Once a meeting grows beyond 20 or so people the dynamic is for side conversations to break out and a meeting can quickly become stuck in a whispering quagmire. These situations require a different mindset than one would use in a meeting of a dozen or less persons. Roberts Rules are a proven tool for organizing large meetings.

Roberts Rules have fallen out of favor as public schools have cut parliamentary procedure from their curriculum and even extra curricular activities. (I learned Roberts Rules in an elective class at my New Jersey High School named Model Congress, my wife learned it at her Ohio High School in the FHA program)

The main hurdle in using Roberts Rules is to know them. At the Camp Meeting Leader’s Conference I will be sharing a little on Roberts Rules and how they can be an effective meeting tool. I would encourage every gavel holder or convener to study Roberts Rules and carry a “cheat sheet” like this one found at Jim Slaughter’s website There are other worthwhile resources on this site as well.

Along with these resources, if I were to have one book on Parliamentary Procedure (I have 4) it would be:

Robert’s Rules Of Order Newly Revised In Brief (Roberts Rules of Order (in Brief))

It is a small and handy book that fits easily in your bag. It is also very user friendly including a great section on “what to read if you only have 30 minutes”. It would be a great gift for those in your camp who tend to get a little side tracked at meetings!