Town of Banff

Council Delegations

Tips for a Successful Presentation

Members of the public are welcome to make a presentation on any topic at any regular meeting of Council.  These presentations are called “delegations” and are typically scheduled at the beginning of the meeting.  Contact the Municipal Clerk at municipal.clerk@banff.ca or at 403.762.1209 to book a spot on the agenda.

We are happy to provide you with a projector and laptop computer to assist with your presentation. These must be booked with the Municipal Clerk prior to the meeting.

Here are some tips for a making a successful presentation:

Submit written information early. 

Meeting agenda packages are distributed on the Thursday afternoon preceding the meeting so that Council has time to thoroughly review their information and prepare questions before the meeting.  Submit written information to the Municipal Clerk at municipal.clerk@banff.ca, by fax at 403.762.1260, or in person at Town Hall – 110 Bear Street by noon on the Thursday before a meeting.

Structure your presentation. 

Remember, you will have a maximum of five minutes to speak.  We suggest the following:

1. Introduce yourself and briefly describe your relationship to the issue.  For example, you may be representing a group or you may live in or near an area where a problem is occurring.
2. State your topic.  If you are requesting action to address a certain issue, describe the issue and the action you wish Council to take.  If you are requesting funding, state the amount and purpose of funding.
3. If appropriate, provide some background.  For instance, you may want to talk about how long the issue has been going on or how you or your organization has been affected.  For funding requests, it is always a good idea to provide information about your budget and any other revenue you have or are pursuing.

Set up for success.  

If you are coming to Council to ask for funding or to solve a problem, Council will base their decision on value for the community, available budget and/or available staffing. Some things to consider are:

1. Do you have support from a sector of the community? With limited resources available, Council is likely to concentrate on issues with a broad appeal.
2. Does your request fit in with our strategic priorities? If it does, there may be some room in the budget and staff allocation to accommodate your request.
3. Can your request wait? Council starts making plans for the upcoming year in the fall.  They start with a strategic planning session in the fall, and then move on to setting the budget. If your request is one that could be addressed in the upcoming year, Council would have an opportunity to include it in the strategic plan & budget.

Town of Banff staff is happy to speak with you ahead of time to make sure that you have all the information that you need.  For assistance, contact the Municipal Clerk at 403.762.1209 or municipal.clerk@banff.ca.

These tips for a successful presentation are also available in PDF format ( PDF - 189 kb).