My gosh! Time is flying so fast! You’ve been facilitating a brilliant panel discussion, and you have just a few minutes to conclude the session.
Let the audience know that the program is coming to an end by saying, “We’re almost out of time…Just a few key things to wrap up.”
Take a look at your notes and transition statements to summarize the discussion. There are several ways to do this, and make sure you include a sentence or two about each speaker’s contribution:
You can also ask the panelists to summarize the session by asking for:
If you have a little time, why not ask the audience to summarize the session?
You might also want to conclude with a few housekeeping items:
Invite the audience to extend the conversation in the front of the room, in the hallway or in the bookstore immediately after the end of the session. You can also encourage the discussion to move online to the conference website, blog, wiki, forum or social media platform group (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn). Share any additional resources available to the attendees. Encourage any photographers to post their pictures.
Add in any final announcements such as location of the next activity following the panel. Alert the audience to upcoming events, future programs, handouts, evaluation forms, educational credit forms and other details as necessary.
Then, ask the audience to join you in expressing appreciation for such a brilliant panel discussion with their applause. Start clapping and the audience will clap, too!
For more resources on how to make meetings, panels, and room sets better, make sure to check out this knowledge vault which is chock-full of customizable checklists, worksheets, templates, agendas, sample emails, video interviews and webinars with industry icons and professional moderators.
How to Structure a Panel Discussion
Ground Rules for Panelists During Panel Discussions
How the Moderator Can Introduce the Panelists During a Panel Discussion
27 Popular Panel Discussion Formats
Kristin Arnold, professional panel moderator and high stakes meeting facilitator, shares her best practices for interactive, interesting, and engaging panel presentations. For more resources like this, or to have Kristin moderate your next panel visit the Powerful Panels official website.