7 Tips for Transforming Your Town Hall

If you’re looking to start incorporating some more dynamic activities into your Town Hall event, consider some of the ideas DOMA has successfully incorporated in the past:

• Setup a Selfie Station with Frames and Props for after the Event
• Giveaway T-Shirts or a Fun Branded Product to Everyone who Attends
• Auction off a Reserved Parking Space for Charity
• Host an HR Dress Code Fashion Show to show acceptable and unacceptable dress
• Invite Food Trucks to your Office on Town Hall Day so employees can pick up a delicious lunch before/after the meeting

3. Honor Your Employees – Speaking of prizes, Town Hall is the perfect time to announce awards like Employee of the Month or offer accolades for a job well done. Celebrating the team as a group should be a Town Hall priority.
4. Make it Interactive – Consider using live, interactive presentation software like Mentimeter or Poll Everywhere to allow employees to vote, play trivia games, or ask questions from their mobile devices during the presentation. Results update live in the presentation allowing for immediate feedback from the presenter. People can be shy about speaking up in a crowd but may be more receptive to texting in their questions or concerns. A moderator can screen questions from their device and leadership can address them in real-time.
5. Mix it up – Bring a fresh perspective, theme, or focus to each Town Hall. Don’t be afraid to change the seating arrangement, invite a surprise guest speaker, or try a new presentation format. If you keep people guessing it builds excitement for the next event and ensures there is something for everyone to enjoy.
6. Get Everyone Involved – Encourage different departments to handle different sections of Town Hall and try to incorporate multiple speakers. Let each department share its own successes, goals, and initiatives. This allows people to enjoy a variety of different perspectives and presentation styles. You can reign in any long-winded participants by including an MC to host or run the event or keeping people to timed blocks.
7. Don’t Cram in Everything – If you have seven goals for the new year, don’t try to cover them in depth all at once. Let each Town Hall have a central focus or theme and instead get deep into that one topic. Likewise, there is no need to incorporate tons of different games and prizes into one event. If you keep your Town Hall to 45-minutes or less and stay on topic it’s more likely the audience will walk away with a clear picture of what you wanted them to learn.