Chairing a meeting means ensuring that a meeting achieves its aims. The meeting should have been called for a specific purpose and all discussion at the meeting must be for this purpose. This may sound simple in theory but in practice it is a very demanding task. The skills required include:

Impartiality

A chairman is like a judge in a court. He should ensure that all participants have an opportunity to express their point of view.

Assertiveness

Ensuring that everyone gets a hearing will almost certainly involve stopping someone from dominating the proceedings. The more contentious the issue the more likely you are to to require firmness. You need to ensure that there are no interruptions while each person has their say.