Contentious Meeting

Difficult meetings can become even worse with poor presiding. By preparing for known issues and treating everyone fairly officers and leaders can often turn planned outrage into an opportunity for collective buy in.

The client

The State division of a national union.

The issue

The union’s annual meeting was often contentious, but this one promised to be especially so. Members were angry, the board was unpopular. To make matters worse, this was the first time the meeting was being held virtually. Obviously, the services of a Parliamentarian were needed.

The strategy

We began by prepping the board on parliamentarian procedures that would ensure every member or delegate got a full hearing while adhering to the specified order of business. We provided our services for meeting scripting to help things run smoothly. And we also made sure that the technology in use supported fair virtual deliberative participation.

The outcome

The uproar was relatively muted and the board survived. As far as we could see, all involved felt they’d had a fair chance to communicate their preferences in an orderly fashion.