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Whether your colleagues are across the hall or around the world, chances are you spend a lot of your time in meetings. Achievers know how to maximize meeting time! In our workshops for Professional Learning Communities and our Presentation Skills training, we teach people several key elements for leading great meetings:
Preparation - Research says that it takes one hour of preparation for every ten minutes of presenting! While you may not always have the luxury of plentiful prep time, the more you prepare, the better results you can expect from your meetings. Even the folks who say they "do better without any planning" find that they can increase their effectiveness by going over their notes and by rehearsing important presentations before a meeting. If you, as the meeting leader, don't know what you are going to do, it is harder to bring others along with you!
Agenda - Prepare an agenda for each meeting. Getting input from participant encourages their participation. Agendas may be distributed ahead of time so that attendees know what to expect. If several people are presenting, touch base before the meeting to insure readiness.
Timing - Always try to start and end your meetings on time. Even if everyone is not present, it sets a precedent and is a sign of courtesy to those who made the effort to be there! Asking someone to serve as a timekeeper can help keep everyone on track. If you are meeting across several time zones or have participants with different work schedules, pick a time that is most suitable to all. Avoid known "crunch" times and take holidays and special events into consideration when selecting a meeting date.
Facilitation - Involving participants in your meeting helps them to stay interested. Asking questions, using "round robins", polling, demonstrations and interactive exercises can help draw people in whether they are meeting face-to-face or virtually. Let people know ahead of time, or at the start of your meeting, that you plan to include them in the discussion.
Blockers -Be prepared for resistance if you are covering a topic requiring learning or doing things differently. People naturally resist change but, by being ready, you can help them to work through their objections and concerns.
Action - Ending your meetings or presentations with a "Call to Action" challenges participants to do something with the information you have provided and helps them to see the application or added value of your ideas. | 
I mean the kind of "talk" that goes on in your thoughts. We all have a tape player in our heads. It plays messages that can be a reflection of mindsets, value judgements, attitudes, etc. All too often the self-talk we hear can take on a negative or even condemning tone, especially when we are under pressure or facing unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations. Letting these kinds of messages go unchecked is self-defeating and will only drag you down. In our 
