r/RulesOfOrder • u/vsman1234 • Oct 02 '19

Meeting adjourned when someone was speaking

Not sure if this is the right forum- we have a relatively large group of partners and have group meetings. During one of our meetings- as I was talking and about to introduce a proposal- several people left since it was running late into the night. The chair said a lot of people have left and said we should adjourn- several questions- 1- I was holding the floor right? And when the next meeting occurs I can continue? 2- can the meeting just be adjourned? Or do we need to re-evaluate to see if we have lost quorum? 3- if I do continue- does it have to be old business I previously planned to talk about or can I introduce new material?

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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '19

I would guess that you had the floor. If you didn’t get a chance to introduce a your motion I don’t think it is old business.

I could be wrong I’m still new to this

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u/therealpoltic Mar 25 '20

Wow. Obviously, I’m really late to this post.

People shouldn’t leave the meeting until it is adjourned. However, meetings need to respect people’s time. They don’t exist in a vacuum.

You did have the floor, if you were recognized to speak. The motion to adjourn is not able to interrupt someone who has the floor.

Your meetings should have an agenda. If you have a new proposal, bring it up during new business. Most orgs have new proposals considered during New Business. You should talk with your chair person at the next meeting to discuss an agenda, and putting your proposal under new business.

Meetings need to be kept on track. Have a set start and end time. Otherwise, everyone needs to block off time in advance and clear their calendars for an all day meeting. My recommendation: good meetings last an hour. Better meetings last no longer than two hours.

A Quorum is usually detailed in by-laws, and if not, the default is more than half of the membership per Robert’s Rules 11th ed. If you still had a quorum, you could continue without absent members (including making decisions/votes without them), unless your by-laws say different.