What is a telephone town hall?

Have you heard of the latest thing that is being done with phone technology?  The Telephone Town Hall?  You may be asking “what is a Telephone Town Hall?”  Developed over the past 5 to 10 years, a Telephone Town Hall involves the ability to call thousands of people in a very short amount of time paired with the ability to keep those who opt into the call or join into the call together on a very, very large conference call with the ability to control the discussion.  Those who are speakers can speak while those who have joined the call are kept mute until they pose a question.  Questions can be moderated by having them screened.    A Telephone Town Hall now allows for one of the most personal interactions that a candidate, elected official, group leader, company president, alumni director, coach, etc. can have with their appropriate group without having to travel to a site and incur the costs, pre-planning and hassle of actually visiting people.  It is a way to have virtual meeting with a traditional media that most people are very comfortable with.  A Telephone Town Hall can be a great way to deepen a connection between the members of a group, the supporters of a candidate, or the voters/constituents of an elected official.  It can be a great way to open lines of communication with people who may never visit an office because of locality, make a call or participate in a discussion.