A speaker giving part of his or her speaking time to another speaker is known as what, a practice allowed in some bodies but not in deliberative assemblies unless rules authorize?

• A. Sharing the floor
• B. Delegating the floor
• C. Extending the floor
• D. Yielding the floor

Answer: (D)

Yielding the floor is the act of relinquishing speaking time to another member. In meetings that follow Roberts’ Rules, normally only one person speaks at a time, and when someone who has the floor yields, they allow another person to speak—perhaps to answer a question, present a related point, or respond to a debate. This is a formal option, available only if the organization's rules authorize it. The other terms aren’t standard parliamentary phrases, and they don’t carry the same formal meaning as yielding the floor.