Robert's Rules of Order

by Henry M. III Robert

Robert's Rules of Order is the book on parliamentary procedure for parliamentarians and anyone involved in an organization, association, club, or group and the authoritative guide to smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings and assemblies.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Business, Politics, Classics, Leadership, Law

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1876

Reviews

[Amy Drew]

hahaha! this is the book I used to "read" when I was 3 and couldn't actually read yet but wanted everyone to think I could. I carried it with me everywhere, and could often be found curled up in a corner, staring intently at the usually upside-down words.

[Shanice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informational. I learned a alot. But, one of the most boring books I have ever laid eyes on

[Jim Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are lots of books with Robert’s Rules in the title. However, most of these books are earlier editions of Robert’s or knock-offs. If you are supposed to follow the "latest edition” of Robert's, this is your book--Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (11th Edition), published in 2011. Each new edition brings changes to procedure. The latest has 120.

While Robert's Rules may not seem like a "let's cozy up with a book" kind of read, the book is a wonderful resource for anyone who has to spend time in meetings. And this newest edition is essential for groups that follow (or at least claim to follow) Robert's.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding bedtime reading -- guaranteed to put you to sleep in short order. For people who believe that organizational bylaws are to be "followed" and aren't just general guidelines to be followed or not as the mood beckons.Got this when searching how to "fire" an officer of an organization. It has the "how to" answers.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although exposed to Robert's Rules in high school I never really got down to studying and regularly employing them until the responsibilities of chairing Socialist Party meetings was thrust upon me in the early eighties. Then, particularly at contentious sessions of our national conventions, having a common guide was of great help in managing--and sometimes manipulating--disputes and digressions.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercy...

[Warren Sibley]

Hope I can finish this sandpaper to my eyelids...

[Kiessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I vote this the most boring book ever to be penned by man..............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........

[Alexandru · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short and outdated hornbook for a bureaucrat.

[Barack Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

225-Robert's Rules of Order-Henry Robert-Business-1876
Barack
2019/06/17
2020/06/23


—— "The principle of the assembly, the order of the assembly, the habit of the assembly, and the experience of the assembly are all absent."

"Robert's Rules of Procedure", first published in the United States in 1876. It collects and adapts the procedures of the U.S. Congress to make it popular among American civil organizations. It is currently the most widely used procedure of the United States.

Henry Robert was born in South Carolina in 1837 and died in 1923. Studied at West Point Military Academy. He is a brigadier general of the United States Army. His most famous achievement was the writing of "Robert's Rules of Procedure", which was motivated by a certain church meeting where he served as chairman. Robert failed at that meeting, so he determined to learn the procedure. Representative works: "Robert's Rules of Procedure" etc.

table of Contents
1. How to deal with affairs in the negotiation meeting
2. General classification of motions
3. Priority motion
4. Occasional motions
5. Subsidiary motion
6. Other initiatives and unclassified motions
7. Debate
8. Voting
9. Committee and Council
10. Officials and meeting minutes

The U.S. Army ranks are divided into three categories: soldier, warrant officer, and officer. Among them, the soldiers are divided into: recruits, second-class soldiers, first-class soldiers, technical soldiers, corporals, sergeants, sergeants, third-class sergeant major, second-class sergeant major, and first-class sergeant major. Warrant officers are divided into first class warrant officer, second class warrant officer, third class warrant officer, fourth class warrant officer, and fifth class warrant officer. Officers are divided into: second lieutenant, lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, colonel, brigadier general, major general, lieutenant general, and general.

A motion refers to a formal proposal made by a member of the deliberative body that adopts parliamentary procedures to take a certain action. It can generally be divided into 5 categories: active/main motion, subsidiary motion, occasional motion, priority motion, other active motion and unclassified motion.

The initiative/main motion is a motion for submitting a specific topic to the conference organization for deliberation. It has no priority, and it allows all priority, accidental and subsidiary motions to be dealt with first. The initiative can be debated, is subject to amendments, and can accept any subsidiary motions applied to it.

Subsidiary motions should be applied to other motions so that they can be dealt with most appropriately. With the help of subsidiary motions, the original motion can be modified, deferred, or entrusted to the committee to study and report, etc. Subsidiary motions can be applied to any initiative. After being proposed, they replace the initiative and must be resolved before the initiative is implemented.

Incidental motions are those that are caused by another pending issue, and therefore take precedence over the issue that caused them and must be resolved before that issue. Possible occasional motions include: rule issues and appeals, suspension of rules, opposition to consideration of an issue, splitting of issues, review paragraph by paragraph or article by paragraph, stand and re-vote, etc.

Priority motions are those resolutions that are so important that they need to take precedence over all other motions when it does not involve pending resolutions. Due to their high priority, they cannot debate and do not accept any subsidiary motions applied to them. Possible priority motions include: designating time for follow-up meetings, adjourning the meeting, taking a break, raising rights and interests, and requesting compliance with the agenda.

Other initiatives and unclassified motions. They are two active motions (revocation and approval) and some motions that are inconvenient to be classified as active motions, subsidiary motions, accidental motions or priority motions, and are commonly used. Such as: cancellation of shelving, reconsideration, cancellation, resubmission of a motion, approval, deliberate delay, unreasonable or time-wasting motion, etc.

“ Parliamentary Law (Parliamentary Law) originally referred to the conventions and rules used by the British Parliament to deal with affairs; later it referred to the conventions of general consultative conference organization. In the UK, the conventions of these parliaments form part of the unwritten law of the country, while in the United States In the legislature, they are authoritative under all circumstances that do not conflict with existing rules or precedents. "

Whether it is a country , a parliament or a company , they all need to carry out various forms of group discussions. One only needs to communicate with others. It actually constitutes a meeting. The most basic conference unit consists of 2 people. If we want to have fruitful discussions, rather than just aimless chats, then we need to understand efficient ways of meeting.

" The rules in this book are prepared to meet part of the needs of the conference organization. This type of conference organization usually does not have a legislative nature. These rules have been fully improved and can be used as conference organization rules. When the conference organization considers that it needs to adopt some special In terms of rules, these special rules can conflict with the detailed rules of this book, and can replace these detailed rules, such as meeting procedures. As mentioned above, the rules of this book are suitable for general consultation meeting organizations with a short meeting period and a relatively small quorum. , And based on Congress’s rules and practices to the appropriate extent. If there are any inconsistencies between the rules and Congress’s practices in this book, Congress’s rules are usually listed in the notes. Unless it is to understand Congress’s practices, otherwise, No need to refer to the notes. "

" " Accept "is equivalent to a report by the report, and should not" receive "a report to be confused," receiving "means the report will be submitted to allow its organizational session." Organizational session. "Word for Consultative Organization Conference , And should be replaced with the proper name of the organization in motions and other items, such as associations, clubs, churches, councils, congresses, etc. "Chairman" refers to the official who presides over the meeting, whether temporary or fixed. The terms "" and "House of Representatives" in this book refer to the U.S. House of Representatives. "One meeting" and "One session." "One meeting" in this book refers to members of a consultative group meeting for any length of time. And during the period, the members are scattered for a very short time, such as the morning meeting or evening meeting of a congress. In a society that stipulates regular meetings on a weekly or monthly basis, each such regular meeting is a separate " One session".

A meeting or special meeting called is an independent meeting. If a regular or special meeting is adjourned and held at another time, the subsequent meeting is a continuation of this meeting, not a separate meeting; these two meetings constitute one meeting. If a congress holds a meeting every year or every two years, or a series of meetings lasting several days, the entire series of meetings constitutes one meeting. "Pending" and "Pending immediately". When an issue is presented by the chairman but has not yet been finalized or provisionally addressed, the issue is called a pending resolution. If there are several issues pending, the final issue presented by the chairman becomes the first issue to be dealt with, and is called an immediate pending issue.

The "proactive discussion" is proposed to submit any specific topic to the conference organization. The initiative cannot be proposed when there are other motions pending. "Subsidiary motions" can be applied to initiatives and certain other motions to achieve the purpose of modifying them, delaying their actions, or handling them in other ways. "Priority motion", when it is not related to the question to be resolved, it needs to take priority over all other motions because of its urgency or importance. An "incidental motion" is a motion that is initiated by another issue that is pending or that has just entered the pending state. It must be resolved before the issue is pending or before other issues are dealt with. There is no fixed priority for an occasional motion, but it takes precedence over the issues that caused it, regardless of whether these issues are main issues, subsidiary issues, or priority issues.

"Voting now" (Previous Question in English, literally "previous issue".-Translator's Note) does not refer to the previous issue as its name suggests, but the name of a motion. The motion proposes to end the debate and will Immediately pending resolutions and other issues specified for voting. "Replacement" is a form of amendment, that is, delete the entire resolution, part of the resolution, or one or more paragraphs, and insert another resolution or part in this position Resolution, or one or more paragraphs.

"Relative majority", "more than half" and "two-thirds" received votes. In an election, a candidate who gets a “relative majority of votes” means that he gets more votes than other candidates; a candidate who gets a “more than half of the votes” means that he gets more than half of the votes except for the blank votes. The number of votes. "Relative majority vote" is never used in conference organization, unless there is such a requirement. In these rules, the use of "a majority of votes" means that in a legal meeting where a quorum is present, in addition to blank votes, more than half of the votes have been obtained. "Two-thirds of the votes" means two-thirds of the votes just mentioned . "

"After a conference organization is organized in accordance with Articles 69, 70, and 71, the members propose a motion or submit a letter to the conference organization to submit the affairs to the conference organization. Usually, no motion is proposed to receive committee reports or letters to the conference organization. Usually the formal procedure for proposing motions is skipped when dealing with general routine affairs. However, if any member objects, a formal motion must be filed, or the chairman can submit the issue to a vote without waiting for the motion to be submitted. "

" Before any topic is accepted for debate, it must go through the following procedures: first, a member who has the right to speak shall put forward a motion; then, the motion is seconded (except for certain motions); finally, the chairman, the official presiding the meeting, stating that the motion. a motion was proposed and seconded and can not get it to obtain placed before the organizational meeting, because only the chairman can do that. the Chairman ruled that the motion must violate anti-rule, or statement of issues raised by this motion, so that The meeting organization knows what needs to be considered and processed, that is, what is the issue to be resolved immediately. If there are several issues pending, such as a resolution, an amendment, and a motion for postponement, the last item stated by the chairperson is immediate Questions to be resolved. "

" Before a member proposes a motion, or speaks to the conference organization in a debate, he must have the right to speak-that is, he must stand up after the right to speak is handed over and call him by the official title of the presiding officer, for example "Mr. Chairman", "Mr. Chairperson" or "Mr. Chairperson"; or, if the chairperson is a woman (married or unmarried), call "Ms. Chairperson" or "Ms. Chairperson". If the meeting is organized If there are a large number of people and the chairperson may not know the name of the riser, the member should call the chairperson by his title, and report his name as soon as he draws his attention. If the member is eligible for the right to speak, as described below, the chairperson shall report "Approval" by means of his name, or assign him the right to speak.

If the scale of the meeting is small and the members know each other, you do not need to name the chairperson by title and then the chairperson only needs to nod his head to allow the members to have the right to speak. If a member stands up before the right to speak is handed over, or when the right to speak is being handed over, and someone else stands up after him and calls the chairman by his title, he will not get the right to speak. It is against the rules to stand while others have the right to speak, and the offender cannot claim that he stood up first because he did not stand up again after the right to speak was handed over. "

"A motion is a suggestion for the conference organization to take a certain action or express a certain point of view it holds. It is proposed by a member who has the right to speak as described above and says "I propose" (this is equivalent to Yu said "I suggest"), and then stated the actions he suggested to take. In this way, a member "proposals" (recommends) to pass, amend, or entrust a resolution to the committee, or propose public thanks; or propose "this The purpose of this meeting (or meeting organization) is industrial training..." etc. All resolutions should be written in writing, and the chairperson has the right to request any initiative, amendment, or instructions to the committee to be written in writing.

When an initiative is very important or very long and needs to be written in writing, it is often written in the format of a resolution, that is, starting with "decision," and emphasizing the word "decision" (in italics). Add a comma after it. If you use "I propose," instead of "decision", the resolution will become a motion. Resolutions are generally discussed on the initiative. In some parts of the United States, the word "decision" is often used instead of "resolution." In the organization of meetings with salaried employees, the instructions given to employees are called "orders" rather than "resolutions," and the prescribed term is "regulations" rather than "decisions." "

The discussion method given in Robert's rules of procedure is more formal and relatively complicated. In fact , if it's just a small-scale brainstorming discussion. It can absorb the essence of his thoughts and make necessary simplifications to the rules of procedure to make flexible adjustments according to actual conditions . But simplification does not mean abandoning the rules of procedure. We may be able to participate in various meetings, some meetings not only lengthy, but at the end of the meeting failed to produce a real constructive conclusions. This is a waste of attendees' time.

[Jung]

Improve your meetings with a rule book trusted over seven generations

“That meeting should have been an email.”

You’ve probably had that thought before, especially when a meeting has gone off the rails. It may have lasted longer than expected with nothing decided. Perhaps tempers flared. You may even have left the meeting still confused as to what it was even about.

Unproductive, even contentious meetings are an age-old problem, but they don’t have to be. You’re about to learn how to tackle them with a set of rules developed over a century ago. These aren’t your grandfather’s rules. At their core, they’re much older.

Rewind to 1876 when Henry M. Robert published the first version of what eventually became Robert’s Rules of Order. Robert was an Army engineering officer who began studying parliamentary procedure 13 years before. What prompted his interest? In short, being asked to lead a meeting that turned into a mess. Given the time period in America’s history, it’s obvious now how important it was for states and localities to find common ground as they worked together. While the concept of parliamentary procedure had crossed the ocean from England, there were still critical differences between groups when it came down to the actual rules they chose to adopt.

You don’t need a time machine or a deep history lesson to understand how useful Robert’s Rules of Order can be today. You just need to know that it establishes agreement on one set of rules that keeps everyone clear on what’s being discussed, what can be done, and how to treat one another in the process. After all these years, the guidelines remain the top authority on parliamentary procedure among local governments, organizations, and other membership groups throughout the US.

Robert’s Rules of Order is intended to be a highly detailed reference that answers how to handle just about every meeting scenario. While we obviously can’t cover every one of them in this manual, you’ll get an introduction to the basics, including the main principles of the rules and how they work throughout the course of a meeting. Once you know, you’ll be well on your way to keeping your own meetings moving along fairly, justly, and efficiently.

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Fairness and order ensure every group member has equal rights

Have you ever been in a meeting where one person did all the talking and you couldn’t get in a word edgewise? What about a situation where just a couple of people in the group pulled rank to take action everyone else was against? These are two big issues that Robert’s Rules of Order can solve. It starts with its principles.

First, every member of the organization has equal rights to participate in the meeting. That includes attending, bringing topics before the group, sharing their thoughts on the topic at hand, and voting. These rights apply to every topic, whether it’s an idea for consideration or an issue having to do with the meeting itself. Second, the majority vote wins.

An orderly meeting structure built on these principles ensures fairness and, ideally, efficiency. For example, only one topic can be considered at a time. Then, each member may share their thoughts on it at least once before another member speaks to it a second time. Further, no one can interrupt unless the matter is truly urgent.

Sound like a dream?

Before we get into details of how it works, it’s a good time to consider a few things you must establish before you can apply what you’ll learn next. First, your organization must formally adopt Robert’s Rules of Order as its parliamentary authority and state that in its bylaws. There’s no use in having rules if no one is committed to following them. Also, keep in mind your own bylaws will have authority over Robert’s Rules of Order, as do any state or federal laws. These rules are meant to enhance what you already have in place.

You must also decide on what constitutes a quorum – the minimum number of people required at a meeting to take any official action for the group. In addition, you must designate a presiding officer and a secretary; both must be present for meetings to proceed. The presiding officer, also called the chair, should know the rules – inside and out – so they can be an effective referee. The chair is also responsible for developing the agenda prior to each meeting, which the board votes to adopt at the start of each meeting. The secretary takes clear and careful notes during the proceedings.

As you might imagine, there are many more details about best practices for bylaws and the roles of the chair and secretary. For now, knowing these essentials is most important to exploring how things flow in a meeting that follows Robert’s Rules. Next, we’ll look at how these meetings tick.

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Members exercise their rights by proposing topics in the form of motions

Have you heard the song “I Second That Emotion,” sung by Smokey Robinson? Or maybe the versions made famous by Diana Ross & The Supremes or The Temptations? If so, you may never hear it the same way again, or at least not without thinking of Robert’s Rules of Order. Bet you never stopped to think how that 1960s Motown hit had a connection to parliamentary procedure. Robinson has said the song came from when cowriter Al Cleveland agreed with him on something, a clever turn on the common phrase, “I second that motion.”

Seconding a motion is when things really get moving in meetings. We just covered how only one topic is considered at a time during meetings, and you may be thinking about how you introduce the topic to start with. That’s where motions come in. A motion is simply proposing that the group act upon something. If there’s no other topic under consideration, any member can present a motion once acknowledged by the chair.

While a motion can be made by a sole member, in most cases, it takes a second member to support, or second it, for any further action to follow. If there’s no second, the motion fails, and the group moves on to the next item of business. When another member says, “I second that motion,” it puts the topic in play, or “on the table,” according to Robert.

The chair then serves as moderator for the debate. They must recognize anyone who wishes to speak and allow everyone just one turn before considering additional comments. Those who do speak must begin their thought with their intention, clearly stating whether they want to speak for or against the motion being discussed.

While the chair should always stay alert to members who want to speak, ideally you should submit any topics in advance to be added to the agenda’s “new business” section. But unless your bylaws say otherwise, it’s not required.

There are many different types of motions you can make. We’ll cover them next.

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The three groups of motions are main, secondary, and renewal

Robert classifies motions into three broad categories. First, a main motion is the most common and is basically any topic that merits consideration by the group as new business. For example, it could be a request to make a donation to a charitable organization or select a particular park property for a community festival.

There are many motions considered secondary because they’re secondary to the main topic of discussion. Robert further breaks down secondary motions into three groups: subsidiary, privileged, and incidental. Let’s consider examples of each.

Subsidiary motions are those allowing members to propose doing something to the main motion, like postponing it, amending it, or referring it to a committee. We’ll cover this one a bit more later.

Privileged motions speak to the privilege of the group members to act on something that impacts the meeting itself, even if business is pending. These motions can be for things such as taking a recess, adjourning, or setting a specific time to adjourn if the meeting is running longer than expected.

Incidental motions come in handy whenever members want to raise objections, appeal a ruling by the chair, or suspend the rules entirely. They’re called incidental because they’re related to the item under discussion but impact the procedure, not the item of business itself.

Now we’ve covered the secondary motions that are subsidiary, privileged, and incidental, that leads us to the third broad category, which are renewal motions. Renewal motions are used for any situation where something must come back before the group for consideration.

Regardless of whether a motion is main, secondary, or renewal, every one of them must be dealt with before the meeting officially concludes. Next, we’ll look at voting.

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Every motion must be handled before a meeting ends

Imagine never leaving a meeting again feeling like nothing was accomplished. With Robert’s Rules, you may not like all of the outcomes but you’ll at least see the wheels keep moving. Every motion brought to the group will see a fate of some kind before the meeting officially concludes. Depending on the type of motion, it gets a vote, or, in some cases, a ruling by the chair.

Now, sometimes meetings go quickly and smoothly. Debate over a motion might conclude in one round, if there’s any debate at all. Members cast their votes for or against the motion with an “aye” or “no,” respectively. As we covered earlier, the majority prevails, and the vote is recorded in meeting minutes.

As you know, real life is often messier than that. Let’s consider a few scenarios to explore the rules for when things are a bit tricky.

Say the debate is dragging on. You can make a motion to limit the debate, whether that’s in terms of the number of speakers allowed or with a time window. Another option is to move to close the debate entirely. Both of these motions require a two-thirds vote for approval.

Perhaps you want more information. You can move to postpone the motion to a specific time. It may be that you want a committee to review a motion and provide their expertise. You can move to refer to a committee.

Last, you may want to postpone something indefinitely for whatever reason, in which case, you move to “table” it.

As you can see, all of these motions require votes themselves and yet serve to keep the group moving through items of business as quickly as possible. With so many motions flying around, you may need a do-over vote every now and then. There’s a motion for that, and you can only propose it if it pertains to something for which you were part of the majority earlier in the meeting. If that’s the case, you can move to reconsider and bring the vote back as if the first one never happened, but you’ll need a majority vote to do it.

Another renewal motion is to change something voted on in a previous meeting. To do that, you can move to rescind the earlier item. You’ll only need a simple majority if you give notice in advance and a two-thirds majority if you don’t.

Once a group has moved through the agenda, typically the chair calls to adjourn the meeting. A meeting can adjourn with a specified time to continue it in cases where all matters haven’t been handled and must be in quick order. The only times meetings end with business on the table are when a preset ending time has been agreed upon beforehand, or some emergency occurs to stop the meeting.

And with that, here’s a motion to adjourn this book.

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Any organization can adopt a long-established set of meeting guidelines to ensure everyone has equal speech and voting rights in deciding what actions the group will take. With a quorum, knowledgeable presiding officer, and secretary, the group can follow standard procedures for efficient meeting structure, including open and fair debate that’s respectful of everyone’s time and input. And ultimately, when matters are decided, both the majority and minority feel heard and accomplished regardless of the outcome. Now you know the basics, you may consider putting Robert’s Rules of Order into action for your own organization.

[Jim Slaughter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Robert's Rules of Order: The Standard Guide to Parliamentary Procedure is a 1982 reprint of the 1893 Robert's Rules of Order with added illustrations. While it may be of historical interest, it's not the current Robert's Rules of Order.

Robert's is regularly updated, and there have been many editions since the 1893 version. Each new edition brings changes to procedure (the latest has 120, with both new practices and names of motions). If you're supposed to follow the "most recent edition" of Robert's, Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 11th edition, published in 2011 is your book.

While some readers find the current manual (at 716 pages) too daunting and complex, there are excellent guides to Robert’s. As the author of two of them, I’m partial to these: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Parliamentary Procedure Fast-Track and Notes and Comments on Robert's Rules.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hopefully there are later editions, because the 2nd edition (1998) is painfully outdated. Sections on secretarial functions, record keeping, the computer, taking meeting minutes, etc. are all in need of revision to reflect current technology. I wanted to read up on Robert's rules because I attend a number of meetings, some of which I felt were misusing Robert's rules to stifle discussion. Well, maybe not! General Robert seems to have been a real anal retentive prig. While I am sure that the formalities that abound in Robert's Rules are necessary when dealing with large groups of contentious individuals, such as Congress, I also feel that a lot of smaller group meetings would be more efficient if they set less stock in the protocols of Robert's Rules and focused on actually accomplishing something. While this book touches on that, it would have been nice to have some true guidelines for small groups, such as PTO's, hobby clubs, etc. If you need to know the basics of Robert's Rules, this book will do that for you.

[Nia]

I am told that IRV (Instant Run-off Voting) is described in Robert's Rules, so would like to compare that to the Ranked Choice voting now used in the state of Maine and elsewhere.
Shira
13 November, 12016 HE

[Craig]

I learned a lot of things I had been doing incorrectly in the past. Always go to the source!

[Laura Walin · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mother bought this book in early 1190's when she moved to Canada. Now she gave it to me so that I would understand better the discussions around Brexit in the British parliament - even though the book is written from the US perspective, of course the roots of their procedures are deep in the English practice.

I am glad that I read this book even though I cannot say that I was able to follow it to every detail. It was fascinating to get some kind of an understanding on how the US House of Representatives works. It was good that the author guided a reader unfamiliar to the parliamentary work first to read section II which gave the basics. Even after that it was a challenge to follow the detailed descriptions of different rules in section I. My compliments to all chairs who are supposed to master the whole set and be able to react swiftly in anything is out of order.

As a book to read, the book was tedious and required quite some stamina to push through from cover to cover. However, with the overview of the procedures, it also gave an improved understanding of the TV series and movies that are about the US politics (e.g. West Wing, House of Cards). And it also offered one moment of revelation: A Committee is formed, when an issue is committed to a subgroup of an assembly to consider.

[Taid Zdinak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert's rules of order newly revised 11th edition is a very useful read and I would recommend it to anyone looking to lead a committee of civilized meeting following parliamentary law. It describes the types of groups that could use Robert's rules effectively. It then continues to address what rules could be left out for personal preference and what roles one needs in a group to effectively hold a parliamentary meeting. It describes the process of how to propose a motion and how to table a motion and what it means to hold the floor and how the yield the floor. In the end there is a very useful chart on what one can do to the floor and whether that action will require a yielded floor and if it will go to vote or be discussed by the group. The most useful part in my opinion was the chart in the back to help people use the things that can speed up a meeting and get things going. I would recommend this book to everyone, but I realize that not everyone wants to read a 670 page book on parliamentary procedure. It is a great book for anyone going into a Job or group that uses parliamentary procedure. I seriously give this book the highest rating I can, a great read for anyone, the text is quite bland but what can you expect of a book about parliamentary procedure.

[Harrison Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Roberts Rules of Order" was a very interesting book to read. It teaches about the system of how a meeting should be run and conducted. What I liked about the book is that it was clear and not complicated. It was very clear when reading about the instructions for the meeting and its outline. The goal of Roberts's rule is to promote orderly meetings that are fair. One of the biggest takes away I got from the book is how a meeting should be ended by having 2-3 members of the meeting must state a conclusion/dismissal. The reason I'm reading this book is that I'm becoming a parliamentarian in my organization. The meetings are run based on the rules so having the knowledge would really benefit me. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes politics because Congress and the Senate use this system to conduct sessions. I would rate this book an 8/10.

[Jamie CULPON · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the worst possible book for anyone to read, but is unfortunately still the best English-language reference manual on parliamentary rules of procedure. If you can avoid holding meetings under these rules in favor of something written and revised by women and non-English speakers in the last century, do so. Unfortunately, if you work in not-for-profits or volunteer organizations that trace their roots back to English parliamentary rules of the 18th-20th century, you'll need to read this. And reread it. And reread it again. And then call your parliamentarian to ask why you need a speaker and a Queen and King to figure out this footnote.

So pretty good reference but a terrible, terrible book.

[Anthony Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

while im not a lawyer or judge this book was still insight full into the world of parliamentary procedure. while starting of it can be a bit of a struggle since there is a vast amount of vocabulary that isn't common in day to day interactions but it becomes less challenging as you get farther on and the concepts start to solidify in your mind and actually make sense. its challenging at times but its honestly a really good book even if your only slightly interested especially since its being updated constantly to adapt to the current times and to whats needed. But its a must read in my opinion witch is basically all book reviews

[Rob Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clearly a classic, but also a bit of a slog. Not meant to be read front to back, but I hadn't done it in a decade so figured I'd give it a try. Much better used as a reference and for specific study on one section at a time. I haven't delved into other parliamentary procedure manuals besides Mason's Manual and an obscure Ohio House manual, but Robert's is comprehensive and dense, though ubiquitous. The new edition has an appendix of suggested bylaw language for electronic meetings, which is a useful addition. I am interested in digging into some alternatives and seeing what they have to offer.

[August Denys · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short introduction to parliamentary procedure. Robert's Rules seem to be the standard operating procedure, and there are many things one can take from this especially if one is attempting to learn the inner workings of organizations. However, and while it is very short, this type of procedure can be easy to abuse against those who have no prior experience. So, in a way, having a knowledge of these procedural rules is almost demanded of those who wish to change the current system, beside a revolution.

[Teddee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't really read this front to back, but it's a great resource.

"Robert's manual was first published in 1876 as an adaptation of the rules and practice of the United States Congress to the needs of non-legislative societies." Fascinating that these rules for deliberative assemblies (boards, societies, etc) have been used for 150 years in the US and are thus are a record of small d democratic practices in America since the civil war.

[Aquarius_Archives · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a college student on a time crunch, I wouldn't recommend reading this as it's lengthy and goes on details with certain explanations on why specific procedures had to be done. It seriously messes me up everytime I look this book to get an explanation that usually wouldn't be found in the brief version of it. If you want to go into details, this one is for you. But be warned: it may take you time to even finish the book if you are reading this for your parliamentary rules & procedures class.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have to have a set of presiding rules if you want to hold a meeting. Robert's Rules of Order is the standard guide used in many governmental meetings. I actually personally prefer Robert's to any other rule set I've encountered (although it may just be because I read Robert's first). That all said, it is just written in a boring and bland way. Obviously parlimentary procedure is never going to be Harry Potter, but still, it could all be stated in a less dry way.

[Matt Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

For winter break I decided I would read Robert’s rule of order. I needed to refresh my memory more than just a summary of how trails, meetings, and my job went. So it needed to get done. Slog to get through of course it’s RROO. However I don’t really know if I can even rate it, it’s not even book it’s a set of rules and operations. A wonderful set, but a set nonetheless. It helped me clarify every small detail I’ve been missing, and that’s important so glad I read it. 5 stars.

[Jeff Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Refresher

While I've studied parliamentary procedure since high school, I felt that re-reading an older version could refresh my memory a little bit. And sure enough it did. Anyone who deals with business or organizations at large should have a version of this classic book.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviously, this is not a fun read. But 4/5 stars for what it is. I would definitely prefer “Robert’s Rules In Brief” as my parliamentary procedure companion..

Some of the writing is convoluted, which also docks it’s rating.

I read this for my internship toward ordination in the Presbyterian Church in America.

[Logan Streondj · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is pretty dry stuff and hard to put together out of context but a great reference work, assuming you watch some videos to see how it is supposed to go.
I read most of it, focusing on sections I needed to host an election for a local group. It worked so is good.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our head librarian recommended this book - I will be heading up the board of the library's Friends group & he thought it would give me some pointers. The board's meetings set their structure by Robert's rules. It did help.