Before the meeting
To chair a meeting well, you need to think about the meeting before you arrive at it. Ask yourself the following questions in advance of the meeting:
- why are you having the meeting?
- what end result do you want from it?
- what will you discuss at it?
- do you want speakers?
- do you need to get more information to inform the discussion?
- do you want to ask someone to prepare an introduction?
- do you want to distribute any information in advance of the meeting?
It isn't the chair's job to figure all this out on their own. Work together with the secretary and other committee members. Find out what people want to discuss and think about how you can raise issues in a clear and informed way.