Panels are a great way to get speakers involved in your program. A panel of speakers –
rather than one woman by herself – allows you to present a range of backgrounds, life
experiences, expertise, and personal stories.Panelists can interact with each other,
adding a lively note to the session. (scroll down for our tips)
1. The keys to any good panel are:
lively speakers
interesting stories
diverse perspectives and backgrounds
a stong moderator
lost of interacton between the panelists and the audience
2. Panels should never have more than four people -and three speakers are better!
While it may be tempting to invite 7 or 8 people so that many perspectives are
represented, DON'T DO IT. Really Trust us. That many people on a panel means
that you will rush through each speaker, she won't feel valued, and there will be
no time for interaction with the audience.
3. Panels usually run 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You should aks panelists to speak for about
10 to 15 minutes on the topic. That leaves plenty of time for questions and answers
from the audience.
4. Every panel should have a moderator. The moderator welcomes the audience,
introduces the speakers,keeps the conversation on track, controls the time,
and solicits questions from the audience.
5. A good moderator is a strong moderator. She isn't there to speak much; rather,
she keeps the conversation going.
6. Before the session, the moderator should introduce the speakers to each other
and say:
"We want to keep your individual comments to 10 to 15 minutes
to allow for plenty of time for questions and answers.
This is a great group and they have lots of questions.
To keep us on track of time, I'll be passing you a note
that says "3 minutes."
Don't worry, the speakers won't be offended. Keeping track of how much time you
have been talking is hard. This polite little reminder will encourage them to tie things
up so you can move onto the next speaker and the Q & A time.
7. Besiders keeping track of time, a moderator should prepare a few questions for the
panelists, preferably questions based on what the speakers are saying.That way,
when the moderator calls for questions, if there is an embarrassing silence,
the moderator can jump in and say:"Well, I certainly have a question."
This usually gets the conversation rolling. If one panelist isn't being asked many
questions, the moderator might need to ask her a specific question.
8. When the panel's time is ending, the best way to wrap things up is to say:
"We have time for one more question." This puts the panelists and the audience on
notice that the session is wrapping up. The moderator then should briefly say why
it was such a great panel and thank the speakers for their participation.
9. A final note: It is rarely a good idea to invite a high-level political woman
(ie: a member of Congress, Governor, etc.) to speak on a panel.
These leaders are too important to share the stage and they might
well be offended.
