• TIPS on how to Moderate a Conference Panel, Pt. 1: PREPARATION

En route to moderate a panel at last week's Digital Hollywood, I ran into two friends in the hotel lobby — both women who are seasoned digital media mavens, and like me, have been moderating conferences forever — strategic business consultant Joey Tamer and social and digital media executive Katherine Parker.

I complimented Joey on her smooth and confident moderating skills at a panel that I had caught the day before. “Good moderating isn’t easy,” I say, delivering a blazingly obvious cliche. A cliche that is so true, you know that's why it's become a cliche. How many panels have you groaned your way through? Too many. Way too many.

Over the years I have learned a lot about what makes a good moderator, and therefore, IMHO, a worthwhile panel. It takes some work. You can tell when somebody is good at it. In my lobby chat with my friends, I mentioned a few lessons, and how I learned them. Here’s an expanded list, from my experience. Love to hear your feedback.

NICK DEMARTINO’S PANEL MODERATOR TIPS: PREPARATION

Recruit your speakers (if you can) - From the audience's perspective, it is ideal when the moderator is an expert on the topic, and can recruit speakers that are just as knowledgeable. You don't have to do the logistical tasks of booking them, but picking your own "cast" will make it so much easier to be yourself, and most important for the audience, help you “tell a story” during your panel (see below). You also have a better shot at getting folks who are good speakers, avoiding the drones, the hypersalesmen, the buttinski’s, and all the other contributors to the moderator’s worst nightmare.

Alas, most moderators are handed some or even all of his/her panelists, having been recruited by a conference planner, whose standards, criteria, style and motivations can vary widely. Some speakers have been slotted on your panel because they are sponsors. Some because they have requested the topic. Some because there is a clear logical reason. Others, for no apparent reason at all. All the more reason to get to know them. (The tips below may be especially helpful in turning a mixed bag into a coherent experience.)

Know your speakers - Once your roster of speakers is locked, the good moderator gets to know about each person in advance, made easier these days via corporate and individual websites, Linked-in and Facebook accounts, and Google searches. The conference planner may also send you a bio or post them on the conference website, but I find a little digging pays off. I usually make notes with interesting factoids -- previous jobs, context, career highlights. Maybe I'll use this stuff, maybe not, but I'm getting to know my people. 

Email your panelists - Approximately two weeks before the panel is to convene, I prepare and send an overview email to all panelists. I assemble every fact that I can find about the panel into this email, and also produce it as a Word or PDF attachment as well. (easier to print.. printed emails are ugly). I actually label this attachment as ‘MODERATOR SUMMARY SHEET, version 1” because it will get revised before showtime. Here's what I usually include:
—Complete panel title and description;
—Date, time, location and any other logistics;
—List of all speakers, their titles and companies and contact information — at least email address. If there is a PR firm, assistant or other colleague, list that as well. (If bio’s are easily available, attach at the end of the document).
—Any rules or decisions about the operation of the panel — Here’s where I tell the panelists how I want to run the panel: how long they get to speak at the beginning; how I plan to question them, and for how long; how long I hope to allow for audience Q&A; any other aspects of the panel formatting that they should know.

Calls to action - The real purpose of the email is to get the information you need to do your job as moderator, BEFORE the day of the event. I usually:
—Ask each panelist to send to you and the group one or two sentences (max) that summarizes the focus of their remarks.
—Ask each panelist if they are willing to join a brief call to plan the session, and if so, best times during a specified period of time (usually the week before the conference).
—Determine if each speaker plans to use a video, presentation or other electronic enhancement.

 (A note on Power Points: some conferences prohibit power points and the like. Others require presentations, and often will have already requested slides to be sent in advance for pre-loading on a single computer.  Some sessions leave the decision up to the moderator.  Here's my take: Most presentations suck, let’s face it. They are self-serving pitches for a company or product. Brilliant presenters can use presentations brilliantly. But for the rest of us, leaving them out usually forces the speaker to actually focus on what they want to say.)

The conference call - If a reasonable number of your panelists are willing to join a call, you should confirm details via email with the details such as:

—Call-in number and code (If your company doesn’t use or won’t pay for a conference service, you can use Skype or a conference call site, which often require participants to pay long-distance charges)

—Call agenda. Here’s an example:
    1. Introductions - each speaker tells who they are, and specifically reiterates what they hope to convey as a speaker on this panel.
    2. Discussion, if any regarding these statements. (Note: This may be a time when you as the moderator reiterate your preference that speakers go lightly on the self-promotion. )
    3. Decide the order of speakers.
    4. Any logistical issues

    5. Confirm where and when you will meet on the day of the panel. (I usually like to meet in the speaker lounge or other convenient location at least 30 minutes before hand. This cuts down on late arrivals, and gives people the chance to schmooze a bit. Some conferences require rehearsal, which is especially true if there are presentations or computer swap-outs involved).
—Also, attach a revised Version 2 of your “MODERATOR SUMMARY SHEET” - It will reiterate the basics from version 1, plus adds the text which panelists have emailed to you to summarize their key speaking focus. It should update any panelist changes.
 

See Tips on How to Moderate a Conference Panel, Pt. 2: TELLING THE STORY

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