Chairing Effective Meetings - The Three Laws

Why chairing matters

A meeting isn't a battleground, but it can be a jungle. The chair's task is to plot a skilful route through that jungle by getting the most out of every participant, securing commitment to a consensus, and reaching decisions people will actually implement. In strata corporations the stakes are real: a poorly run AGM produces decisions nobody wants to enforce, a deadlocked committee meeting delays maintenance for months, and a chair who plays favourites quietly loses the room.

This article distils a classic chairing framework - three "laws" that, between them, cover most of what a chair needs to think about. The framework is well-established in management-training literature; we've adapted it here to the realities of South Australian strata and community-title meetings.

Why this matters in strata

Strata meetings carry unusual emotional weight. Every owner has skin in the game financially. The decisions made affect their home and their levies. Disagreements often involve neighbours who'll see each other in the carpark the next morning. And the chair often isn't a professional facilitator, it's a fellow owner doing their best.

For groups with paid management, a strata manager often chairs general meetings. For self-managed groups (see Self-Managed Corporation Hints), the chair role rotates among committee members. Either way, the principles below apply.

Law 1: cope with conflict

Some conflict in meetings is inevitable, and a healthy thing. It surfaces real disagreement, which is what the meeting is for. The knack is harnessing it for the good of the meeting, not letting it pull the place apart. Remember: the meeting should be a contention of ideas, not of people.

Let off the steam

If feelings are in the room, they're already there and pretending otherwise just bottles them. Let people vent without letting them get carried away. "What's the trouble, Marcus?" is more useful than "Let's keep emotions out of this." Once a person has had their say, they tend to calm down and become open to facts and reasoned argument.

Don't take sides

Don't get personally involved. Don't allocate blame. The chair who loses their temper or picks a side loses the credibility of the room. Good-humoured laughter helps but never at the expense of any individual. If somebody really needs a dressing down, that's a private conversation after the meeting, not a public one during it.

Bring in the others

Aggression often conceals a real desire to fix something. Probe what the actual problem is, then bring in non-combatants to gauge whether others share the concern. "Brenda, what's your experience with the tradespeople we've been using?" Don't shut the original aggressor out, just dilute the heat with other voices.

Stick to the facts

Opinions prolong arguments because they're inherently for or against the aggressor. Facts cut through. Ask specific factual questions such as, "How many times has this happened this year?", rather than open ones like, "Does this happen often?". The less value-laden the question, the more useful the answer.

Law 2: focus the group

The principal threat to focus is rambling. We're all prone to it, especially when the issue under discussion is uncomfortable and a digression to last night's TV is a relief. A short ramble can sometimes help reset attention. The trick is bringing it back quickly.

Stay alert

Listen actively, not passively. Take brief notes summarising the main points. This helps you sort the wheat from the chaff, catches the moment a real point is being skipped, and keeps you from drifting yourself.

Keep a hand on the wheel

Make small course corrections early, before the meeting strays into different territory altogether. There are lots of subtle ways work ie, leaning forward, eye contact and raised eyebrows. If subtlety isn't getting through try phrases like "Hmm, we're getting off the point aren't we?" or "That's been five minutes on this. Let's move on."

Regular meetings teach participants to read your cues. Don't be too tolerant with people who repeatedly take the meeting off-topic as the rest of the room loses respect for both you and them.

Test comprehension

None of us like to look stupid, so it's tempting to act as though we've understood when we haven't. The cost is the meeting starts to pass you by. Always check assumptions: "Hold on, I want to make sure I'm with you. You're saying the levy notice was sent on the 15th?"

Paraphrase and check back

Paraphrasing what the last speaker said and checking with them ("So Brenda, you're saying we went for the wrong service tariff?") avoids talking at cross purposes. It also signals to the rest of the room that you were listening, which encourages others to contribute.

Law 3: mobilise the group

The third law is moving the group forward together. The chief threat here is "squashing" - jumping to a conclusion without considering alternatives, or dismissing contributions before they've had room to breathe.

Protect the weak

Make sure everyone who has something to say gets to say it. The dominant ones need slowing down, not silencing, but sharing the floor. "Hold on, Doug. Brenda, you look like you'd like to weigh in." Drawing out the quiet ones matters too, but don't bend over backwards to get contributions from people who have nothing to add.

Check round the group

Pause occasionally and check around the room: "Right. Where do we all stand on this so far? Winnie, you first." Starting with the least dominant participant, or in committee meetings of mixed seniority, starting with the more junior, opens space for voices that don't naturally jump in.

Record Suggestions

Write everything down where the room can see it. A whiteboard or flip chart is ideal; for online meetings, share a document on screen. Recording every contribution even the ones you privately think won't fly encourages more contributions, signals fairness, and helps you build toward consensus rather than imposing one.

Build Up Ideas

Don't let anyone criticise an idea, either their own or anyone else's, until all ideas are out. Encourage diversity. Make positive noises throughout: "Good. Any more? Anybody add to that?" Once the supply is exhausted, evaluate by looking at the positive elements first; make an idea as strong as it can be before looking for the holes. Build several practicable alternatives before choosing between them.

Putting it together for an AGM

An AGM compresses all three laws into a couple of hours. A few practical adaptations:

• Send the agenda and supporting papers in advance. Owners read at different speeds. Giving everyone a chance to digest the budget, the maintenance schedule, and any motions before the meeting starts means the meeting is genuinely deciding rather than absorbing.

• Time-box contentious items. If you know levies will be a flashpoint, allocate twenty minutes and stick to it. Past the limit, either decide or defer to a special meeting.

• Use the "check round the group" technique on the big motions. Don't just call a vote — ask for a quick view from every person who hasn't spoken. You'll often surface a concern that changes the wording of the motion.

• Record decisions clearly in the minutes. A motion-by-motion record with names attached to mover and seconder removes ambiguity later.

For broader meeting procedure including agendas, quorums, voting mechanics, see Meeting Hints and Tips.

Get in touch

If your group has a contentious AGM coming up, or your committee meetings feel unproductive, we're happy to talk through how the chair could approach it. Acacia Collective manages strata and community title groups across South Australia.

Call us on 1300 792 255 or email hello@acaciacollective.com.au.