AGM In A Box Skill
Every club and association has one meeting a year that legally/constitutionally
matters, and it's usually run by a volunteer who inherited a folder and a
sense of dread. A good AGM is mostly preparation: notice sent the right way at
the right time, an agenda where decisions are visible in advance, a chair's
script so the running of it isn't improvised, and minutes that record what was
decided — because in three years, when someone asks "when did we agree to
that?", the minutes are all that exists. This skill produces the whole box,
tuned to the organization's own constitution — which it asks for rather than
guessing.
What This Skill Produces
- The notice pack: announcement text with date/venue/deadlines, proxy/
nomination forms if used, timed to the constitution's notice period
- The agenda, decision-forward: what's being decided, reports as reading
not speeches, election slots, AOB rules
- The chair's script: opening, quorum check, how to take each item, how
to run a vote, handling the member with a grievance, closing
- Minutes template + the follow-up list format (decision → owner → date)
- A quorum rescue plan: getting people to actually come, and what the
constitution says happens if they don't
Required Inputs
Ask for (if not already provided):
- The organization and its constitution/rules — pasted if possible; the
notice period, quorum number, and election rules live there, and this
skill works from their rules, flagging "check your constitution" where
not provided
- What must be decided this year: elections (which posts), rule changes,
budget/subs, anything contentious
- Attendance reality: how many usually come vs the quorum
- The awkward stuff, honestly: contested posts, a grievance-holder, last
year's chaos
Framework
- Work backwards from the constitution. Notice period sets the send
date; quorum sets the turnout target; election rules set the nomination
process. Where the user hasn't provided the document: use common defaults
labelled as defaults to verify, never as their rules.
- Make the agenda decision-forward. Members show up when something is
decided, not reported. Reports circulated in advance and "taken as read"
with questions only; decisions named as motions in the agenda ("Motion:
raise subs to £X") so nobody's ambushed; AOB items requested in advance
with a chair's discretion line.
- Script the chair. Verbatim openings for each segment, the vote
procedure (propose, second, discuss with time-box, vote, record the
count), and the two hard moments: the long-talker ("thank you — I'll take
two more speakers, then vote") and the grievance ("that deserves proper
time — I'm ruling it to a committee meeting on [date], recorded in
minutes").
- Minutes record decisions, not dialogue. Per item: motion text ·
proposed/seconded · vote result with counts · action + owner + date.
Nobody's speech is summarized; three years from now the counts matter and
the speeches don't.
- Rescue quorum before the day. Personal asks beat posters (the
three-line "we need YOU there Thursday" message, sent by name) · pair the
AGM with something people want (social, guest speaker, awards) · proxy
forms where allowed. And the honest branch: what the constitution says if
quorum fails — usually a reconvene rule; find it now, not at 7:40pm.
Output Format
## Timeline (backwards from AGM date)
[Notice by · nominations by · reports circulated · reminders]
## Notice pack
[The announcement + forms, ready to send]
## Agenda (decision-forward)
[Numbered, with motions stated in full]
## Chair's script
[Segment-by-segment, with the two hard-moment lines]
## Minutes template + follow-up list
[Decision-record format · action/owner/date table]
## Quorum plan
[Named-ask message · the pairing · the failure branch per constitution]
Quality Checks
Anti-Patterns
Related
[[committee-handover-pack]] for after the elections; [[volunteer-treasurer-basics]]
for the finance report's author; [[meeting-notes]] for ordinary meetings that
don't need the box.
1---2name: agm-in-a-box3description: Run a club, PTA, or association AGM that finishes on time and holds up later — the notice and agenda done right, a quorum plan, minutes that capture decisions not conversations, elections without awkwardness, and the follow-up that makes decisions real. Use when a volunteer says 'I have to run the AGM', 'what goes in the agenda', 'nobody comes to our meetings', or 'our elections are a mess'. Produces the notice, agenda, chair's script, minutes template, and quorum rescue plan.4---5
6# AGM In A Box Skill
7
8Every club and association has one meeting a year that legally/constitutionally
9matters, and it's usually run by a volunteer who inherited a folder and a
10sense of dread. A good AGM is mostly preparation: notice sent the right way at
11the right time, an agenda where decisions are visible in advance, a chair's
12script so the running of it isn't improvised, and minutes that record what was
13*decided* — because in three years, when someone asks "when did we agree to
14that?", the minutes are all that exists. This skill produces the whole box,
15tuned to the organization's own constitution — which it asks for rather than
16guessing.
17
18## What This Skill Produces
19
20- The **notice pack**: announcement text with date/venue/deadlines, proxy/
21 nomination forms if used, timed to the constitution's notice period
22- The **agenda**, decision-forward: what's being decided, reports as reading
23 not speeches, election slots, AOB rules
24- The **chair's script**: opening, quorum check, how to take each item, how
25 to run a vote, handling the member with a grievance, closing
26- **Minutes template** + the follow-up list format (decision → owner → date)
27- A **quorum rescue plan**: getting people to actually come, and what the
28 constitution says happens if they don't
29
30## Required Inputs
31
32Ask for (if not already provided):
33- The organization and its constitution/rules — pasted if possible; the
34 notice period, quorum number, and election rules live there, and this
35 skill works from *their* rules, flagging "check your constitution" where
36 not provided
37- What must be decided this year: elections (which posts), rule changes,
38 budget/subs, anything contentious
39- Attendance reality: how many usually come vs the quorum
40- The awkward stuff, honestly: contested posts, a grievance-holder, last
41 year's chaos
42
43## Framework
44
451. **Work backwards from the constitution.** Notice period sets the send
46 date; quorum sets the turnout target; election rules set the nomination
47 process. Where the user hasn't provided the document: use common defaults
48 *labelled as defaults to verify*, never as their rules.
492. **Make the agenda decision-forward.** Members show up when something is
50 decided, not reported. Reports circulated in advance and "taken as read"
51 with questions only; decisions named as motions in the agenda ("Motion:
52 raise subs to £X") so nobody's ambushed; AOB items requested in advance
53 with a chair's discretion line.
543. **Script the chair.** Verbatim openings for each segment, the vote
55 procedure (propose, second, discuss with time-box, vote, record the
56 count), and the two hard moments: the long-talker ("thank you — I'll take
57 two more speakers, then vote") and the grievance ("that deserves proper
58 time — I'm ruling it to a committee meeting on [date], recorded in
59 minutes").
604. **Minutes record decisions, not dialogue.** Per item: motion text ·
61 proposed/seconded · vote result with counts · action + owner + date.
62 Nobody's speech is summarized; three years from now the counts matter and
63 the speeches don't.
645. **Rescue quorum before the day.** Personal asks beat posters (the
65 three-line "we need YOU there Thursday" message, sent by name) · pair the
66 AGM with something people want (social, guest speaker, awards) · proxy
67 forms where allowed. And the honest branch: what the constitution says if
68 quorum fails — usually a reconvene rule; find it now, not at 7:40pm.
69
70## Output Format
71
72```
73## Timeline (backwards from AGM date)
74[Notice by · nominations by · reports circulated · reminders]
75
76## Notice pack
77[The announcement + forms, ready to send]
78
79## Agenda (decision-forward)
80[Numbered, with motions stated in full]
81
82## Chair's script
83[Segment-by-segment, with the two hard-moment lines]
84
85## Minutes template + follow-up list
86[Decision-record format · action/owner/date table]
87
88## Quorum plan
89[Named-ask message · the pairing · the failure branch per constitution]
90```
91
92## Quality Checks
93
94- [ ] Every rule-dependent element (notice, quorum, elections) is anchored to
95 their constitution or explicitly flagged as a default-to-verify
96- [ ] Motions appear in full in the agenda — no decision happens that wasn't
97 announced
98- [ ] The chair's script covers the long-talker and the grievance
99- [ ] Minutes template records counts and owners, not speeches
100- [ ] The quorum plan includes the personal-ask message, not just posters
101
102## Anti-Patterns
103
104- [ ] Do not assert legal/charity/company requirements by jurisdiction —
105 constitution first, verify-flags second, invented law never
106- [ ] Do not build a speech-schedule agenda — reports are reading, meetings
107 are for deciding
108- [ ] Do not script the chair to shut people down — time-boxes and routing,
109 not suppression
110- [ ] Do not treat AOB as an open mic; rules for it exist in the agenda
111
112## Related
113
114[[committee-handover-pack]] for after the elections; [[volunteer-treasurer-basics]]
115for the finance report's author; [[meeting-notes]] for ordinary meetings that
116don't need the box.
gabrielmoreira