Powerful Panels Blog

December 20, 2019

Sixth Democratic Presidential Debate – Controlled Questions = No Debate

The 6th Democratic Presidential Debate was tightly controlled with the debate moderators asking very pointed questions. Unfortunately, they (for the most part) didn’t reinforce the expectation […]
December 13, 2019

Sixth Democratic Presidential Primary Debate – Balanced Yet Boring

Next week’s Democratic Presidential debate will be overshadowed by the impeachment proceedings.  Even though the “historically diverse field” has narrowed to seven, I predict that it […]
December 3, 2019

How to Dress Up a Panel Discussion on the Cheap

No one wants the boring draped table at the front of the room, but how do you “dress up” a panel discussion on the cheap?
November 21, 2019

Fifth Democratic Presidential Debate – A Shallow, Stale Ping Pong Match

This week’s impeachment hearings overshadowed tonight’s Democratic Presidential Debate.  So if you didn’t see the debate, you didn’t miss much.
November 13, 2019

The Debateless Presidential Debate

Next week’s Democratic Presidential debate will feature a ‘balanced’ number of questions for candidates – by not allowing the candidates to debate each other.
November 4, 2019

Provocative and Polarizing Questions for Your Panel Discussion

A panel without some kind of controversy, otherwise known as a difference of opinion, makes for an extremely boring panel.
October 30, 2019

Try “Layered Group Listening” in a Panel Discussion

   Panel Moderator Chip Bell shared a unique format he has used at Harley Davidson, Victoria’s Secret and other companies.  He calls it ‘Layered Group Listening’ […]
October 23, 2019

Panel Moderators: You MUST Have an Emergency Action Plan

As the panel moderator, you have prepared for an amazingly powerful panel discussion.  You’ve thought about the panelists, created an interesting format, and curated provocative questions.  […]
October 16, 2019

Round 4 – Democratic Primary Debate Staccato Style..Until It Wasn’t

We just finished the fourth Democratic Primary Debate with the largest number of candidates EVER on the same stage (12) for the LONGEST amount of time […]
October 9, 2019

Fourth Democratic Presidential Debate: More Controversial or a Repeat?

We are now into the fourth Democratic Presidential Debate with not only 10 candidates on stage, but TWELVE!
October 2, 2019
good panel discussion questions

Sample Script for a Panel Discussion

A recent reader asked me about scripting a panel discussion – and if I had a sample script for a panel discussion.
September 24, 2019

Avoid This Bias to Avoid Lackluster Panels

I have long thought that inattention or ignorance were the cause of lackluster panels.  Inattention in that the meeting organizers, moderators, and panelists simply show up […]
September 16, 2019

BEWARE of the “Stacked Panel” At Your Next Conference

So here’s a new term I have never heard of: “Stacked Panel.”
September 13, 2019

Round 3 – Democratic National Debate….was NOT (really) a Debate!

Nope.  It was a carefully scripted round of questions posed to the candidates (for the most part).
September 6, 2019

3rd Democratic Presidential Debate – Speed Dating or Showdown?

It’s the third round of Democratic Presidential Debates – with only NINE more to go before the Democratic National Convention (“nine” is not a typo).
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