Any association could face this challenge: when your membership is upset with a pending action, and out for blood at the annual meeting. Avoid the pain with these simple tips.

1. AVOIDING THE ANNUAL
MEETING FROM HELL
Any association could face this challenge: when your
membership is upset with a pending action, and out for
blood at the annual meeting. Avoid the pain with these
simple tips.

2. COMMUNICATE
EARLY AND OFTEN
Acknowledging the elephant in the
room is a good first step to avoiding
meeting hell. You already know the
members will be coming to the
meeting, and why.
Head them off at the pass by giving
them a clear agenda,
communicating when their issue will
be discussed (it is on the agenda,
right?) and laying out the facts as
clearly and fairly as possible, in
writing.

3. GET TO THE POINT
Yes, you are following Roberts Rules
of Order and so have to go through
old business before you can get to
new business, but the more time you
spend on other topics, the more your
members will be stewing.
So keep committee reports short,
and table anything that isn’t
absolutely needed to be included for
general membership until a future
board meeting, and get to the topic
at hand as quickly as possible.

4. STRICTLY ENFORCE
TIME LIMITS
It’s very important that everyone
feels they are being treated fairly.
Enforcing time limits for speakers (on
both sides) is vital to create an
atmosphere of fairness.
This does not mean that members
should be cut off, shouted down, or
made to feel as if their opinion does
not matter. Use active listening
techniques to show the speaker that
you understand the question or
comment that they made.

5. STAY CALM
It goes without saying that neither
you nor anyone on the board can
afford to get upset or argue with
upset members.
If you allow your emotions to get the
better of you, even if you are right,
you, your organization, and the
board can come out looking poorly
to the membership, which is a great
way to find yourself looking for a new
way to spend your evenings.

6. MANAGE YOUR
EXPECTATIONS
The idea is to get everyone present
calm enough to discuss the situation
and to reach a conclusion that is
satisfactory to all.
But it’s not all rainbows and unicorns.
Don’t expect that everyone will
instantly take your side. Manage your
expectations and work to achieve a
reasonable compromise.

7. MAKE AN ACTION
PLAN (AND PROMISE
TO FOLLOW IT!)
People want action to be taken on
the matter they are passionate
about, and often the promises they
are looking for are as simple as
increased communication or
improved process.
Make a motion, and clearly outline a
way to take action that will satisfy the
membership.

8. REQUEST ACTION
FROM THE
MEMBERSHIP
Give your members a next step as
well, whether that is a survey to fill
out, or a letter/email to write, or
something more concrete and
related to the issue.
Having an action item makes them
feel as if they are part of the solution,
and can help channel their anger to
a more productive activity.

9. TELL THEM WHAT
YOU TOLD THEM
An old country saying goes:
Tell ‘em what you’re gonna tell ‘em,
Tell ‘em, Then tell ‘em what you just
told ‘em.
In this case, close the topic by
reminding members what the issue
was, what action items (promises)
you/the board have agreed on, and
what requests for actions you’d like
the membership to perform.
(It also helps to repeat the “tell ‘em”
step again in writing in the next
newsletter.)

10. FOLLOW
THROUGH
Last, but far from least is to follow
through on the promises you made,
suggestions/feedback you received,
and questions that were raised.
Show the membership that they will
be heard, that their opinion is
important, and that they can make
a difference - and they will!

11. LEARN MORE
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