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When you learn that you'll be chairing an upcoming meeting, one of the first things you should do is to spend a little time talking to the people who will be attending (especially high-ranking or important people). Ask them if there's anything they'd specifically like to discuss at the meeting. Take note of their answers and use them to guide you when you write your agenda. Asking your attendees about what they'd like to discuss is a smart move not only because it makes it easier to write an agenda, but also because it engages them in the meeting process before it's even begun. People are more likely to attend and pay attention during meetings if they know that issues important to them will be addressed. A meeting agenda can be a valuable tool not just for a meeting's chairperson, but also for the guests in attendance. Agendas contain valuable information about the meeting like when it will be, where it will take place, and who will be in attendance. Most importantly, they also outline all of the intended topics of discussion, allowing everyone to prepare. Send your meeting out in advance of the meeting itself the more important your meeting is, the earlier you should send it. One thing that your agenda should definitely contain is an approximate time limit for each topic of discussion. Having a rough schedule outlined beforehand makes it much easier to keep your meeting on-track. Though some items on your agenda may run long (and others may run short), a schedule makes it much easier to keep track of these items and adjust accordingly. The people who attend your meeting may not be up-to-speed on all of the topics you plan to discuss some may not have attended past meetings, while others may have simply forgotten. As the meeting chair, it's a good idea to know the history of discussion thus far. Try talking to people who attended previous important meetings to learn any important unfinished business that you should address in your meeting. You may also want to request the minutes of past meetings from an official record-keeper to help direct your planning. The minutes from previous meetings can be an important resource to you as chair. These summarize the discussions and decisions that occurred during past meetings, making it relatively quick and easy to get up-to-speed. You may even want to distribute important meeting minutes to your attendees with your agenda. On the day of your meeting, you'll want to ensure that the room or place you intend to meet in is clean, presentable, and ready to accommodate your attendees. You'll want to make certain that any technological components of the meeting (like presentations, projectors, displays, etc.) are functioning properly and are completely ready to go technical snafus can waste valuable time and put your meeting off track. If you're using an electronic presentation (like PowerPoint, etc.), take a moment to familiarize yourself with the remote control or clicker you'll be using to cycle through your slides. You don't want to waste time fumbling with your controls when you could be discussing important issues.
Discuss the upcoming meeting with your attendees. Write and distribute an agenda. Research the discussion topics and any previous meetings. Get your meeting space ready ahead of time.