How do you go about selecting the questions you ask the panelists during a panel discussion at meetings, conferences, and conventions? Professional panel moderator, Kristin Arnold asked this question of Kate Delaney, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and America’s #1 female sports commentator and talk show host.
Video Transcript
Kristin: Kate, how do you go about selecting the questions you ask the panelists?
Kate: What content do we need to create? We all have a unique perspective, we all are offering something different, but how do we offer it where we get heard? In my mind because that’s what I do. I teach people how to get heard. How do you get heard? So that’s what I thought of my head.
What are the questions that are going to be relevant for a speaker who’s a hall of famer, a speaker who has a lot of what I call skins on the wall, versus somebody who, wow, I’m a VIP I am lost in the sauce, this is my first time here. The common denominator between everybody is content because we’re all offering contents. So what were the questions and willowing them down that were more significant to you of how you could get exposure, how you could have more people build your…how you can build your tribe? How you could be somebody who could just elevate yourself to be more recognizable in your expertise.
So I narrowed the questions down that way. I had my list of questions and I just would cross them off.
Questions that I thought only if nobody’s talking maybe I’ll get to those. And that’s how I ordered them. What was most significant. So I think you start with a theme. What do you want to get? Start with the end in mind. What is it you want people to leave with? Just like when we do a keynote or when we’re facilitating maybe a workshop. What do you want people to leave with? An hour is a short amount of time. So I wanted everybody to leave with something they could apply or think about when they’re developing their content.
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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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