Scouting, Volume 71, Number 2, March-April 1983 Page: 20
58, E1-E24, [32] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Good meetings start and finish on time.
Before you adjourn, summarize key points,
decisions, and assignments. Then ask Explorers
to evaluate the meeting and suggest improvements.
Before voting, motions must be in-
troduced, seconded, and presented for
discussion. Decorum in debate is crit-
ical. Appoint a parliamentarian if
meetings are complex. A paperback
edition of Roberts Rules of Order
should help you run the meeting
efficiently.
Time after time, otherwise excel-
lent meetings get fouled-up because
of poor timing. Start on time, pace the
flow of agenda items, then glide to a
graceful finish—on time. Don't rush;
allow each matter sufficient time.
Conclude on a high note so that the
enthusiasm will spill over into the
follow-up phase. If you create a
relaxed climate throughout, you'll get
more from your members. People are
less productive when pressured.
Before you adjourn the meeting,
summarize key points, decisions, and
assignments. Tie the loose ends
together, clarify through questions,
then try to get feedback about the
meeting itself from your fellow Ex-
plorers. Remember that evaluation is
an important tool for improving fu-
ture sessions.
Don't leave decisions at the table.
Make sure that members fulfill com-
mitments. The minutes should state
action plans and their deadline for
completion. As chairperson, keep
members' morale in high gear by
expressing interest in their assigned
tasks. The personal touch motivates
people.
There may be no such thing as a
perfect meeting, and there's surely no
surefire formula guaranteeing a suc-
cessful outcome for every Explorer
session you attend. However, there
are basic processes that characterize
productive meetings. In their book
How To Make Meetings Work
(Wyden Books, 1976), Michael Doyle
and David Straus offer five key cri-
teria you should consider. Make sure
your meeting has a common focus on
content ... a common focus on
process . . . someone responsible for
maintaining an open and balanced
conversational flow . . . someone re-
sponsible for protecting individuals
from personal attack ... a clearly
defined and agreed upon understand-
ing of every participant's role and
responsibility.
Your Explorer post meetings are
an investment of valuable human re-
sources. That's why no post can af-
ford to "keep minutes and waste
hours." If you observe the guidelines
for running effective meetings pro-
vided by management experts, your
members are less likely to moan, "We
gotta stop meeting like this!"
Ten Steps Toward
Better Meetings
• As the Explorer post president, ask
yourself, "Is this meeting really
necessary?" If you can find an alter-
native that accomplishes your objec-
tive, use it.
• Meet only with those directly in-
volved with the issue at hand. The
more peripheral opinions that are
offered, the more difficult the de-
cision-making.
• Choose a time and place that is
conducive to your purpose. Holding a
committee meeting in the school gym
during basketball practice guarantees
distractions and frustration.
• So that participants can contribute
their best effort, distribute a detailed
agenda well in advance of the meet-
ing.
• Begin on time and limit time spent
on each agenda item. Avoid digres-
sions. Close on time. Get feedback on
the effectiveness of the meeting.
• Don't tolerate interruptions, except
for emergencies.
• Before you adjourn, summarize
what was decided and confirm assign-
ments.
• Keep accurate minutes noting
major points, key decisions and tasks.
Try to distribute minutes within 48
hours.
• As chairperson, follow up by ask-
ing for progress reports. This way
you can be sure that decisions made
at the meeting are being implement-
ed.
• Try not to hold any further meet-
ings on the same subject for as long as
possible. H
E20
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 71, Number 2, March-April 1983, periodical, March 1983; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353635/m1/60/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.