In practice they are the same meeting under two names, and most companies use them interchangeably. If and when people do draw a distinction; an all-hands tends to lean towards updates and alignment from leadership, with a town hall leans more towards questions and dialogue from employees.

Read more in our Town Hall meeting guide for 2026.

Typically an all-hands meeting agenda should follow the following format:

• Opening poll & check in

• Business updates

• Strategy & priority focus

• Recognition & team news

• Live Q&A

• Pulse survey to close

Sign up to Menti for free to access our all hands meeting template.

Silence at an all-hands is usually a safety problem, not an interest problem. Four things reliably help:

1. Allow anonymous submission. Often, questions worth answering are the ones people fear attaching their name to.

2. Open submission before the meeting starts. That way, nobody has to be first!

3. Let people upvote. Asking becomes agreeing, rather than standing out.

4. Answer a difficult question early. This helps to set the vibe and encourage others to get involved, too.

Open with a low-stakes question, then try to break up longer updates with a poll roughly every ten minutes. Use quizzes on the points that you actually want retained, such as a new strategic priority or a policy change. Open Q&A submission at the start so questions accumulate across the whole meeting. Finally, close with a pulse question you repeat every time to help identify trends or recurring themes to address in future.

Sign up to Menti for free to access our all-hands meeting agenda template.

For hybrid or virtual town hall meetings, Mentimeter routes every response through the same channel, meaning everyone answers from their own device, whether they are in the room or at home. Remote attendees join from any browser with no account, and results appear live for both audiences at once.

There is no practical limit on participants in a live Mentimeter session. Nobody needs an account or an app, and employees join via menti.com from any browser or device. Only the presenter needs a Mentimeter account, and up to 50 participants per month can join for free. Check out our paid plans for unlimited access.