Elizabeth, Organization is the key to meeting success. I have had the opportunity over the past 40+ years to run many meetings. I plan meetings to allow people to know the agenda before the meeting with objectives outlined of what outcomes we are looking at achieving in the meeting. I always put action items first in the agenda and are they are priority to the other items on the agenda. If time doesn't allow for the items that are not action items you can find other ways of distributing this information. Time is valuable to all concerned your attention to this matter makes people more comfortable with attending your meetings. You set the tone for being on task and setting the accomplishment goals. Dr. Gary Carlson