The chair calls the meeting to order with a simple statement. They should say something along the lines of: “Good morning/evening, everyone! It's state the date and time, and I'd like to call the meeting of organization name to order.”
Most board meeting agendas follow a classic meeting structure: Calling meeting to order – ensure you have quorum. Approve the agenda and prior board meeting minutes. Executive and committee reports – allow 25% of time here for key topic discussion. Old/new/other business. Close the meeting and adjourn.
The following steps to running a board meeting are: Recognizing a quorum. Calling the meeting to order. Approving the agenda and minutes. Allowing for communication and reports. Addressing old/new/other business. Closing the meeting.
The chair owns the agenda Who prepares the first draft? Usually the company secretary, the CEO or the board secretary. This then needs to be approved or amended by the chair. The agenda and the board papers need to be sent to all directors at least 5 days plus a weekend, prior to the board meeting.
In essence, Robert's Rules of Order boil down to three guiding principles: Everyone should be allowed to speak once before anyone speaks again. Everyone has the right to know what is happening, and speakers should only be interrupted in urgent situations. Consider only one motion at a time.