“Do you like to give the panelists a list of questions they will be asked before the panel discussion?” 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: Joe, do you give the panelists a list of the questions you will be asking beforehand?
Joe: I generally give them the questions and I also say, “We’re probably not going to get to all of these but we’ll do them in this order,” or I’ll say, “It could be more general than that. We’re going to talk about what you’ve accomplished in your division. We’re going to talk about what you think the challenges are for this company and this industry going forward.” Or it could be an actual list of five or six questions and I’ll say, “Here they are.” And I will tell them, I’ll say, “You know, you might say something that will prompt me to ask a follow-up question or dig a little deeper but it won’t be anything that’ll throw you. I mean it’s your stuff, it’s what you do.”
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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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