Essential: Appoint a Chairman – the following is for them:

Before the meeting:

• Have an agenda which every member has agreed to / contributed to.
• Consider how much debate there will be about each item. Specify a time limit for each item, but be realistic.
• Agendas often are wildly unrealistic for the time allowed. But this means either debate will need to be focused and very time-efficient, or not all items can be dealt with today. It’s up to them to decide.
• A happy partnership is an equal partnership where everyone’s voice is heard.

At the meeting:

• The Chairman must be impartial, assertive but tactful.
• Ensure that each member has their say. Not having ownership of decisions is a prime reason for subsequent action being half-hearted or non existent.
• Summarizing – like we do in consultations – is a very useful tool.
• A quiet member can be asked, “Are you happy with this?”
• An articulate member who is tending to dominate can be interrupted and summarized: “So Fred, in summary you think that…”
• A confrontational member, eg: who says, “This is the wrong way to go about it. You’re not chairing properly.” Can be handled by saying, “What does everyone else think about that?”
• Write (or get someone to write) a synopsis of each decision, plus the main arguments and their protagonists.
• Give action points (tasks) to members, but ensure they are happy with that. Ensure there is a time limit for actions.