Show Notes
You can have the best-prepared agenda in the world and still have a terrible meeting if nobody’s running the room well. The chair’s job is active, skilled and often underappreciated — and it’s not just about following the agenda. This episode covers start to finish: from the two non-negotiable basics (start on time, finish on time) through the chair’s three core jobs, the formal rules of debate, and the five elements that make a committee decision legally safe.
In This Episode
- Start on time, finish on time — why it’s a form of respect, not just a preference, and what you’re actually training people when you don’t
- The chair’s three core jobs: drawing out quiet voices, redirecting the loud ones, and keeping discussion focused on the issue not the personalities
- Purpose, process and pace — why the chair should never be focused on the content, and what happens when they try to do both
- The formal rules of debate: what they are, when to invoke them, and why just knowing they exist is usually enough
- Through the chair: what it actually means, how to signal you want to speak, and why nobody listens to a meeting bully however good their ideas might be
- What makes a committee decision stick — the five elements of a safe decision and what happens if you miss any one of them
- Why vigorous debate inside the room and one voice outside it matters every day of the week, not just on meeting night
Free Download
A plain-language summary of the basic rules of debate — what they are and when to use them, whether you’re in the chair or an ordinary committee member wanting to get home on time. Download it here.
Want to Go Further?
If every meeting in your organisation feels like a battle, that’s usually a sign of something deeper going on — culture, structure, or both. That’s exactly the kind of thing the Kates work on directly with committees through Fresh Allsorts. Find out more at freshallsorts.com.au.
This Week’s Challenges
Two this week, one for chairs and one for everyone else:
If you’re the chair — at your next meeting, identify the one or two people who tend to say the least and make a point of directly inviting their contribution on at least one agenda item. Don’t ask the whole room. Ask them. See what comes back.
If you’re not the chair — notice how decisions are being made. Is every decision a properly moved and seconded motion with a clear vote and a clear record? If not, that’s a conversation worth having with your chair and secretary. The rules of debate guide in the show notes is a useful starting point.
Got a Question for the Kates?
Use the contact form at thecommitteeroom.com.au. Your question could be the inspiration for a future episode — including the next Your Questions Answered special, where the Kates will be tackling the question of a chairperson who regularly moves and seconds their own motions.
About Your Hosts
Kate Hartwig has spent forty years working in and around not-for-profit and membership organisations — as a CEO, director, and independent consultant. Her Committee Companion is a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars for committee members. katehartwig.com.au
Kate McPhee has three decades of hands-on experience helping small clubs and associations get more done with less stress. She is the author of Just a Tick, a plain-English governance guide for committees and boards. liquoriceallsorts.com.au
Together they offer governance health checks and practical support through Fresh Allsorts.
This podcast provides general information on best practice governance for small to medium not-for-profit associations. It is not legal advice.
Timestamps
00:05 — The never-ending meeting
00:42 — Introducing the Kates and this episode on running a meeting
01:32 — Start on time, finish on time
02:33 — The chair’s real job
04:17 — Purpose, process and pace
05:34 — Formal rules of debate
08:02 — Making decisions
08:19 — Requirement for a formal decision
09:04 — Recording your decision
09:36 — What makes your decision stick?
10:28 — Recap
11:19 — This week’s challenges and next week’s episode
Next Episode
Decisions have been made. Now you need to record them properly. Next episode, the Kates cover what goes in the minutes, what doesn’t, and how to write a record that’s clear, useful, and won’t come back to haunt you.
Resources & Links
🎙️ The Committee Room thecommitteeroom.com.au — episode archive, show notes, downloads and contact form
🍬 Fresh Allsorts freshallsorts.com.au — Governance Health Checks and practical support from both Kates
Kate Hartwig Consulting katehartwig.com.au — including the Committee Companion, a head start on good governance with checklists, frameworks and exemplars
Liquorice Allsorts Consulting liquoriceallsorts.com.au — including Just a Tick, Kate McPhee’s plain-English governance guide
Facebook: The Committee Room
LinkedIn: The Committee Room
You don’t need good luck if you’ve got good governance.
The Committee Room | thecommitteeroom.com.au