How to moderate a panel discussion

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on February 19, 2020 I posted on the topic of Excellent articles about moderating a panel discussion from Kristin Arnold. There are many other discussions about this topic. A vintage one is a brief article by Guy Kawasaki on March 7, 2006 titled How to Be a Great Moderator. Another by David Meerman Scott on September 6, 2022 is titled Don’t Be Boring! Top 10 Ways to Effectively Moderate a Panel Discussion.

 

There also are a couple brief recent articles in Toastmaster magazine. One is by Joel Schwartzberg in the June 2023 issue, on pages 18 and 19, titled A Panel Moderator’s Guide to Success. His ten tips are:

 

Know the topic.

Know the panelists.

Prepare your questions wisely.

Introduce yourself and the panelists.

Convey the objective.

Contextualize the questions.

Respond to answers when it adds value.

Spread the wealth.

Watch your time.

Wrap it up.

 

Another article by Kristin Arnold in the June 2020 issue, on pages 22 to 24, is titled How to Moderate a Panel Discussion Virtually. Her twelve tips are:

 

Prepare.

Know your platform.

Select, invite, and confirm interesting panelists.

Craft great questions.

Select the Q&A format.

Practice.

Start strong.

Keep the conversation moving.

Shift gears.

Be positive.

Put a bow on it.

Have a backup plan.

 

There also is a fifteen-page pdf whitepaper at Mandel in 2021 titled How to Facilitate Great Panel Discussions. And there is also a thirteen-page page pdf article from May 2021 by the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) titled Creating, Coordinating, and Moderating a Successful Panel Discussion.

 

And, of course, at YouTube there is a fifteen-minute video by Kristin Arnold on December 8, 2023 titled How to Moderate A Panel Like A Pro.

 

The image was rotated and cropped from this one at Wikimedia Commons.