A town hall meeting is one of the most effective ways for employers to connect with the employees and share updates about the company’s achievements and progress. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic, just like other events, town hall meetings have also gone virtual. Virtual meetings can be distracting and can lead to low attention levels. Making your virtual town hall meetings more engaging and fun can help you make the most of it. This article will provide you some amazing tips to keep the engagement levels high in your virtual town hall meetings.
Given below are a few ways in which you can boost engagement levels in your virtual meeting.
Select the Right Virtual Town Hall Meeting Platform
Selecting the right virtual AGM platform is the key to the success of your virtual town hall meeting. Identify your requirements and make a list of the features that you want in the virtual event platform. Gamification, live polls and quizzes, feedback forms and signature walls, AI matchmaking, audio/video calls, and live chat are some of the features that can make your virtual town hall meeting more interesting.
Use Icebreakers
Conducting icebreaking activities at the beginning of the meeting is the best way to grab the attention of the attendees and make them feel comfortable. You can either ask a question that establishes two-way communication and gives the attendees a chance to speak or play an icebreaker game. Icebreaking activities can also help you know more about the new joiners and bring them on the same page with the other employees. Given below are some of the icebreaking activities you can consider –
- Two truths and a lie
- Never have I ever game
- Virtual scavenger hunt
- Virtual trivia
- Rock, paper, scissors
- Riddles
Gamify Your Meeting
Who doesn’t like games? Games are the best way to ensure that the attendees are enjoying the meeting. Look for a virtual town hall meeting platform that allows you to embed games. There are virtual event platforms that provide you with a library of games and also the option to add your games to the meeting. Adding games can help keep the attendees engaged throughout and have fun. It will also help the employees connect and develop a healthy competition among them. Given below are some games that you can include in your virtual town hall meet –
- Temple run
- Ludo
- Sudoku
Feedback Forms and Signature Wall
Feedback forms play a crucial role in keeping the attendees engaged throughout the meeting. Asking your employees for feedback makes them feel that their opinions are valued and keeps them engaged. Signature walls are also a great way to collect attendee feedback. It allows the attendees to leave suggestions, opinions, feedback and comments visible to everyone. Invest in a virtual town hall meeting platform that provides features like feedback forms and signature walls.
Conduct Live Polls
You can conduct live polls in between the meeting and ask people what they think about the meeting. It will help you get answers in real-time and allow the attendees to share their insights. This will help test the attention levels of the employees and keep the engagement levels high.
AI Matchmaking
AI matchmaking is a feature that matches the attendees with the speakers or with each other based on their common interests and purpose. It is a great tool to make your attendees stay engaged in the meeting. AI matchmaking is smart enough to identify the attendee’s goals and match them with the most relevant person to help them achieve their objectives. Make sure you look for a virtual event platform that provides AI matchmaking features.
Audio and Video Calls
Audio/video calls play a significant role in keeping the attendees engaged throughout the meeting. Audio/video calls are a great way to fill the gap between a physical town hall meeting and a virtual town hall meet. Make sure you select a virtual AGM platform that provides you with an audio/video call feature to help boost the engagement levels.
Communicate Company Achievements
Communicating the company’s recent achievements and appreciating the employees for their hard work is a great way to boost engagement levels. Discuss the breakthroughs, milestones, and achievements of the company. You can also arrange a small award ceremony to felicitate the top performers. This will keep the attendees engaged and motivated.
Break Down the Townhall Meeting in Small Sessions
People tend to have shorter attention spans in virtual meetings as opposed to in-person events. If you divide your virtual town hall meeting into shorter sessions of 30 minutes each, it will be easier to keep the participants engaged. You can use the mid-session breaks to conduct engagement boosting activities like quizzes, polls and even ask the attendees for feedback.
Make the Meeting Interactive
Establishing 2-way communication is the key to making your virtual town hall meeting more interesting. Allowing the participants to speak and put forward their views can help boost the engagement levels. You can conduct a Q&A session to make the meeting interactive. It will provide the participants with an opportunity to ask any doubts. Some employees are hesitant to ask questions in public. Features like live chat can be of help in such situations.
Make it Easy to Join the Meeting
Virtual town hall meetings can take up a lot of the time of your employees. Rather than using app-based solutions use browser-based solutions. This will save the participants from the hassle of downloading apps and setting up their accounts every time they have to attend a virtual meet.
Conduct Interview
You can also conduct a short interview of the top performers and ask them to tell their journey. The employees will find it easier to relate to the interviewee and help boost the engagement levels. Make sure the interview is informative and provides motivation to the employees.
Final Words
With virtual town hall meetings growing in popularity, it has become even more crucial to incorporate interactive activities in the meeting. Follow the above ways to help keep the engagement levels high during the meeting and make it more interesting.