What term means to initiate a meeting by calling the meeting to order?

• A. Convoke
• B. Open
• C. Convene
• D. Start

Answer: (C)

Bringing the assembly together to begin business uses a formal term that means to assemble a group for a meeting. That term is convene. In parliamentary procedure, to convene a meeting is to bring everyone together and start the proceedings, which is exactly what the chair does when starting the session. The other words are less formal or describe different actions: convoke is a rarer term that isn’t the standard parliamentary word for starting the meeting; open and start are general verbs and not the proper formal vocabulary used to initiate proceedings.