Meeting Skills: Agendas, Chairing and One-to-Ones

Meet, or write?

Answer three questions before you send an invitation. If every answer is no, a written update will do the job faster.

Question 1 Does it need discussion? A decision with trade-offs, or an idea that needs building together.
Question 2 Is it sensitive? Feedback, bad news or conflict is better said than written.
Question 3 Is it urgent and tangled? When an email thread has gone back and forth more than three times.

An agenda that drives decisions

Write each item as a question to answer, with an owner and a time. People arrive knowing what they need to decide.

Website relaunch · Tues 10:00 to 10:30 Purpose: agree the launch date and who signs off content.

10:00Purpose and outcomeChair 10:02Can we launch on the 3rd, or do we need the 10th?Priya 10:15Who signs off final content?Lena 10:25Decisions, owners, next stepsChair

Pre-read: launch plan v3 (attached). Please read before the meeting.

A purpose in one lineWhat the meeting must produce, not just its topic.Items as questions“Can we launch on the 3rd?” instead of “Launch date”.Owner and time for eachSo someone prepares, and the clock is visible.Sent a day aheadWith any pre-reading attached, so the meeting is for deciding, not reading.

Chairing phrases

The chair’s job is to keep the meeting on purpose and make sure every voice is heard. Choose a moment for the words.

“Thanks for coming. By 10:30 we need to agree the launch date and who signs off content.” “Let’s start with the date, since everything else depends on it.” “Sam is taking notes, so we can all focus on the discussion.”

Making the decision call

Before the meeting, say how the decision will be made. It prevents the most common end to a meeting: everyone talking, nobody deciding.

Method	How it works	Best when
One decider	The owner hears views, then decides.	Speed matters and accountability is clear.
Consent	The proposal passes unless someone has a serious objection.	Teams want buy-in without endless debate.
Consensus	Everyone must agree.	The decision is hard to reverse and affects everyone.
Vote	Majority wins.	Several equal options and a large group.

How to lead a meeting that doesn’t waste time →

One-to-one meetings

A regular one-to-one between a manager and a team member belongs to the team member: their agenda first, status updates last. A 30-minute structure:

0 to 15 min Their topics “What’s on your mind this week?”

15 to 22 min Support and blockers “What’s getting in your way?”

22 to 27 min Growth “What would you like to get better at this quarter?”

27 to 30 min Agree next steps “What will each of us do before next time?”

How to run one-on-one meetings: agendas and questions →

Taking part when you are not the chair

Good meetings depend on participants as much as on the chair. These moves help a meeting reach its decision faster.

Come with a viewRead the pre-read and decide what you think before you arrive.“My view is option B, mainly because of the cost.”

Build, then addLink your point to the last speaker’s, so the discussion moves forward.“Building on Ana’s point about timing…”

Name the decisionIf the discussion drifts, help the chair bring it back.“Are we agreeing to the 3 June date?”

Hybrid meetings

When some people are in a room and others are on a call, the remote people are easily forgotten. These habits keep everyone equal. The chair’s side is in how to lead a meeting.