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Meetings! Think how many business meetings you’ve been to. It’s very easy to focus on the negative side of how time has been wasted and colleagues have been discouraged. The aim of this book, however, is to help you move ahead positively and to suggest ways in which you can make meetings even more useful.

I write as someone who has chaired meetings, taken minutes and sat as an active participant in countless meetings in the business world and also in schools and charities over the last four decades. But I also write as one who is not a natural leader, even though I have been called upon to chair meetings, take the minutes (sometimes at the same time as chairing!), so I have learnt certain skills. It is these that I want to pass on to you: if I have learnt to do it, I believe you can too.

This book contains 50 secrets of success, spread over seven chapters. These are:

1	Why have meetings? We begin by asking the basic question. What is the purpose of meetings? Meetings cost money: how much? It is important to know what are the different roles that colleagues have.

2	Prepare well for meetings. You need to make sure that all the practical arrangements have been made but you also need to spend time preparing yourself for the meeting. If an important part of the meeting is negotiating, then you need to give special attention to preparing for that, too.

3	Chairing a meeting. The chair’s role is vital in ensuring that the meeting runs well and achieves its aim by guiding it skilfully, providing direction, making progress and reaching decisions firmly.

4	Taking minutes. To write the minutes of a meeting, you need to develop certain skills, such as listening well and noting the relevant points. You will then be able to write them up effectively after the meeting.

5	Giving a presentation. If the thought of giving a presentation at a meeting fills you with dread, then you need to follow the steps given here to relieve your fears and help you become more confident.

6	Taking part in a meeting. Everyone has a role to play in the meeting, even if you’re not the chair or minute-taker. You can make a positive contribution by participating fully, listening well, discussing positively, speaking persuasively and negotiating successfully.

7	After the meeting. Even though the meeting has finished, that isn’t the end. You need to build on all your preparation and hard work to ensure that the actions are followed through well and that the work makes good progress.

Whatever your role in a meeting, you can become more confident.