The rules for board meetings are designed to keep the meeting on track, make sure that discussions are fair and provide a framework for formal debates about key business issues. These rules are just as crucial today as they were in the past, and are especially important when meetings are held in the form of virtual or hybrid meetings.

Board directors must be prepared for each board meeting. They should have read the documents for the board prior to their arrival and bring with them any questions or ideas they might have on issues to be discussed. Directors must also be prepared to answer questions from other board members during the meeting. This will help achieve the main objective of the board which is to set business-wide strategies and to define the team’s actions to achieve these goals.

A director must raise their hand before making statements or asking an inquiry during a discussion with the board. Directors should only speak about matters where they are experts or on issues raised during the meeting. It is not appropriate for directors to give lengthy speeches about themselves, or to criticize other board members.

The chair is able to limit the number of people who can speak on a matter and to end discussion by a vote. The chair can also call a meeting to a halt at the request of any Director. A board director may also utilize an privilege issue to discuss urgent issues that aren’t connected to motions in the process or excessive background music or an emergency situation that requires immediate attention.

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