Conferences and Public Meetings
The main difference between conferences and public meetings is that conferences are arranged for discussion and perhaps to make decisions, while public meetings are usually held for the purpose of persuading the audience to accept the point of view put forward from the platform. Attendance at conferences is generally restricted to those invited or appointed to attend; public meetings are, by definition, open to everyone. Delegates at conferences are encouraged to participate in debate, but most public meetings are attended by people who have come to listen to someone else.
In fact, the lines of demarcation are not always as rigid in practice. For example, local authorities are legally required to hold public meetings on planning issues at which members of the public and local groups are encouraged to express points of view. Is this a conference or a public meeting? It doesn’t matter too much; there are a number of points to bear in mind in planning and running any large scale meeting, and they are discussed below.
Preliminary arrangements
Conferences are usually held under the rules of the organisation concerned which lay down when they shall take place, how delegates are appointed, how motions are to be submitted and so on. In such cases there will be a well-established routine concerning when notices announcing the conference and requesting the nomination of delegates should be sent. But there will be occasions when it is decided that a special conference should be held, perhaps to discuss an issue of particular concern. In such cases, and in the case of public meetings, halls have to be booked, speakers arranged, and adequate notice given to delegates or (for public meetings) arrangements made to advertise the meeting. All this takes time, and two months is probably the minimum period in which it can be arranged, especially if the organisers want a well known public figure to speak. Most of the arrangements will be made by the secretary, or by someone deputed to do the job, but the person who is to chair the meeting or conference should keep in touch and make sure that things are going according to plan.
Speakers
Unless a public meeting is being arranged as a protest on a specific issue, when the object may be to encourage participation from the body of the meeting, the most important element in getting a good attendance will be the name of the speaker. If the body organising the meeting can get a national name, they should have prominence and other speakers should be given a supporting role. Otherwise the meeting may become scrappy and possibly repetitious. It is worth remembering that speakers from out-of-town will probably want their fares and expenses reimbursed. The secretary should check this in advance and, if necessary, arrange overnight accommodation.
Advertising
Public meetings can be advertised by posters, advertisements in the local press and handbills through letter boxes if the body organising the meeting has the resources. All three methods should be used if funds permit.
Choosing the hall
Ideally the meeting place should be easy to get to, handy for public transport and with good parking facilities. It should be the right size, not so large that the anticipated audience will feel lost or so small that they will be cramped.
Microphone
The acoustic properties of a hall should also be taken into account and should be tried out well in advance as well as just before the meeting. When trying them out, remember that sound carries much better in an empty hall than a full hall and make allowances. If there are expected to be more than about fifty at the meeting, it is best to ensure that there will be a microphone available although amplification is a dubious blessing in a small meeting or in an empty hall where there may be echoes. Too many halls have sound systems which distort the voice badly or which are unreliable. In such cases it may be best to dispense with microphones altogether, and certainly the microphones should be checked before booking the hall.
But good amplification can be valuable. It can help the chair or speaker to deal with hecklers and in large public meetings the ‘roving microphone’ which is passed to speakers on the floor can encourage participation and save time by preventing the need for people to come to a rostrum. Where this is used the chair should take care that one person, or a particular group, is not allowed to monopolise the microphone.
People using a microphone should remember that it is there so that they do not need to shout. They should talk normally into it, and not hold it too close to their mouths. If the microphone is mounted on the platform or rostrum, they should avoid striking the table to emphasise a point – this can sound like thunder and does the amplification system no good.
Rostrum
At larger conferences a rostrum should be provided which should be placed at the front of the hall, below the platform but a little to one side of the chair so that they can see it.
Seating arrangements
At conferences, it is best to provide delegates with trestle tables at which they can sit and on which they can put their papers. This is unnecessary at public meetings, but the organisers should try and ensure that the seats are arranged between aisles with no more than ten seats in each section of the row so that people attending can come and go without causing too much disturbance. If fewer people than expected turn up at a public meeting, steps should be taken to prevent them scattering themselves around the hall too much – for example, they should be shown by the stewards to the front of the hall and, if there is a gallery, it should be closed.
Press arrangements
If the press are invited, whether to a conference or a public meeting, a separate table near the platform should be set aside for them so that they can work in comfort.
Platform arrangements
If there is room, the committee under whose jurisdiction a conference is being held should be seated on the platform – a full platform looks better than an empty space. The best arrangement is to have a table running right across the platform with each member allocated a seat. The chair should sit in the centre and be raised above the others slightly, and should be provided with a bell which can be heard throughout the hall. At larger conferences where speakers are subject to a time limit, the chair operates the red light on the rostrum which indicates to the speaker that their time is up; if the speaker ignores the red light, the chair may have a cut-off switch for the microphone. To operate this procedure fairly, the chair has to use a stop watch. At public meetings it is best to get all the speakers on the platform. In all cases, drinking water and glasses should be provided.
Stewarding
At large public meetings and conferences, stewards should be appointed. Their job is to act as doorkeepers (this is particularly important if admission to the meeting is by ticket), to show people to their seats and if necessary to help the chair keep order in the hall (see chapter 12).
Chairing conferences and public meetings
Chairing conferences and public meetings is different only in scale from chairing smaller meetings. A chair who can handle regular branch or committee meetings should be able to do the job capably as long as they prepare themselves adequately.
Timetable
Whether a conference or a public meeting is being held, the secretary and chair should arrive early to make sure that all the arrangements are right. The chair should meet the speakers as they arrive and introduce them to their committee. For public meetings there may be no formal agenda circulated to those attending, but the chair and secretary should have drawn up a timetable so that each speaker will have been informed in advance – preferably by letter – how long they are expected to speak. The chair should check tactfully that the speakers understand this; speakers exceeding their time and trespassing on the time of other speakers disorganise the timetable completely.
Three minute warning
The Chair might at this stage tell the speakers that to prevent over-running they will put a note in front of them saying ‘Three minutes to go’ just before their time expires. This will give them enough time to round off their remarks and will prevent an abrupt finish. It will also save the chair the full embarrassment of cutting off the speaker in full flow; in that case the audience might think the speaker was being shut up because they were not making a success of their speech. (Even where the speaker is at fault, there may be nothing worse, from their point of view, than to have to end abruptly.)
Introductory remarks
The chair should open the conference or meeting punctually and, in a brief five or ten minute speech, explain the background to the meeting. This enables latecomers to arrive and the meeting to settle down so that the first speaker can be heard without disturbance. Immediately once the chair rises to speak, the doors of the hall should be closed to impress upon the audience and people outside that the meeting has begun and silence is required.
If an agenda has not been circulated, at the end of their opening remarks the chair should give an indication of the timetable, including the time for questions. The chair should be brief in introducing speakers, and confine themselves to telling the audience who and what the speaker is. They should not make a speech themselves; the audience will not have come to hear them.
Time limits in discussion
What happens subsequently will depend on the kind of meeting it is. If it is a conference of the sort at which motions are put forward and whose conduct is governed by standing orders, the same rules of debate will apply as were described in earlier chapters. If there are no time limits laid down in standing orders for speeches from delegates, the chair should propose a limit and get delegates to agree to it with little or no discussion. It is probably best to do this after the initial speeches have been made and immediately before contributions from the floor are invited.
Question time
At public meetings – for example, election meetings – it is usual for questions to be invited after the speeches have been made. Questions can be put in writing and handed up to the chair by a steward, but usually they will be put verbally. If the hall is a large one, some of the audience may not hear the question and it is good practice for the chair (or the speaker) to paraphrase it if there is any doubt about whether it has been heard properly.
The chair should not allow questions to be developed into speeches, and should warn the audience of this when questions are invited. Some questions would not make sense unless a few brief introductory sentences were allowed, however, and the chair should be fairly indulgent unless they find that their tolerance is being abused. If a question is addressed to a particular speaker, they should be allowed to answer it. Offensive or abusive questions should not be permitted, and the chair should be firm about this.
Collections and announcements
Sometimes a collection is taken at public meetings to cover the cost of arranging the meeting and perhaps to provide funds for the campaign which the meeting has been held to support. The chair should explain its purpose. If there are any general announcements to be made – for example, that literature will be on sale at the end of the meeting – they might conveniently be given at the same time as the collection is being taken.
Motions
Depending on the purpose of a public meeting, it might be appropriate to conclude the meeting with a motion. It is advisable to arrange beforehand for such a motion to be moved and seconded by sympathisers in the body of the meeting. No speeches other than brief ones by the mover and seconder should be allowed.
Vote of thanks
If someone moves a vote of thanks to the chair from the floor at a conference or public meeting, the secretary should receive the motion, get it formally seconded and put it to the meeting. The chair should then briefly respond by saying that they have merely done their duty, thank the audience for their attention and interest, and declare the meeting closed. This is a very formal procedure, and no discussion should be permitted.
Literature
Especially at public meetings, the sale of literature can be important. A stall should be placed prominently at the exit and the chair should give the appropriate commercial during their announcements. Details like displaying prices clearly and having sufficient change should not be overlooked.
Demonstrations
Demonstrations are really public meetings on a grand scale which may or may not be preceded by processions. Usually they are held outdoors to permit as large an attendance as possible, but wherever possible arrangements should be made to hold a meeting or meetings indoors in the event of heavy rain. The organisation of such demonstrations requires a great deal of care and systematic preparation which, where very large demonstrations are concerned, may have to commence several months beforehand. For example, the chair and speakers have to be engaged, loudspeaker equipment provided (where permitted), posters and publicity matter designed and displayed, and vehicles obtained. Where processions are also involved contingents have to be organised under specially appointed marshals, bands and banners have to be provided and the exact routes arranged with the police.