Ditch dull panel discussions.
Design a better panel.
170 cards to help you master designing a more lively and informative panel discussion.
Ditch dull panel discussions.
- Tried and tested panel ideas
- Facilitate with confidence
- Become a master moderator
No more boring panels!
Loved by hundreds of panel organizers and moderators
How do Panel Design Cards work?
Inside you’ll find everything you need to design a lively and informative panel discussion that your audiences will love. Across 7 elements, prompts and exercises, you’ll discover how to use fresh formats, engage the audience, and make your panel the hit of the event!
“These cards are gold!!!”
– Sherril Harris, Interview Host
“It’s a game changer… I’ll be using this toolkit for years.”
– Lisa Levy, Panel Moderator & Facilitator
“The pack serves both the absolute beginner and a more experienced person.”
– Timothy Hyde, Professional Emcee & Panel Host
Most panels suck.
Here’s the hard truth: almost all conferences and conventions have panel discussions – and half of them are flat-out boring.
So how do you make them useful, productive, and even fun?
Intentionally design a panel to not only be informative, but engaging, lively and full of valuable insights and takeaways.
But how do you do that?
Introducing Panel Design Cards
Inside you’ll find everything you need to design a lively and informative panel discussion that your audiences will love. Across 7 elements, prompts and exercises, you’ll discover how to use fresh formats, engage the audience, and make your panel the hit of the event!
Panel Design Cards helps you think through all the possibilities in designing an interesting and effective panel discussion where panelists share meaningful information in an engaging way.
- Consider the initial starting conditions and decisions you need to make.
- Sort through the cards picking up those cards that you think will resonate with the topic and the audience.
- Rearrange the deck to suit the event.
- Voila! You have your draft design in place!
Let’s put an end to boring, pointless panels!
“These cards are a ‘must have’ for anyone moderating or putting together a panel discussion.”
– Glenn Thayer, Event EmCee
“These cards help me mix it up… I often reuse my ‘favorite’ formats, and they help me break that habit.”
– Sarah Michel, Content Producer
Benefits
Effortless Creativity
- Quickly design engaging and informative panel discussions
- Each card includes an easy-to-follow element, eliminating guesswork
Time-Saving Tool
- See all the possibilities at a glance to create panels in minutes
- Simplifies the process for both novices and experts
Enhanced Panel Quality
- Helps avoid repetitive, uninspired panels by incorporating fresh, dynamic ideas
- Encourages creativity, ensuring panels stand out
Flexible Usage
- Use cards your way—follow suggested strategies or customize with blank cards.
- Adaptable for various styles, formats, and panel objectives.
Comprehensive Guidance
- Clear instructions on each card for easy implementation
- Ideal for both starting from scratch or enhancing existing panel plans
Perfect for Any Scenario
- Whether you’re uncertain where to begin, want to elevate your panel, or add a touch of creativity, these cards have you covered
Designing a panel discussion doesn’t need
to painful or take a lot of time.
“Especially love the Segment Starters – ‘Announce a Surprise Guest’ is brilliant.”
– Kate Delaney, Award-winning talk show host
“I love the organization, color coding, thorough questions and considerations, and the way you arrive at your own deck of cards to follow for each panel session.”
– Michelle Russell, Editor, Convene Magazine
“This deck will help panel moderators find creativity and guidance.”
– JJ, A Master in Moderation
“Absolutely love the content… Oh, here’s an idea! There’s another idea!”
– Michael Chaleff, Lawyer & negotiation expert
“These cards opened my mind as to what a panel could be!”
– Azadeh Yaraghi, Brand Strategist
Why are Panel Design Cards a deck of cards?
It’s simply too easy to lean on the standard panel discussion format. As a leading authority and author on moderating panels, even I was forgetting some of the more creative ways to engage the audience!
So I took all the ideas I have harvested over the past decade (many of which are in The 123 Ways to Add Pizazz to a Panel Discussion), and created a playing card to represent each idea.
When you pick up the Panel Design Cards, you are almost immediately brimming with ideas and enthusiasm.
It took me years to learn the skills that made me into a celebrated facilitator and panel moderator. It took me months to turn them into a practical deck of cards. It will take you minutes to read each card and start applying the insights.
The Book That Started It All
123 Ways to Add Pizazz to Your Panel
Before there were cards, there was the book.
This best-selling guide by Kristin Arnold offers practical, creative, and proven ways to energize any panel discussion. It’s the inspiration behind the Panel Design Cards—and still the go-to resource for facilitators who want to create unforgettable panel experiences.
Use the book to:
Explore new strategies to engage panelists and audiences
Build a stronger foundation for designing panels with purpose
Discover fresh ideas to make every panel more interactive, dynamic, and fun
The Panel Design Cards bring the book to life—making the ideas hands-on, visual, and easy to use during planning sessions.
Want it all?
The Complete Panel Pro Package includes this book plus the full digital and physical card sets.
“Beautiful and easy to handle… I loved the tactile feel and flexibility.”
– Lisa Levy
“On opening the box, the cards look great—bright colors and clearly separated categories.”
– JJ
“Very readable… they should last well.”
– Timothy Hyde
Get Panel Design Cards
Digital Download – $49.99
Instant access to all 170 Panel Design Cards in a convenient digital format. Perfect for on-the-go planning or printing your own.
Boxed Card Set – $79.99
A beautifully packaged, durable physical deck of 170 Panel Design Cards – ideal for in-person brainstorming and panel preparation.
Powerful Panels Digital Knowledge Vault – $129.99
The Powerful Panels Digital Knowledge Vault is a compilation of best practices of some of the most successful panel moderators. This virtual vault is chock-full of customizable checklists, worksheets, templates, agendas, sample emails, video interviews etc. This also includes the digital download of the Panel Design Cards and all three books.
Contact Us for Bulk or Customer Orders. Click Here to Inquire
Bonus! Dive deeper with video masterclasses with your purchase!
Enjoy hours of coaching videos from Panel Design Card author (and founder of Powerful Panels) Kristin Arnold — so you can see each element in action with real-life examples and demonstrations.
“I think anyone who markets themselves as an Emcee or panel moderator should have a deck of these cards.”
– Sarah Michel
“The Curated Questions segment was great. I’ll be adding several to my ‘30 Question Cheat Sheet.’”
– Timothy Hyde
