Chairing – developing a key skill

The skill of chairing meetings is a key one that can greatly influence personal and organisational effectiveness. However, it is often assumed that people know how to handle meetings by a process of osmosis. Sometimes this is justified but often not, and standards of chairing vary widely. In this article the basic skills of chairing meetings are identified, with emphasis being on the ways in which they can be systematically developed. This includes analysis of interactions at meetings, particularly those interactions involving the chair. The difference between procedural, process and substantive contributions is also examined and the importance of these distinctions, particularly for whoever is chairing a meeting.