Chairing meetings: your complete guide

We worked with our expert Christine Megson on this article. Christine is a consultant in change management and a leadership adviser.

Get the agenda right

A clear and appropriate agenda will set the foundations for a successful meeting. 

Your clerk will put together the draft agenda and send it to you, usually a couple of weeks before the meeting. It'll normally always be in the same format and you'll know exactly what to expect from it – but are you confident it's the most efficient way of operating?

Starts with the actions arising from the last meeting, or any committee meetings. These are likely to be things you're waiting on before you can move forward, so it's good to tick these off the list first Prioritises the items that are most important and require discussion. This makes it more likely that you'll devote enough time to them, rather than rushing them