There are laws that require an open meeting for your board if it is comprised of elected members, or if you are a non-profit corporation or another public entity. These laws, often referred to as Sunshine Laws or Open Meetings Acts will require that board meetings be conducted in a public setting. They also grant non-members the ability to attend and, in certain instances to make comments.

The person who presided at the previous meeting will “call the meeting to order” when the board is ready. This usually means saying”I call this meeting to order’ or something similar in an authoritative voice. In the majority of cases, this is followed by two taps on the gavel to indicate that the meeting has officially begun.

Make sure you have a clear agenda prior to when the board meeting starts. The agenda should be specific and clearly define the most important issues that the board has to consider, as well as the key decisions they need to make. Avoid putting too many topics on the agenda or using an agenda from a previous meeting.

Interrupting your board with new topics for discussion can consume time and distract your attendees from the items you have on your agenda. You might want to consider adding a parking space at the end of your agenda. This is where you can add issues that aren’t top of the line. You can make a promise to revisit them in the future or include them in the next meeting.

Ask your board members for feedback on how the meetings went, and what you could do to improve them. This will make your board members feel more engaged and interested in the outcome of the meeting.

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