Mastering the Art of the Panel Presentation
by Christina Welty
Picture this. You’re in the general session room at a conference and a panel presentation is about to begin. You might be wondering whether this session will be engaging and interactive, if one panelist will dominate the discussion, or if the topic will resonate with you. Honestly, it’s a toss-up! If you’re responsible for coordinating panels for your organization’s meeting, consider what steps you can take to make sure they hit the mark for your attendees.
- GRAB THE AUDIENCE’S ATTENTION
Who will be attending the meeting? Is it mostly owners and managers of organizations or frontline employees? Topics will resonate with attendees differently depending on what challenges they’re facing with their day-to-day responsibilities. What are their pain points? What tips would they find most valuable? Choose topic(s) that will help your attendees walk away with something they can immediately put to use when they get back to the office on Monday. - IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MODERATOR
Not only does the moderator have to be knowledgeable on the topic(s), but he/she needs to be able to tactfully steer the conversation from one panelist to another, especially if one of the panelists is particularly chatty! They also need to manage time and transitions between topics smoothly. A board member or a past speaker could fit into this role well.
- FIND THE RIGHT MIX OF PANELISTS
In my experience, three panelists seem to be the “sweet spot”. It’s always a good idea to have a variety of panelists, whether they are different membership types, have different backgrounds or come from different organization sizes. Having diverse perspectives makes the discussion more interesting and relatable.
- PREP TIME
Before the conference, have at least one call to run through the details. This allows everyone to be on the same page, determine who will lead certain topics and makes the group feel comfortable with transitions. It’s also important to have a quick meetup onsite, especially if the panelists and moderator don’t know each other. - SETUP
Panel setups don’t have to be one-size-fits-all. I’ve seen everything from traditional long tables on stage to “fireside chat” formats with comfy chairs. My favorite? When panelists walk around the room and interact directly with the audience. It instantly changes the energy in the room!
Now that you have learned some ideas for developing a panel, how do you make it more interactive? I wanted to share a tool I learned about a few years ago called Mentimeter. It lets you build interactive slides with polls, word clouds, quizzes, and live Q&A.
WHY I LOVE IT:
· It’s easy to use and works on any device.
· After a few questions, you have a better feel for the composition of the audience.
· Attendees’ responses are anonymous, so they answer honestly.
· It’s less intimidating to respond to a poll on your phone, so even shy attendees are engaged.
· There are free and paid (but affordable) options, depending on the size of your group and what you want to accomplish.
At the start of the presentation, a unique code appears on the screen, and participants are instructed to visit menti.com and enter the code or scan a QR code. It also appears on every slide, so if someone is a few minutes late, they can still jump in. No downloads, nothing! The only catch is that you will need a Wi-Fi connection in the meeting room and the participants need to use conference Wi-Fi or their own hotspot. It’s best to have someone click through the slides so the moderator can focus on the topics.
SETTING THE STAGE
Create a quick slide that reviews the main topics that will be discussed. Then ask the audience what they hope to learn. This could be presented in many formats, but a word cloud is pretty cool. The more people who respond with the same answer, the larger that answer will appear.
You could also ask quick demographic questions such as organization size or how business is going this year compared to last year. The results will help the moderator tailor questions throughout the presentation.
ENGAGING THE AUDIENCE
Throughout the discussion, you can utilize questions that gather data about the audience and the industry. Some examples include:
· “What products are leading (or lagging) this year?”
· “What’s keeping you up at night in your business?”
· “How did you adapt to a (specific challenge) this year?”
This format allows ALL participants to engage, even those that wouldn’t normally speak up because they’re simply responding on their phones or laptops and their responses are anonymous.
GETTING FEEDBACK
You have five minutes left. What should you do to wrap it up?
It’s always helpful to end with questions such as, “What was your biggest takeaway?” or “What did you wish we addressed?” These responses give ideas for future topics at upcoming events or could be included in articles for your organization’s publication or e-newsletter. Even better, you can pull the poll results afterward and analyze data to help with your organization’s future efforts.
When done right, panel discussions can be some of the most engaging and memorable parts of a conference. With the right prep, right people and tools like Mentimeter, you can turn a regular session into an interactive exchange of ideas that stick with attendees long after they’ve returned to their day-to-day tasks.
What tips do you have for more engaging, interactive panel presentations? Share below!
Christina Welty, MA – Christina brings over eighteen years’ experience working with state, regional and national associations. Christina is a member of the Florida Society of Association Executives and completed the Qualified Association Specialist Program. She is also a graduate of the TSAE Program in Association Leadership. Christina holds a B.A. in Communication from Hanover College and a M.A. in Communication from The Florida State University. Fun Fact(s): Christina enjoys reading, spending time with her family and watching college football.
