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INSTRUCTOR'S ACTIVITY GUIDE
How to Run a Meeting in Style (Parliamentary style, that is!)
This activity is designed to help students learn basic parliamentary language and procedure. Prior to the activity, select six students to play the roles of Chair/CEO, Secretary, Corporate Officers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Provide the selected students with the script on page 227. The Chair/CEO needs a gavel (or suitable gavel substitute). The Secretary needs a binder and pen or pencil. Allow a few minutes to rehearse. Advise the class that the students are playing the roles of various attendees of a corporate board meeting. Direct the “actors” to run through the scene once in front of the class without interruption. Then they will repeat it, stopping at the ***. Use the TRANSLATION, PLEASE on page 229 to explain to the class what the bolded words mean and their significance in a board meeting, Begin the activity. Engage students in a discussion: “Have you ever sat through a chaotic meeting with no leadership, everyone talking out of turn, arguing, and never resolving an issue? Have you ever wasted time in a meeting with people bringing up topics completely unrelated to the purpose of the meeting? If so, you’ll appreciate parliamentary procedure! The word “parliament” actually comes from the French parler ("to speak"), so obviously this procedure has something to do with how a discussion is conducted. Parliamentary procedure is a democratic method for conducting a meeting in an orderly fashion. It follows well-established rules and procedures which ensure that everyone has a chance to voice their opinion so the majority is able to make decisions effectively and efficiently. Roberts Rules of Order are a commonly used form of parliamentary procedure. All corporate board meetings are held according to parliamentary procedure. In addition to ensuring the orderly conduct of a meeting, parliamentary procedure promotes corporate formalities which are important for maintaining protections from personal liability for the debts of the company. If you have any corporate leadership aspirations, it’s important to know these rules.” “Today you will observe award-worthy performances demonstrating parliamentary procedure. The setting is a corporate board meeting. Note the special parliamentary language , and that there is a clear procedure in place for keeping the group on topic, supporting orderly conduct and the opportunity of all attendees to voice opinions.” Direct the students/actors to begin. When they conclude, direct them to replay the scene, pausing at the ***. At that point the instructor intervenes, reading aloud the information about the parliamentary vocabulary or procedure on TRANSLATION, PLEASE. PRODUCT PREVIEW
Lesson 12 | Business Blast 226
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