How do you create great questions for the panelists to answer during a panel discussion at meetings, conferences, and conventions? Professional Panel Moderator Kristin Arnold asked this question of Joe Calloway, Business Keynote Speaker, panel moderator, and member of the US Speaker Hall of Fame.
Video Transcript
Kristin: How do you come up with the questions to ask of each of the panel members?
Joe: Typically, the client will pick, well always, who’s going to be on that panel with me and generally it is a top performer, and I always have the client tell me, “Why did you… tell me why you picked each of them,” and in telling me the ‘why’ that gives me the basis for the initial questions. For example, I might say, “Kristin, I know you took over a territory that was struggling and you had tremendous turnover in your staff the first year that you were there, and yet you’ve managed to take it from X level of performance to a much higher level of performance. And I understand that you say the key to that is getting your people focused. Tell me what that means. How do you get your people focused and what does that mean to you?”
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Kristin Arnold, professional panel moderator, and high stakes meeting facilitator is on a crusade to make all panel discussions informative, interactive, and interesting. Specifically, she wants to help YOU become a better panel moderator. Why? Because 95% of annual meetings have panel discussions – and according to the 2014 Panel Report, it’s a fifty-fifty proposition they are any good at all! Expectations decrease dramatically when your attendees walk in and see the traditional draped head-table with microphones on short stands. There are sooooo many other ways to have a stimulating conversation! So let’s increase the probability of success for your next panel discussion with these resources.
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