Host a large meeting

I’m hosting a large meeting with 120 people next Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Start the meeting, mute all participants on entry, enable the waiting room until the start time, spotlight the three presenters in order, allow chat only to hosts during the first 20 minutes, and record to the cloud for the absent director. End by 11:15 a.m.

Before I send the invite to 120 stakeholders, make the meeting easy to follow: put the five agenda items with exact times at the top of the invite, call out when questions are allowed and how to raise them, make the presenter's slide deck reachable from the first email, and flag any participant who will likely interrupt or derail the agenda.

Halfway through a large meeting, the senior director keeps unmuting and speaking over the schedule, and the project leads feel steamrolled. I’m worried about damaging relationships if I force‑mute them. I can’t tell whether they’re unaware of protocol, intentionally dominating, or have urgent points. What’s the most effective way to regain control while preserving rapport and the meeting’s objectives?

Over the last eight large meetings we consistently lose the first 10–20 minutes to entry noise, people talking over presenters, and off‑topic chat. This wastes senior time and reduces perceived value. I can tighten controls but that risks alienating attendees. What change in how I set expectations and manage entry will preserve engagement and cut that time loss long term?