting Business in Meetings
• Handling Motions
• Debate
• The motions to Amend, Commit or Refer, and Postpone to a Certain Time
• Changing Your Mind through the Motions - Reconsider, Rescind, and Amend Something Previously Adopted
• Voting;
• Enforcing and Suspending Rules

Each lesson is followed by a short quiz to help check on how the learner is doing. There are a total of 100 questions. A certificate will be awarded to those to achieve an overall score of 70 percent or above on the quizzes.    

Anyone interested in this new and interesting online course, “Parliamentary Procedure Made Easy,” call the headquarters of the National Association of Parliamentarians toll free at 888-627-2929 or go to the NAP website at www.parliamentarians.org.