Here’s my response to an email sent to me today from a new member of our club who will remain anonymous here. They asked if I would coach them on how to make a motion to have the minutes of the club meeting sent to everyone by e-mail and therefore not read at the club meeting. Here’s my reply:
Dear XXXXXX:
Not that you asked but here are my thoughts on what’s likely to happen if you move this motion in any form. While you can move the motion, in my opinion, it won’t get passed (might not even get seconded).
One of the educational components of Toastmasters involves how to run business meetings (timed agenda, control the crowd, use Roberts Rules, keep everything legal). Many newcomers to Toastmasters don’t appreciate the value of this training until much later in their time with us. The reading of the minutes allows everyone to contribute to ensuring their accuracy. While that can be done by email, it doesn’t allow the club members to immediately respond to the minutes and to any corrections (which may or may not be accurate). The use of email would likely have the minutes bouncing back and forth with members contributing changes and changes to the changes. Already the executive is hearing complaints about the amount of email (especially people who reply to all when they should address their response solely to the sender…but oh well, that’s another issue).
As it stands now the reading and accepting of the minutes as read or amended means they have the force of law within our club. This has some important ramifications.
There is a reason for all this formality. Not the least of which is the minutes records the official standing of speakers, evaluators and table topic winners. This is of no real importance when it comes to evaluators and table topics but it does have a value when it comes to recording the names of all the speakers and the announcement of the winner. If an International Speech candidates qualifications to speak at the club level were questioned (and they have been in the past) then the minutes of past meeting will show how many times they’ve spoken at the club. We once reconstructed a member’s speaking history over the years so that they could get the advanced designation that they had achieved. The speaker had lost some of his speech books over time (and they don’t really prove anything) so we used the minutes from previous meetings over a span of some years to help this member get their due recognition.
Our business meetings follow the exact form used in annual meetings or board meetings of public companies. It’s the same for all boards including education and library. Most forms of government and charitable agencies and non-profit groups. The use of minutes and Robert’s Rules are designed to shorten business meetings (Which they do. I’ve quit other clubs that don’t use Robert’s Rules as it inevitably comes down to the “old boys” running the meetings.).
Even a passing knowledge of how to run a meeting can make a huge difference in some careers. I used to run a large provincial association’s annual meeting from the back of the room (and now Mr. Chairman you ask for a seconder….). Motions passed at this meeting including changes to the association’s constitution were lawfully passed and no member could show up with their lawyer the next day complaining they had been duped and wanted a change. (Well they could show up, but they wouldn’t win by trying to force a change.)
The business session is all about how do we work together as a group for the betterment of the group and not the sole interest of the individual. Currently we have a member who has complained about the timing of the end of the meeting (strangely they seem to hang around at the end of the meeting but that’s just my observation). It’s my story that they would like to adjust the agenda to “solve” this issue for themselves so they can get home. Regrettably, it’s my opinion that they haven’t taken it upon themselves to ask other members for either their opinions or their support. So each time the the issue is raised at the business session (which is why it exists to allow all members to bring their motions forward regardless of how misguided), they find their motion is defeated and the will of the group prevails as it should. (Of course, they also have the right to leave whenever it suits them. However strangely enough our meetings have been very consistently ending on time (9:30pm) for most of this year. It wasn’t always so.)
If their motion had merit (and in the same manner if the motion you wish to bring forward had merit), then the assembly would move it, second it, debate it and pass it. If the motion has no merit or does not serve the interests of the majority, it will be defeated either in formation (object to consideration) or in voting. Motions which defeat the purposes for which the group meets should be defeated in formation and not encouraged.
By the way, learning how to chair a meeting that ends on time is an art. It requires the chair to talk by telephone to all of the principal participants prior to the meeting to gauge the amount of time each will be given (not arbitrarily taken) by the chair. A professional quality performance by the officers of the evening (especially the chair, the toastmaster and the general evaluator will ensure success) means everybody gets to go home on time. Too few business managers know (or appreciate) how to end a meeting on time. Beginning and ending meetings on time honours the attendees and ensures their return to future meetings run as smoothly.
Also the reading of the minutes is an educational exercise for the secretary who learns how to read in public in a manner which can be heard and understood by all. It is also an exercise in listening which is crucial to the Toastmaster educational program and is written into our organization’s objectives.
Now as to your motion (should you wish proceed) I would suggest that we have a challenge here in wording. The primary motion would probably be to have the minutes sent out by email. Now right away you’ve got a problem beyond the lawful distribution of the minutes for approval (how would that work?) as not all of our members have email!! That will likely be an insurmountable issue. Second it will probably require a second motion to not read the minutes at meetings. If we got this far (which I personally doubt would happen), the debate is likely to go towards if we didn’t read the minutes what would we do with that time? This is a question for which there are probably as many answers as club members so I can’t see a resolution forthcoming.
Hope this helps and good luck with your motion.
