If your board is composed of elected members, or is a non-profit or similar public entity, there may be laws in place that require open meetings. These laws are commonly known as Sunshine Laws or Open Meetings Acts and they require the business of the board be conducted in public. The laws also give non-members the ability to attend and, in certain instances to make comments.

When the board is ready to begin the member who was the one who facilitated the previous meeting will "call the meeting to order". This usually entails saying"I call this meeting to be ordered' or something similar in an authoritative voice. In most cases the next step is two taps on the gavel to signify that the meeting has officially started.

Before the meeting gets http://electronicboardportal.net underway Make sure you have a clear agenda. The agenda should be concise and clearly outline the main topics that the board needs to discuss, and the decisions they have to make. Resist putting too many items on the agenda or repeating an agenda from the previous meeting.

Getting sidetracked with discussions that are new can eat up your time and divert your board from the items on your agenda. Consider adding a parking lot towards the final section of your agenda where you can discuss topics which aren't of high importance and promise to revisit them later, or include them in the next meeting.

Get feedback from your boards on how the meetings have been running and what you can improve the quality of your meetings. This will help your board members feel more involved and invested in the outcome of the meeting.