But the order of business isn't all that's needed to make certain a meeting runs well. Every meeting should also follow an agenda. An agenda will often be used to list the specific items that will be discussed during a meeting, while also mirroring the standard order of business. Many chapters will find agendas to be helpful as they are more specific, and often contain more events (such as the Pledge of Allegiance and call to order), than a standard order of business.
Once all business has been addressed, the meeting may be adjourned. When a meeting is adjourned, all business is completed. A meeting may also be stopped for a short break, called a recess, or a brief pause in proceedings, called stand at ease. A recess must be voted upon before it is carried out, but a stand at ease can be announced by the chair at any point.
That covers just about everything! Hopefully, you learned a bit about the basics of parli pro and understand how most meetings are organized and run. Next time, we’ll talk about motions and voting on different points of business. With that, I now adjourn this edition of “Parli Pro With Ryan O!”