How to Host Effective Meetings

• Have a clear agenda for the meeting. Send it along with the meeting invite so that people will know what to expect.
• Ensure the meeting has an owner. The person that owns the meeting has to control the meeting. We as Meeting leaders need to find a way of being THE voice in the room for any meetings we are running. And, if we see that the owner of the meeting isn't capable of running the meeting, we should be prepared to step in (politely of course) and help drive others through the meeting on a tactical basis.
• Send other relevant information to the invited parties before the meeting. This includes design docs, slides etc. We can save meeting time for the all-important decision making, if we all come prepared.
• If the topic is complex and requires preparation, check in with the invitees in advance of the meeting to be certain they've done whatever preparation is necessary. Email isn't always enough, a phone call, stopping by a desk or scheduling time on their calendar is sometimes necessary.
• Know the main objectives and goals for the meeting and make sure you achieve them by the end of the meeting. Eg: Need to lock in the deployment dates and hand-off between participants in the meeting.
• Do not invite individuals the meeting if they are not providing or consuming information.
• A meeting is not just about getting your voice heard. Make sure you switch seamlessly between speaking and listening modes. Both are equally important.
• When in disagreement, try active listening. This is the act of re-stating what the other person said so that they know you've heard, understood and acknowledge his/her view point. Agree to disagree instead of doing so silently. It is more diplomatic. Eg: " I see your point about using X approach, it would work, but we believe a Y based approach is more customer focused". If you've misunderstood their point it may come out here.
• Inverse active listening: If you feel the other person has not fully understood your view point, please clarify this with the disagreeing party. Eg: "I might have not done a great job explaining and I don't think you have fully understood my point. Can you tell me in your own works what you have understood so that we can be on the same page?"
• Be as precise as possible. Avoid using ambiguous terms in a meeting. If you hear one, call it out and clarify. Eg: I am not sure about the categorization of these things. What categorization? What things?
• Have clear action items and have them assigned to people. Include a due date for these action items.
• It's good, if possible, to summarize and walk through the action items while you still have people in the room. This ensures everyone is coming away with the same basic understanding and for ensuring that everyone understands their action items.
• Wikify your notes from a meeting so that the email you send out doesn't vanish into the ether when you circulate it. This also allows for it to evolve, and for others to edit and add missing context on their own.