Before you read the agenda, read the faces. Somebody’s day already went wrong and it’s about to become the meeting.

People arrive carrying whatever happened before they walked in, and that mood shapes the hour more than the items on the list do. A room tense for reasons unrelated to the topic will generate disagreements that look like they are about the topic. Noticing early is what keeps an hour from being spent on the wrong argument.

Take thirty seconds at the start to look around before you begin. If someone is clearly off, ask privately afterwards rather than in front of everyone. Now and then the right move is to cut the meeting short and deal with the real thing.