Professional Panel Moderator Kristin Arnold asks Patricia Fripp, Executive Speaker coach and member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, to share her thoughts on how panelists should get on and off the stage during a panel discussion at meetings, conferences and conventions.
Kristin: Do you have a preferred method of getting on and off the stage?
Patricia: There have been times when I have, I never really considered it so much to moderate, you are going to introduce people. They are going to be speaking for ten minutes and they are going to get up to the lectern because if they are speaking for ten minutes where are you going to go, because it is going to be killing you, if you have got to stand while three or four people speak for ten minutes. So, in that case you probably want to sit just off stage. Because again, if your panelists are coming to the lectern and speaking for ten minutes, you do not want to distract. You are standing there unless you are really still with your focused attention, you are going to distract and that probably, it is too hard to stand still for forty minutes.
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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.
And, you can always go back to the playlist for more Powerful Panel Discussion Tips!
