Am retired now but have suffered through endless meetings in my lifetime. I was always polite, never chatted with others no matter how bored I was and, at the end, asked myself, "What did I learn" to end up looking over all my notes and discovering I had learned nothing. The book I mentioned earlier, "Say It In Six" tells you how to present a speech in 6 minutes and say everything that needs to be said and six minutes is the amount of time they have determined is the actual time you have your audiences attention. I, also, am adverse to speakers who give a handout and then proceed to READ the handout to me as though I don't have enough intelligence to read it and understand it myself. In so far as a special speaker, then that speaker should be scheduled separately and not during the time you normally get together to knit.