A town hall meeting is the best way to share any updates about the company and promote dialogue and communication between the leadership and the employees. Since most people are working from home, companies have started hosting town hall meetings virtually. Engagement and interaction at virtual events is challenging feat to achieve. This article is a virtual town hall meetings guide to executing an interactive event.
Know Why You Want To Host the Event
The first step to planning an online town hall meeting is to define your purpose for hosting the event. For instance, your purpose for hosting the event could be to generate more leads, promote your product, or celebrate any event. This will help you further plan your event. Once you have identified your purpose, you must identify your target audience and specify the factors against which you will measure the event’s success. This will help you plan your event further. In addition to that, your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, time-based and relevant.
Set the Event Agenda
Once you are done with the first step, the next step is to develop an agenda for the event. Brainstorm and find out what type of sessions can be included in your virtual event. Moreover, try to use funky or creative names for each session to pique the interest of the attendees. The event agenda should state the time, date, and the sessions that will form part of the event. Furthermore, it can also include the names of the speakers. Therefore, send the agenda via email. This will help the attendees be informed about the details of the online town hall meeting.
Select a Platform That Provides Engagement Features
Selecting the best virtual event platform is one of the most important decisions while planning your digital town hall. You should choose a platform that provides unique features for engagement among the attendees. Features like clap and hoot emoticons allow the attendees to be more expressive. In addition to that, features like a virtual photo booth, live chat, Q&A sessions, and live polls further boost the engagement levels.
Reward the Winners
Employee recognition is a very effective engagement booster. Therefore, reward your employees based on their performance. It is also a great way to reinforce that the contribution of every employee is valued. Moreover, you can also give rewards for exceptional performance. This will help grab the eye-balls of the employees and keep them engaged. Moreover, you can also reward the top participants of the town hall meeting and reward them with discount vouchers, OTT subscriptions, gift vouchers etc.
Use Ice-breakers
Two-way communication and attendee participation is the key to the success of virtual town hall meetings. Therefore, make sure you use ice-breaking activities and questions right at the start of the meeting to help the attendees get comfortable. Ice-breaking activities also help set the mood for the event. You can also send the meeting agenda to the employees 1 hour before the meeting so that they have time to prepare themselves. The ice-breaking activities will provide you with an efficient way to increase participation during the event. You can also consider getting creative with your ice-breakers to increase participation and engagement.
Get Your Tech Right
Getting your tech right can save you from the embarrassment due to technical glitches at the end moment. Having to make your attendees wait for extended hours due to technical breakdowns is the worst thing to happen in your virtual town hall meeting. Therefore, plan your tech a few months before the actual event and conduct a thorough check right before the meeting starts. Check if all the equipment is working fine. Additionally, check the live streaming requirements and the software required to host the meeting. Moreover, you can also hold training sessions for teaching the employees how to use the virtual town hall meeting platform. You must also consider checking your audio and video before the start of the meeting.
Make the Joining Process Easy
Consider easing the joining process by using virtual event software that automates the process of booking and registration. You must select a platform that does not require the employees to download an additional app or software to attend the meeting. The best option would be to select an online event platform that provides browser-based solutions. This will simplify the joining process as the attendees will be able to join the meeting just by entering the meeting URL. An easy joining process will help increase the event attendance and boost engagement.
Get a Moderator On Board
Another great idea to make your virtual town hall meeting interactive and engaging is to find a great moderator. The moderator is responsible to ensure that everything runs smoothly during the meeting. Moderators have the power to mute or unmute the audio of every participant and remove the unwanted individuals from the meeting, thereby enhancing security.
Find a Great Speaker
You must look for someone with a witty personality and superior communication skills. A great speaker will help set the event’s mood and keep the engagement levels high during the entire event. Getting a good speaker who can crack jokes and build a humourous environment will increase engagement levels.
Use Screen Sharing Feature
You must select a virtual event expert that allows you to share your laptop screen or play a presentation from your mobile. The screen sharing feature can transform your virtual town hall meeting into an interactive event. This feature is especially useful for presenting documents to the employees and discussing past performance and the plans. The screen sharing feature is also a great way to play videos to conduct ice-breaking activities.
Include the Raise Hands Feature
Incorporating the raise hands feature in your virtual event will help you replicate the experience of a physical meeting. Additionally, it will also save you from the chaos created due to everyone speaking at a time.
Conclusion
The virtual town hall is a great place to promote bonding among the employees. The lack of interaction and participation in a town hall meeting can defeat the entire purpose of the event. Therefore, you must get as creative as possible and find ways to boost interaction at your online meet.
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