Every decent meeting has a clear agenda communicated with related documents well in advance, a chairperson (usually the one booking the meeting) responsible for

Every decent meeting has a clear agenda communicated with related documents well in advance, a chairperson (usually the one booking the meeting) responsible for shutting down any distractions from the current issue in the agenda, and a secretary that takes notes regarding decisions that will be sent to the participants afterwards. Every good meeting has all of the above and lasts less than thirty minutes. In practice it guarantees that stakeholders and participants clear things up and does the thinking and deciding before the meeting and don't waste time doing it in public, and the meeting turns into a quick formal event where majorities or consensus is documented. People who want to have vague discussions about this and that in meetings should probably be offered therapy or some kind of educational course.