Most of the work of a deliberative assembly takes place between when the chair first states a motion and when he or she puts the question for voting. This period of time is known as “debate”, and gives an opportunity for every member to consider the merits of the question at hand, to speak, and to listen. This process is not without rules, however, and these rules are designed to balance the rights of all members and of the assembly as a whole.

Each member may speak no more than twice in the debate on any particular motion, and each speech may be no more than ten minutes in length. A particular member’s two ten-minute blocks cannot be saved, transferred, combined, split, shared or otherwise tampered with, except that a member may permit another member to ask him or her a question during his or her time. Members are therefore encouraged to think carefully about what they wish to say before obtaining the floor to speak, as there is otherwise a tendency to want to speak many more than two times, but for much less than ten minutes each. If debate on a particular motion extends to multiple days, each member’s time is reset each day.

When a motion is first stated by the chair, the maker of the motion has a one-time absolute priority to obtaining the floor and speaking in favour of the motion. This allows him or her to explain the reasons for the motion and to help frame the debate. It also gives other members, who may not have known about the motion in advance, time to carefully think about what they would like to say. After the mover finishes his speech and sits back down, or if he chooses not to speak first, the floor is assigned in the usual manner: priority is first given to members who have not yet spoken over members who have, and then to members who disagree with the immediately previous speaker over those who agree, and then to the member who stood up and addressed the chair first (after the previous speaker was seated).

Since the purpose of debate is to assist the members in determining how they will vote when the question is put, any speech in debate that does not contribute to that is inappropriate. Debate that helps determine the merits of the pending question is said to be “germane”, and any debate that is not germane is out of order. The chair can and should interrupt any speaker who is in violation of this rule, and if he or she does not, any member may interrupt to call attention to this failure.

During debate, it is critical that members avoid engaging in ad hominem argument, focusing instead on the actual merits of the motion before the assembly. Failure to abide by this rule undermines the present and future ability of the assembly to engage in free and open debate, since some members will otherwise be unwilling to make motions or speak, even when their ideas are valuable to the group. Calling another member a liar, even by merely asserting that his or her statements “are false”, is improper. If a member wishes to express such an opinion, he or she must do it in a more circumspect manner that takes emphasis away from any accusation of wrongdoing, and instead places it on the factual disagreement at hand and any supporting or refuting evidence.

In an attempt to ensure that familiarity does not breed contempt for the other members, certain formalities are observed during deliberative meetings. The first and most important rule is that each member may speak only to the chairman, but loud enough for everyone else to hear. So instead of saying to another member, “Could you please explain what you just said in simpler terms? I didn’t understand it at all,” a member would say, “Mr. Chairman, would the member please explain what she just said in simpler terms? I didn’t understand it at all.” The second rule is that members and the chair should if at all possible avoid using personal names of other members, instead preferring official titles or other indirect references, such as “the chairman of the education committee”, or “the member who just spoke”. When personal names cannot be avoided, they should be stated in the form “Mr. Smith” or “Ms. Doe”, rather than “John” or “Jane”, since those forms are less susceptible to demeaning diminution, whether on purpose or by accident.

Overall, the rules relating to debate are designed to ensure that the assembly is able to make good decisions in an efficient and effective manner that respects the rights and dignity of all the members. Assemblies are free to adopt their own rules contrary to the ones described herein, but they should carefully consider all the ramifications before doing so.