If your board consists of elected members, or is a non-profit organization or similar public entity, there might be laws in place that require an open meeting. These laws, referred to as Sunshine Laws or Open Meetings Acts are a requirement that board business be conducted in public. Non-members also have the right to attend and in some instances make comments.
The member who presided over the last meeting will «call the meeting to order» when the board is ready. This is typically done by saying «I call this meeting to order» or something similar using high volume. Then, usually, there are two taps on the gavel and it signifies that the meeting has officially started.
Make sure that you have a clear agenda prior to when the board meeting gets underway. The agenda should be concise and clear and should highlight the most important issues and decisions that the board will need to take. Beware of putting too many things on the agenda or repeating http://electronicboardportal.net/types-of-boards-and-board-members-categories/ an agenda from a previous meeting.
Sidetrack your board with new topics of discussion can take up valuable time and distract them from the tasks on your agenda. Consider putting a parking zone at the end of your meeting agenda. This is where you can include topics that aren’t high priority. You can make a promise to revisit these later or to add them to the following meeting.
Request feedback from your board on how the meetings went, and what you could do to improve the meetings. This will ensure that your board members are more involved in the process and engaged.
