SO MOVED? SO WHAT!

By Ronald Reed, RP

While I have been in organizations for many years, I have heard one thing said time and time again that should never be said in a meeting! As a parliamentarian it makes my head want to explode when a member of the assembly, after another member has made a statement about something the organization should or should not do, shouts: “SO MOVED!” Whenever I hear someone say, “So Moved” in a meeting, it makes me want to shout back, “So What!” “So Moved” is a meaningless statement that does nothing to advance the organization’s agenda, it is out of order, and it slows down the democratic process .

This frequently used statement does nothing to advance the agenda! Almost always, after someone yells out “So Moved” there is mass confusion centered around exactly what has just been moved . It usually takes a good amount of time to figure out what the statement of the motion is, which clearly takes the meeting off track and does not advance the agenda!

After thinking about this for a while, I wanted to know why people did this over and over again . The usual reply is, “We’ve always done it this way.” Custom is one of the biggest obstacles to overcome with organizations that use Robert’s as a guideline rather than a reference . Furthermore, shouting out, “So Moved” is out of order . It violates several rules found in Robert’s that apply to the motion making process . It violates the first rule of making a motion, which is to first obtain the floor . RONR (12th ed .) 4:4 states that the first part of making a motion is to seek recognition . Once you have recognition, you have the floor, and you begin with the first step in the six steps of processing a motion . That first step is that you actually state the specific motion that you want the body to consider . Because you state it specifically, your motion will get the attention it deserves from the entire assembly . Then the motion can move forward with a second . Shouting

“So Moved” is out of order and disruptive to the assembly .

The second thing I have heard is “It speeds up the process . ” That seems to be a very common misconception . Shouting out, “So Moved,” actually takes more time from the assembly than making the motion properly . The main reason that “So Moved” slows down a meeting is because a secretary is not a stenographer . The secretary now has to figure out who said, whatever was so moved, and then get the exact language of the motion so that it can be accurately restated by the chair for the motion to move forward .

The words “I Move” do more than start the motion process . They let the body, and more importantly, the secretary know that new business is being introduced to the assembly . It allows another member to agree that she wants to take up the item by seconding the motion, and it speeds up the entire process .

When someone in your organization shouts out, “So Moved,” do not just reply “So What.” Teach them to simply say, “I Move that…” and state the motion they want to introduce properly after recognition by the chair . It advances the agenda, is in order, and speeds up the democratic process . NP

six steps of a Motion

1 . A member makes the motion .

2 . Another member seconds the motion .

3 . The chair states the question on the motion .

4 . Members debate the motion .

5 . The chair puts the question to a vote .

6 . The chair announces the results of the vote .

— Robert’s 4:2 and 4:25 ronald reed, rP, is Vice-President of the Austin Parliamentarians and a member of the Green Gavel Electronic Unit of Parliamentarians and the fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. He has been a member of NAP since 1993 and can be reached at RonaldreedNAP@yahoo.com.