March 28, 2005

Three Ways to Make Town Hall Meetings More Participative

Town hall meetings can be valuable communication opportunities. Leaders benefit from face-time and the chance to share information with a broad employee audience. However, town halls are often static events that don’t give employees much opportunity to truly participate. Creating a town hall meeting that engages employees is not an easy task, but here are three ideas for increasing involvement at your next town hall:

1. Cover one topic
   
   Typical approach
   Most town hall meetings tend to present the “big picture”; they’re seen as an opportunity for a full business review. This approach only allows you to scratch the surface of multiple topics. Plus, there’s a limit to how much information people can process before the presentations become mind-numbing.
   
   Better approach
   If you really want engagement, interaction and participation during your meeting, use your time to cover one topic in-depth. One idea is to have a panel of internal and external experts share their views on the subject. By narrowing the focus of your meeting, you’ll give employees the opportunity to explore and really think about one issue.
   
   
2. Try the two-thirds rule
   
   Typical approach
   The usual town hall meeting consists of a series of presentations followed by a short question and answer period. This is really not enough time for open dialogue.
   
   Better approach
   Bump up the participation level at your meeting with an agenda that creates participation. Here’s one way to organize your agenda: Use one-third of the allotted meeting time for presentation(s) and the remaining two-thirds for facilitated dialogue. Having an experienced facilitator who can execute a group exercise is key to the success of this approach.
   
   
3. Change the dynamics
   
   Typical approach
   Most town hall meetings have 100+ people in the audience sitting in straight rows and facing a podium or stage. When it’s time for the question-and-answer session, the crowd is silent. Why? Asking a question is a losing proposition. People don’t want to sound dumb nor do they want to ask anything too challenging. The result is a lack of real participation and few meaningful questions.
   
   Better approach
   It is possible to create a safe place for people to ask questions and participate. Divide the audience into smaller groups and have them focus on one problem or give them an issue to solve. While it can be intimidating to discuss a topic or ask a question in front of an audience, talking to a small group feels much less threatening. By changing the dynamics, you’ll be making it easier for people to interact, engage in dialogue and really participate.
   

To learn more about how Davis & Company can help you create dynamic and participative town hall meetings, contact Alison Davis at:
1.877.399.5100 (toll-free in the U.S.)
1.201.445.5100
alison.davis@davisandco.com