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Patricia
Fripp, CSP, CPAE, asks Rebecca L. Morgan, CSP, her advice...
Have you ever had to moderate a panel for a conference? Panels
can be tricky. They can be either a high-light of the meeting
or a low-light. Rebecca has been asked to moderate a number
of panels, so I ask her to pass on some hints she has learned
over the years.
If you're in charge of putting the panel together:
- Find out what your target audience wants to hear. Interview
a representative sample of the people most likely to attend.
Ask them what they would most like to have addressed by
company/industry/ subject leaders. Who would they like on
that panel? What specific questions would they have for
the panelists?
- Choose your panelists carefully. Make sure you have a
good representation of appropriate resources (e.g., male/female,
corporate/consultant.) I have sometimes called prospective
panelists asking the question above to see how articulate
they are. If they have interesting thoughts on the topic
and can express them clearly, I will call them back and
ask them to be panelists.
As moderator:
- Be clear on your role. Are you a moderator or a panelist
or both? If just the moderator, your job is to be the glue
that holds the parts together. This means you are not a
panelist. Don't be tempted to answer questions yourself
or participate as a panelist. This is hard when you have
some knowledge of the topic.
- Gently coach your panelists. Sometimes you don't have
a choice who is on the panel, and you may have a long-winded
panelist or someone who will read his/her comments. In a
confirmation letter to all panelists, you could include
some suggestions of what made past panels successful. Panelists
who have been viewed as most successful in the past were
those who:
- Spoke from notes, but didn't read their comments.
- Had thought about the topic and audience ahead of
time, and focused their comments to the audience.
- Appeared relaxed and comfortable.
- Guide your panelists on how to respond during questions
and answers. Explain that the following are guidelines for
responding to questions:
- If you are asked a question you don't have an opinion
or information on, quickly pass so another panelist
can answer.
- If you don't have anything different from another
panelist to contribute, don't say anything.
- Work to be concise in your answers so more questions
can be entertained.
- Time each panelist so one or two don't take up the majority
of time. Let them know they will be timed and when their
time is up, have someone in the back hold up a sign. Divide
your total time into approximately 1/2 to 2/3 for the panelists'
comments, with the rest for Q&A.
- Include a sentence on why they were chosen to be on this
panel in the introduction of each panelist. Edit any prepared
introduction they give you to a few paragraphs on why they
are a credible resource to be discussing this topic. For
most business audiences it is not relevant where they went
to college, or how many years they've been married, or how
many children they have.
- Introduce each panelist before she/he speaks. This breaks
up the monotony of each panelist speaking successively.
Besides, if you introduce them all at once, no one will
remember the salient points about them when it's their turn
to speak.
General hints:
- Control the physical set up. If the panelists are not
on a riser, ask each to stand when delivering his/her comments.
If they don't, the people in the back of the room won't
be able to see them and will lose interest.
Whether on a riser or not, I often dispense with a table
and ask that the panelists' chairs be set up in a slight
semi-circle. This gives a more approachable look to the
panelists, and it makes for a more relaxed atmosphere.
I have standing microphones set between every other panelist
so each can pull the mic out of its stand to speak, or
I provide lavaliere mics for everyone.
- For questions and answers, there are several options.
You could have people write down their questions on 3 x
5 cards placed around the room and collected by "runners"
and brought to you, the moderator, or to someone who will
screen them and prioritize them. This works well for larger
groups, or if you think the audience may be hostile or ask
questions that would embarrass the panel.
The other option for entertaining questions is to allow
members of the audience to ask the panelists directly.
If the group is large enough, you could have standing
mics placed in the aisles and ask people to come to a
microphone to ask their question. Or you could have several
people roaming the audience with wireless micro-phones,
handing them to people who have their hands raised. Make
sure to have the questioners stand up whether a mic is
used or not.
If a mic is not used, repeat the question if you think
the whole audience can't hear it; it also gives the panelist
time to formulate his/her answer.
Before the question and answer period, I ask the audience
for their cooperation on a few items, to make sure that
this part goes smoothly.
- "Please ask questions, vs. making contributions. We
know there are many people in the audience with information
on (subject), however, we've asked these people here
to share their expertise. If you have some additional
information for a specific panelist please discuss it
with him/her afterward." I've found that some people
want to show the rest of the group that they are just
as knowledgeable as the panelists, and may resent not
being asked to be on the panel. They want everyone to
know that.
- "In order for as many questions to be asked as possible,
please direct your question to only one panelist, rather
than to the whole panel." I find it tedious as an audience
member to have each panelist answer a question of marginal
interest to anyone but the questioner. If they don't
ask the question to a specific individual, then you
ask someone who you think would be most qualified to
answer.
- "In the interest of time, please make your question
brief and concise." I've had to gently interrupt a questioner's
story with "What is the question you have?" Don't let
them babble on.
- End with a summary of the information and ask the audience
to thank the panelists for their contribution.
(1,088 words)
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