Guide Town halls · Public meetings
How to run a town hall or public meeting
Format, room, sound, sign-in and a moderator's run of show, for a community group, association or council office calling a public meeting.
A public meeting has one chance to let people speak and leave knowing they were heard. Decide the format before you book the room, put the sound where the audience is as well as on the stage, and give the moderator a written run of show. Agree that run of show at least 14 days before the meeting, so the night holds no surprises for the people on stage.
Decide what the meeting is for
Write one sentence that finishes "By the end of the night, people will have...". Heard the facts, asked their questions, or told a decision-maker what they think. Each answer is a different meeting.
| If the goal is | Use this format | The moderator's main job |
|---|---|---|
| Share facts, then take questions | Short presentations, then questions from the floor | Keep presentations to time so questions are not squeezed |
| Hear from the community | Open microphone with a time limit for each speaker | Apply the time limit to everyone equally |
| Put questions to decision-makers | A panel with a moderator | Make sure the question asked is the question answered |
Set the room so people can speak
The room is set for the audience, not the stage.
- Sound from the floor. People at the back must hear a question asked from the middle of the room. Plan microphones for the audience, not only for the head table.
- A clear path to the microphone. If speakers have to climb over a row to reach it, fewer of them will.
- A sign-in table at the door. It tells you who came, and it lets people leave their contact details for follow-up.
- Language. If your community works in more than one language, plan for it in the materials and on the night. We produced the Chinatown and Area BIA's 25th AGM in English, Chinese and Vietnamese.
Write the moderator's run of show
A run of show is the meeting on one page, in order, with times. Ours has four parts.
- Room set and AV checkedEvery microphone tested before the doors open.
- Sign-in opensThe table is staffed before the first person arrives.
- The moderator opens the meetingState the purpose, the ground rules and how long each speaker has.
- Questions from the floorOne time limit, applied to everyone.
Add a closing line that tells people what happens next and when they will hear back. A meeting that ends without one leaves people unsure whether they were heard.
The timeline
| When | What |
|---|---|
| After you set the date | Book the venue and confirm the room set and the AV the meeting needs |
| 14 days before | Run of show agreed with the moderator and the people on stage |
| On the night | Room set, sound check, sign-in, and a producer on site until the last question |
A town hall for about 200 people
On October 8, 2026, the Edmonton Chinatown Safety Council held a community town hall on safety in the neighbourhood. The goal was to give residents, business owners and community groups one evening to hear the facts and speak, in a room where every speaker could be heard.
We ran the audio and tech on the night, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Before it, we built two briefings: one for Chinatown's convenience stores and pharmacies, and a map of the social agencies that serve the area with a gap analysis. We also resized the town hall ad for a half page in the Edmonton Chinese Journal.
About 200 people came, as reported live from the room by Edmonton Journal columnist Keith Gerein. The case study links the coverage.
Questions
Do we need a moderator?
Yes. Someone other than the host should run the microphone and the clock, so the host can listen.
How do we make sure everyone is heard?
Put microphones in the audience, set one time limit for every speaker, and say both at the start.
What does it cost to have a town hall produced?
Town Hall and Public Meeting Production starts at $2,500 per meeting, plus travel. You pay the venue and AV directly.
Town Hall Production Edmonton
Want someone else to run the room?
Town Hall and Public Meeting Production starts at $2,500 per meeting, plus travel: venue and room set, AV, sign-in, a moderator run of show and a producer on the night. You get the run of show at least 14 days before the meeting, or $500 comes off the invoice.
Sources
- Town Hall and Public Meeting Production, Churchill Strategy
- Edmonton Chinatown Safety Council community town hall, case study with news coverage
- Run-of-show promise, Terms of Service