The rules for board meetings are designed to ensure that the meeting stays on track, make sure that discussions are fair and provide the structure for formal debates regarding important business issues. These rules are as crucial today as they were in the past, but they are more important when meetings are held in an online or hybrid format.
Directors of boards are expected to be prepared for each board meeting, having read the board’s papers prior to when they arrive. They should bring with them questions or ideas regarding the subjects to be discussed. Directors should be prepared to answer questions during the meeting from other members. This will help achieve the main objective of a board which is to determine corporate-wide strategies and outline the team’s activities toward these goals.
To be eligible to speak at a board meeting, a director must raise their hands and wait to be asked to make statements or ask an inquiry. Directors should speak only in the areas they are my site knowledgeable about or on questions which were asked during the meeting. It is not appropriate for directors to present lengthy speeches about themselves or to criticize other members of the board.
The chair may restrict the number of people who may speak on a particular topic and then close the debate through voting. The chairman may also call a meeting to a halt at the request of any Director. Directors on boards may also use an privilege issue to discuss urgent matters which are not related to motions that are pending for example, excessive background sound or an emergency situation which needs to be addressed immediately.