Preparation is key to a successful town hall meeting.
You need to schedule it and pick a location, publicize the meeting so people show up and staff it right to make the meeting run smoothly.
1) Schedule it and pick a location
Talk to the people and groups you want to invite and pick a date that works for the most people.
When you have an idea of roughly how many people might show up, finalize the location in a space large enough to hold everyone.
2) Publicize it
The best preparation will mean nothing if everyday people don't know about your town hall and don't show up.
- Send out a press release.
- Post a meeting notice on your website, include it in your newsletter.
- Send a notice to any e-mail lists that you have.
- Radio stations and newspapers also run meeting notices. This is much shorter than a press release. If you can boil it down to a sentence or two, that's great.
3) Staff it
You'll need staff or volunteers to greet people as they arrive. It's a good idea to have a table up front with a sign in sheet and background materials so people can get informed about the issues up for discussion.
It's crucial to get (a) names, (b) telephone numbers and (c) e-mail addresses. You want this information to thank the people who attended, to have the correct spelling of people who stood up and spoke and to contact people you want to contact to keep on working on this issue.
At least one person should be taking notes, and -- if you can -- photos or video.
The toughest job at a town hall is moderator. You need somebody who can be unbiased and fair, who won't try to inject their own opinion into the debate. The moderator also needs to be someone with enough grace to cut somebody off if they're filibustering or going off on a rant about unrelated issues.
The beginning and end of a town hall meeting are what people usually remember. It's smart to open the event by thanking the audience for coming and close the town hall by thanking everyone for having an open and honest discussion.