Robert's Rules for Dummies (Paperback)

by C. Alan Jennings (Author) "Are you one of those people who see meetings as a wonderful and personally fulfilling activity that you look forward to with great anticipation?..." (more)
Key Phrases: nominating committee, incidental motions, motions which bring, Putting Ideas, Getting Involved, Participating Effectively (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
If you belong to any type of organization—from school board to garden club to bowling league to trade association—chances are this book can save you many boring meeting minutes. Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised is the current authoritative guide for properly conducting everything from sessions of the U.S. Senate or House of Representative to meetings of neighborhood associations. This friendly guide translates Robert’s Rules into principles you can understand and apply the next time Billy Bully tries to dominate the discussion or Debbie Dictator issues another edict. If you’ve ever been frustrated at the way condominium association business was (or wasn’t) conducted or fidgeted while PTA members debated whether to have goldfish or pencils as prizes for the elementary school carnival, this is the book for you. Written by a Professional Registered Parliamentarian, it covers:

• The basics of bylaws that establish the real framework of your organization, and nine things that should be covered
• The requirements for a legal meeting
• How to use an agenda to plan your meeting and keep things on track
• Following the standard order of business
• How to put ideas into motion and the eight steps to handling a motion
• Voting procedure and different methods of voting
• The functions and characteristics of seven subsidiary motions, five privileged motions, fifteen incidental motions, and four motions which bring a question again before the assembly
• Nomination procedures, holding elections, and making appointments

With Robert’s Rules For Dummies, you’ll not only discover how to hold more effective meetings, you’ll get advice for dealing with malcontents or monopolizers who can disrupt, derail, or prolong meetings. And if you’re in a leadership position, you’ll get great information on:

• Running meetings efficiently and fairly
• Effectively using standing and special committees
• Ensuring proper paperwork, including minutes, treasurer’s reports, committee reports, and more
• Handling discipline or removing officers or members

Complete with a glossary of parliamentary terms and sample agendas, reports, and minutes, this guide has everything you need but a gavel. Whether you belong to an elite country club or a civic organization, an investment club or a volunteer fire department, when you use the principles in this book, meetings won’t be dominated by the loudest or pushiest member or go on and on and on and on and on….

From the Back Cover
Navigate the formalities of parliamentary procedure!

Get a handle on proper procedures and hold successful meetings

Need to read up on Robert's Rules? Relax! This clear, easy-to-use guide makes parliamentary procedure simple to understand and apply. From assembling a quorum and establishing an agenda to making motions and setting up committees, you'll see how to manage or participate effectively in a meeting — and get things done!

Discover how to:

• Create agendas and minutes
• Nominate and elect officers
• Make decisions as a group
• Deal with disciplinary problems
• Avoid common motion mistakes

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (December 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764575740
• ISBN-13: 978-0764575747
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Written and Very Clear, August 3, 2005

By	Ronald W. Satz (Trevose, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The scripture for parliamentarians is, of course, Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, 10th Edition (Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2000). All other books for parliamentarians are just "commentary"--but some are better than others. Jennings' book is superior to most: it is very well written, very well edited, and very clear. I'm now a Registered Parliamentarian (and my proctor for the test was Jonathn M. Jacobs, listed in Jennings' Acknowledgments and also a reviewer here) and even I got a better understanding of a few things. Like: p. 114, preferential voting; p. 130, handling a substitute motion; p. 193, call up motion to reconsider; p. 194, reconsider and enter on the minutes; p. 278, the chair and the 2/3 threshold; p. 293, adopting reports; and p. 315, a serious Audit Committee Report.
I normally throw in a few complaints in most of my book reviews, but it was hard to find any problems with the book; maybe just this: rather than the bonus chapters being available on the Web for download and printing, it would have been better to incorporate them in the book proper.

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent coverage of Robert's Rules, January 10, 2005

By	Ronald J. Legere (Las Vegas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author describes this book as a book about a book of rules: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR). Why do you need a book like this? The reason is that RONR is not easy to digest. Only rules geeks like me enjoy reading RONR! If you are not a rules geek, then you might choose this book (you will still need RONR as the official reference) which is much more fun to read! This Dummies book is also very complete: almost every motion is covered, as are disciplinary procedures, elections, etc: This book will teach you what you need to know from RONR without skipping any important details. (Other books you might consider include RONR in Brief, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Robert's Rules, and Robert's Rules in Plain English.)

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Robert's Rules for Dummies, January 30, 2005

By	Jonathan M. Jacobs (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is both an excellent "starter's book" and a good intermediate book for someone studying Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised.

The section on discipline is expectionally good and the description of the society's rules, i.e. bylaws and rules of order, is probably the the most lucid explanation I've ever read.

If you are NOT an expert parliamentarian, this is good book to start with.

Jonathan M. Jacobs, Professional Registered Parliamentarian, Certified Parliamentarian