Award-winning author Kristin Arnold is a distinguished panel discussion expert. A professional panel moderator and meeting facilitator, she has been featured on ABC and NBC as well as numerous publications such as Forbes, Harvard Business Update, USA Today, and Selling Power, Kristin knows what it takes to lead, facilitate and participate on high performing teams and panel discussions.
As the past President of the National Speakers Association of the United States (2010-11) and one of the first female graduates of the United States Coast Guard Academy, Kristin brings 20 years of practical team-building experience to your audience. She has worked with small businesses to Fortune 500 companies and is equally adept on the shop floor as she is in the executive boardroom.
Recent Media with Panel Discussion Expert Kristin Arnold
- Press Releases:
- Boring to Bravo wins Axiom Book Award March 26, 2012
- Survey Reports 63% of Panel Discussions are Mediocre or Much Worse March 18, 2014
- Television:
- How to Be a Paid Speaker, ABC News, November 2009.
- Print:
- From Mediocre to (Almost) Perfect: Reinvigorate Your Panel Discussions. Midwest Meetings, Fall 2014
- Moderating Panel Discussions: Speaker Magazine, August 2014
- How to Moderate a Panel Discussion: Tips for Facilitating a Riveting Exchange of Ideas. Toastmaster Magazine, April 2015 and March 2018
- Bring Your General Sessions to Life Using Theater-In-The-Round, MeetingsNet Magazine, July 2016 pp. 46-49
- Ten Ways to Add More Pizzazz to Your Panel Discussions, Toastmaster Magazine, November 2016
- Escalating Interventions: A Six-Point Plan to Prevent Problems on your Panel, Speaker Magazine, May 2018
- How to Improve Your Meeting’s Panel Discussion, Successful Meetings, January, 2020
- How to Moderate a Panel Discussion – Virtually, Toastmaster Magazine, June 2020
- Panels Don’t Work – or Do They? Skift Meetings, November 2023
- Radio/Podcast
- Toastmaster Podcast, August 2015, August 2020
- Leading Learning, (Tagoras), March 2017
- Blog Postings:
- How to Make Your Presentations Stand Out, Fox Business, August 2010
- Powerful Panels Report. Meetings Design Institute, April 2014.
- Time to Deep-Six the Panel? MeetingsNet, April 2014.
- Top 10 Reasons Your Panel Discussions Might Fail, Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), June 2015.
- 5 Ways to Turn Panels from Boring to Brilliant, MeetingsNet, October 2015.
- Time to Rev-Up with a Rapid-Fire Panel? MeetingsNet, May 2016.
- Bring Your General Sessions to Life with Theater-In-The-Round, MeetingsNet, June 2016
- 10 Tips to Improve Panel Discussions, Smart Meetings Magazine, Sept 12, 2016
- Take Cues from Pop Culture to Power Up Your Panel Discussions, Associations Now, March 2017
- What Seating Arrangements Reveal About a Meeting’s Culture, Associations Now, March 2017
- How to Liven Up a Panel Discussion, Connect Associations, Sept 19, 2017
- Panel Protocol: Top Ten Panel Tips to Boost Success, Midwest Meetings, March 11, 2019
- Panels Still Matter, Association Now, May 1, 2020
- Pack a 1-2-3 Panel Punch!, Senior Planners Industry Network (SPIN) Newsletter, March 2021
- 5 Ways to Shake Up Your Panel, According to an Expert Moderator, PCMA Convene Magazine, August 2, 2021
- 4 Ways to Improve Remote Panel Discussions, Associations Now, April 9, 2021
- Meetings Pro Tip: The Power of Props, Associations Now, August 9, 2021
Contact Panel Discussion Expert Kristin Arnold
To schedule an interview or to invite Kristin Arnold to participate in an upcoming media-related event, please contact us, call 480.399.8489, or schedule a 15-minute conversation here.
Panel Discussion Expert Kristin Arnold serves as the 2019-20 Presidential Debate Season Rules Analyst
The 2019-20 Presidential Debate season is a hot mess. Most pundits are going to discuss what each candidate said. I’ll take a fresh and different angle: How did the moderators impact the discussion? Smackdown or Run Wild?
I am the panel discussion expert on moderating panel discussions. I literally wrote the book on it. Much like a football rules analyst, I comment on how objective, skilled, and fair the debate moderators were immediately after each debate.
I’ll provide real-time data to back up my assertions:
- Do the moderators follow their own ground rules?
- Are the questions posed objectively?
- Is the airtime equally distributed – or did one candidate have an unfair advantage?
- Do the moderators intervene appropriately?
It’s a unique angle that hasn’t been reported…unless the debate goes off the rails. Which it will. The debates will be skewed, biased and crowded. And I’ll be there (live or Zoom) to report on all the salacious details for you.
Democratic Primary Debates 2019 (along with links to my commentary):
- June 26 and June 27, 2019 – Miami, FL – Savannah Guthrie, Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, and José Diaz-Balart
- July 30-1, 2019 – Detroit, MI – Dana Bash, Don Lemon, and Jake Tapper
- September 12, 2019 – Houston, TX – George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis, and Jorge Ramos
- October 15, 2019 – Westerville, OH – Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, and Marc Lacey
- November 20, 2019 – Atlanta, GA – Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Ashley Parker, and Kristen Welker
- December 19, 2019, Los Angeles – Judy Woodruff, Amna Nawaz, Tim Alberta, Yamiche Alcindor,
- How Moderators Influence the Debate
- 16 Types of Questions Debate Moderators Asked in 2019
Democratic Primary Debates 2020 (along with links to my commentary):
- January 14, 2020 – Des Moines, IA – Wolf Blitzer, Abby Phillip, Brianne Pfannenstiel
- February 7, 2020 – Manchester, NH – George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, Linsey Davis, Adam Sexton, Monica Hernandez
- February 19, 2020 – Las Vegas, NV – Lester Holt, Chuck Todd, Hallie Jackson, Vanessa Hauc, and Jon Ralston
- February 25, 2020 – Charleston, SC – Norah O’Donnell, Gayle King, Margaret Brennan, Major Garrett
- March 15, 2020 – Washington DC – Dana Bash, Jake Tapper, and Ilia Calderón
Presidential Debates 2020:
- The Moderator’s Role in Presidential Debates
- First presidential debate: Tuesday, September 29, 2020 – Chris Wallace
- Vice presidential debate: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 – Susan Page
- Second presidential debate: Thursday, October 15, 2020 – canceled
- Third presidential debate: Thursday, October 22, 2020 – Kristen Welker
- Types of Debate Moderator Biases
2016 Presidential debates:
- 2016 Third Presidential Debate – Chris Wallace – October 21, 2016
- 206 Second Presidential Debate, – Anderson Cooper/Martha Raddatz – October 10, 2016
- 2016 First Presidential Debate – Lester Holt – September 27, 2016
- 2015 Republican Primary Presidential Debate – Carl Quintanilla/Becky Quick/John Harwood/Jim Cramer – October 29, 2015
- 2015 Republican Primary Presidential Debate – Bret Baier/Megyn Kelly/Chris Wallace – August 9, 2015
- 2015 Democratic Primary Presidential Debate – Martha Raddatz/David Muir – December 21, 2015
- 12 Moderator Mishaps that Derail a Presidential Debate
2019-20 Presidential Debate Media Interviews:
- Morning Information Center & Open Mic (WTSN) – June 28, October 16, September 30, October 8, October 23
- Overnight America (KMOX) – June 27, July 31, August 16, September 12, October 16, November 20, December 19, January 14, February 10, February 19 February 25, March 16, September 29, October 7, October 23
- Hey! It’s Corey Hepola (WCCO) – June 26
- The Joel Riley Show (WTVN) – October 16, November 21
- Politics Done Right Podcast/Video – October 16, January 10, January 10, October 8, October 23
- AZ Central – September 29
Contact Kristin Arnold
To schedule an interview or to invite Kristin Arnold to participate in an upcoming media-related event, please contact us, call 480.399.8489, or schedule a 15-minute conversation here.
