With almost no exception, proposals at group conscience meetings are plain. Yes, angry alcoholics can talk for hours about a plain matter, 'making such a little go a very long way' (as the Pet Shop Boys would have it), but that does not mean the matter is complex.
A good proposal is brief and clear. If explanations are needed, present them below the proposal as background information. Don't bundle them into the proposal itself.
Read out the proposal. Ask if anyone has a view. Everyone gets one minute only. No one gets a second minute till everyone has had the first. Encourage people to present only new views: no repetition. Once everyone's had a first bite of the cherry, have a second round of presentations of views. Again, encourage people to present only new views: no repetition.
Then hold a vote. If it doesn't get two-thirds, it's shelved for at least six months.
The aim of the group conscience is not:
- To convince others I'm right
- To get them to change their view
- To grind down the other side through attrition, manipulation, etc.
The truth is, with almost no exception, the result does not matter. Everyone's going to be fine one way or another. You choose option A, everyone is fine. You choose option B, everyone is fine. What if the meeting folds? Go to another meeting. Attachment to groups is no better than attachment to money.
Why does it not matter? Because, well, let's trust God. To be OK, I do not have to get my own way. This applies at individual level, and it applies at group level.
If something is clearly right or clearly wrong, it will immediately carry an overwhelming majority.
Anything in between clearly has merits on both sides, so don't force it, and live with the status quo.
If I'm sharing for more than 5 minutes, I've tipped over into ego.
If a group discussion on a topic goes on for more than 5 minutes, it has tipped over from presenting relevant arguments to argument itself.
It's also a good idea to get sponsored into participation in group conscience meetings. I was schooled by sponsors about this. Go through the Steps. Go through the Traditions. Go through the Concepts. Then, and only then, was I really ready to participate without making whatever the problem was worse.
Life's too short. Let's keep group consciences short, too!