The town hall meeting is intended to generate rousing and lively dialogue, discussion and debate but the result can end up being a ‘dumping of information’ on disengaged employees who would rather be somewhere else. That’s entirely missing the point of a town-hall meeting!
As a term, ‘town hall’ may feel rather outdated but the concept remains very current.
When face-to-face communication takes the stage it can create magical moments.
Conferences, events and other live forums such as the town hall meeting are a great opportunity to make the most of vibrant conversations, where leaders can share important topics and advocate strategy and employees can participate in discussion and voice opinion.
There are many ways to hold an outstanding town hall. If the audience is large, and if the objective is to give as many participants as possible an opportunity to speak, then attendees can be broken down into smaller side shows. Each group may appoint someone to summarise their discussion.
Crucially, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Not all of these ideas will work for every organisation, but a little variety can ignite enthusiasm, grab attention and motivate employees, getting people talking and looking forward to the next big event. Here’s a list of dos and don’ts we’ve collated to get the show started.
Roll up, roll up, as we go behind the scenes of the town hall extravaganza…
