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8/2/2019 What is a Panel Discussion 2
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What Is A Panel Discussion?
These days, there are a number of different ways in
which we can discuss and ponder over questions and
queries. Quite often if a question is relatively straight
forward and there is only one correct answer then one
person will be able to provide you with the answer.
However, if the question is a little bit more complex
and there could well be numerous different answersor opinions of what the answer could be then you
may need a panel discussion. A panel discussion is
when a group of people are brought together to
discuss one or more subjects that will generally have
completely different viewpoints on what the answer
is. The idea is to glean as many different sides of the
same question as possible by getting four or five
people together on the panel that have completely
different ideas.
Normally this will be set out with a crowd or a
number of spectators in front of them that will be
asking the various questions and then each memberof the panel will be given the opportunity to offer
their point of view on the question. It is an extremely
effective method of finding out various answers and
viewpoints on the same question. You will quite
often see this method used on the television when
political affairs or news items are being discussed, it
can be rather entertaining to hear the various
arguments that panel members have to offer.
Panel discussion for example, if an issue is too
complex for one person to handle, a panel may be
covered so a group of specialists can speak. Or
perhaps the audience need to introduced or exposedto various people or viewpoints at the same session.
Panel discussions, however, differ from team
presentations. Their purpose is different. In a team
presentation, the group presents agreed-upon views;
in a panel discussion, the purpose is to present
different views. Also in a team presentations, usually
speakers stand as they speak; in panel discussions,
usually speakers sit the whole time. In panel
discussion each speaker prepares separately, the other
speakers here one another for the time at the session
itself.
Technically, a panel discussion consists of questions
and answers only, and a symposium consists of a
series of prepared speeches, followed by questions
and answers. The compare must monitor time and
manage questions. If each participant is making a
speech for a set period of time, he should signal the
speakers at the one minute to go mark and at the stop
mark. If a speakers goes more than one or two minute
he can stop them to gave the equal rights to eachspeakers. The compare must be a biased person; he is
neither in nor against the topic.
At the end the compare should summarize the
discussion and thank the panel members.
A panel discussion is where a group of members get
together and discuss about a given topic so that al the
members put out their opinions, therefore many ideas
are discussed and then a conclusion can be taken.
http://www.blurtit.com/q562672.html
Panel DiscussionA panel consists of a small group of six or eight
persons, who carry on a guided and informal
discussion before an audience as if the panel were
meeting alone. The proceedings of the panel should
be the same as those described for informal
discussion: volunteering of facts, asking questions,
stating opinions-all expressed with geniality, with
respect for the contributions of other members,
without speech making, and without making
invidious personal references. This primary function
should occupy approximately two-thirds of the
allotted time-say forty minutes of an hours meeting.The secondary function of the panel is to answer
questions from the audience. This discussion method
is suitable for use when a relatively large audience is
anticipated. The disadvantage of the method is that it
confines most of the discussion to the panel itself.
The audience listens and is given a chance to ask
questions, but for the most part is passive and
receptive.
Panel discussions, if well conducted, are usually
more interesting to the audience than is the single-
speaker forum. They provide sufficiently varied clash
of opinion and presentation of facts to give even the
quiet members of the audience a feeling of vicarious
participation.
Quality and tasks of leadership in panel discussion
are similar to those described for informal discussion.
The leader must in addition take special care to select
panel members who can think and speak effectively.
He must also be sure that they prepare themselves to
discuss the subject. During the discussion by the
panel the leader has substantially the same duties asin informal discussion except that he should keep
himself more in the background as chairman of the
panel. He can do so because each member of the
panel is in reality an assistant to the leader and is
responsible for specific contributions to the
proceedings.
When the subject is thrown open to the house, it is
the leaders job to recognize appropriate questions
and to reject those not bearing on the subject or
involving personalities. Some questions he may
answer himself, but usually he should repeat the
question and call upon one of the panel to answer it.By preliminary announcement the leader may also
tell the audience that they may direct questions at
particular members of the panel if they choose. In
any case, during the question period the leader needs
to maintain strict control. On many occasions this
may be the toughest part of his assignment to carry
off efficiently and with good humor.
While it is customary to confine audience questions
to a specific period, some leaders permit questions
from the floor at any time. Unless very carefully
limited by the leader, this practice may interfere with
effective discussion by the panel.Arranging the panel properly will lend effectiveness
to this form of discussion. The members should face
the audience. One possible arrangement is illustrated
on page 22. It is important that each panel member
adjust his chair so that he can see every other
member without effort the chairman will also find
that the best places for his readiest speakers are at the
extreme ends of the table. He should keep the more
reticent members close to, him so that he can readily
draw them out with direct questions. If the quieter
ones sit on the fringes of the panel, the more voluble
members are quite likely to monopolize the
discussion.
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http://www.historians.org/Projects/GIroundtable/Disc
ussion/Discussion4_2.htm
A panel is a group of experts or people who have
some special knowledge of the chosen topic. They
exchange views on the topic, usually in front of an
audience who may have a chance to ask questions at
some point. Most panels have a chair or other leader.
A good example of TV panel discussion format is the
BBC's Question Time (Thursday evenings.)http://www.blurtit.com/q891167.html
What Is Seminar, And How Is It Different From
Panel Discussion?
Seminar is a kind of academic instruction in a
university or at a commercial or professional
organization. It brings together small groups for
recurring meetings, and at a seminar the focus is
given to a particular subject. This is the major
difference between a panel discussion and seminar
because in a panel discussion, more than one issue
can be discussed. In a seminar the participants canparticipate at the end of the seminar and presenters
are the speakers but in panel discussion, all of the
panel members actively participate.
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What is the role of the panelist in a panel
discussion?
Their role is to give their opinions or opinions of the
people they represent.
http://www.blurtit.com/q9731835.html
The Panel Discussion
Study By: Kenneth O. Gangel
The panel is another approach to discussion teaching.
Differing from general discussion, question and
answer, and buzz groups, the panel is almost always
used with a large group, and generally utilizes panel
members who have either differing points of view on
the subject or special training and experience which
equip them to speak authoritatively about the matter.
Properly planned, the panel is a small discussion
group performing its discussion before an audience
with the objective of giving that audience a better
understanding of the matter at issue.
Usually there are no prepared speeches and, in the
best panels, interaction between the panel members
will make up at least half of the time allotted to the
panels presentation. During that interaction there
may be agreement, disagreement, qualification of
points, and defense of various positions.
Although the immediate goal is to gain information
from a group of experts, if time allows the audience
should be encouraged to interact with the panelmembers. In this way the panel itself becomes more
than just a purveyor of information and acts also as a
catalyst to get the group to thinking about the issues.
In a one-hour class period you would probably have
to allot 10 minutes for introduction of the subject and
panel members and 30 minutes for the presentation
and discussion by the panel. The remaining 20
minutes can be given to audience reaction. Most of
the time a panel discussion is a carefully programmed
event built around the expertise of the panel
members. Sometimes, however, it is effective to use
an impromptu panel. In this situation panelistschosen from the class speak off the cuff on the
subject presented to them.
This type of panel can draw out certain opinions and
ideas on the subject under consideration rather than
offering authoritative information. In any kind of
panel the room should be properly arranged so that
the panel participants can look at one another while
they interact and yet can easily be seen and heard by
all members of the audience. Three or four panelists
is probably an ideal number. Any more than five
would tend to make interaction an elusive goal.
Several variations to the planned panel lend
flexibility to its use. Here are three different
approaches:
1. The Guided Panel. The moderator addresses
previously prepared questions to the panel. Obviously
this is a very structured approach, but it may be
desirable when the panel members do not know each
other or if their points of view are so diverse as to
cause open hostility if free interaction were allowed.
2. The Expanding Panel. In this arrangement a
preliminary and explanatory discussion of a topic is
given by a restricted panel. Then the entire group
forms a circle to continue the discussion. In this open
discussion time, questions may be addressed to the
panel, but discussion might take place also among the
group members with panel members serving
primarily as resources.
3. The Reaction Panel. In this setting the first thing
on the program is a speech, a film, or some other
presentation of a point of view. Preselected panel
members then offer a critique of the presentation
either by speaking briefly to the issue, interacting
with the speaker, or both. Sometimes it is helpful ifthe panel members have the manuscript of the speech
in advance or have had opportunity to preview the
film. This. way their carefully prepared reactions will
give birth to some audience thinking which might not
have occurred without airing of the issues by the
panel. Reaction panels of newsmen often discuss
presidential speeches, for example.
A reaction panel can become an expanding panel if
time allows. These classifications are not necessarily
mutually exclusive, but rather represent an attempt to
clarify different approaches to the use of the panel for
education.
Values of Panel Discussions
A good panel discussion can focus attention of the
class on what certain experts have to say about the
subject at hand. It is considerably more personal then
reading books about the subject and contains that
important educational ingredientinterest. If thetopic is well selected, it is relevant, problematic,
controversial, and therefore attracts attention
immediately. Wise selection of the panel members
will offer the audience more than one viewpoint and
thereby heighten interest.
Because of the multiplicity of input, the panel
discussion offers a breadth and depth of information
which usually exceeds research presented by one
speaker. The class can realize that well-informed
people may hold different points of view and yet
maintain respect for one another. The freedom and
informality of the panel discussion removes the
pressure of having to prepare a structured speech.
Panel members literally think aloud in front of the
class and collectively move toward a solving of the
problem placed before them.
The input of the panel at the beginning of the period
gives the audience some foundational information
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upon which their discussion can proceed. Without the
panel, or at least some kind of formal presentation of
material, the discussion might degenerate into a
pooling of ignorance. With the presence of the panel,
however, the discussion period becomes a forum for
new ideas and experiences in the lives of the group.
Problems in the Panel Method
Perhaps the biggest weakness in the use of paneldiscussions is securing competent panelists who will
do the job well. Even if a man is an expert in his
field, when placed on a panel he may have the
tendency to monopolize the time, ramble from the
subject, or ride his hobbyhorse. He might ignore the
audience and speak in technical jargon to the other
panel members or even lose his cool in the
interaction time, displaying antagonism toward those
who disagree with him. Unless he knows his panel
members well, the teacher takes some risks in setting
up a panel discussion.
Another problem is that panel members may notalways do justice to a particular point of view. What
happens then is that the class tends to think that
position A is better than position B simply because A
was defended more competently. They will
invariably gravitate toward the effective presentation
rather than the position that makes the most sense
logically or biblically.
Closely connected with this problem is the possibility
of disorganization in the panel. Since ideas and
viewpoints are flowing informally, the information
often lacks logical sequence and arguments are hard
to follow. Sometimes students find it more difficult to
listen to a panel than to an individual speaker because
of this collage of ideas thrown at them in a short
period of time.
Principles for the Effective Use of Panels
Obviously the values of panel discussion as a
teaching technique are going to be dependent upon
several critical factors. If those factors are not
handled positively, the difficulties of the panel may
outweigh the benefits. This of course does not have
to be the case. The following items are crucial in
making the system work. If they can be controlled
and positively utilized, the panel discussion will be a
very useful teaching method.
The moderator must be a highly qualifiedandcompetent individual. Without doubt the moderator is
more strategic in the effective use of the panel
discussion than the panel members themselves. He
sets the stage with the initial remarks and keeps the
discussion on target during the interaction time. He
has the difficult responsibility of calling time on thepanel members if a brief period of presentation is
afforded each of them.
During the open discussion time, he clarifies
questions given by the audience and may also find it
necessary to explain answers offered in return by the
panel members. If necessary, he may have to break
up verbal conflicts before they actually get underway.
He prods panel members for reactions to something
which another has said, structures questions to keep
the flow of information moving, and summarizes the
conclusions at the end. All of this is a very difficult
task and can mean the success or failure of the panelexperience.
Thesubject for discussion should be of importance tothe group and worded in the form of a specific
question. It is futile, for example, to get a group of
experts together for 30 minutes to discuss sex
education. One might talk about sex education in the
school, another in the home, still another may pull
out some biblical aspects of sex. The end result
would be a hodgepodge of nothingness because no
specific direction was indicated for the panel. The
question should rather construct something like this:
Should formal sex education be taught here at First
Church? Even then it will be necessary to define
words such asformalandsex education. The morespecific the question, the closer the panel will get
toward the goal of problem-solving on the issue.
Try to load the panelwith different points of view. Itwill be of no value to the group if every panel
member says the same thing, and the time is spent
watching them pat each other on their ideological
backs. One of the major purposes of a panel is to air
different positions. For this reason, it is necessary to
bring together persons of similar competence so that
those positions will have fair and equal hearings.
Always allow time for a summary of the discussion.The summary might take place at two points:
immediately after the panel finishes, to pull together
ideas which they have presented; and at the end of
the expanded session, to crystalize any conclusions
which have emerged from the total experience.
Remember that the panel has a much wider use than
in the Sunday School class itself. A Sunday evening
service, for example, could be very profitablyscheduled around a panel of three or four guests who
discuss such issues as Is there a biblical position on
abortion? What is the distinctive role of the church
in the 1970s? How can our congregation reach this
community for Christ? A creative Christian leader
will use the panel discussion whenever basic
information is needed to expose and discuss varying
points of view on a contemporary issue.
http://bible.org/seriespage/panel-discussion
12 Guidelines for Great Panel Discussions
Advice for Event Organizers and Moderators
Some panels crackle with energy, elicit fresh ideas,and bring the audience into the discussion. Others
plod along, and by the fifteen-minute mark the
audience is checking Blackberries and thumbing
through the program.
I've had the chance to moderate dozens of panel
discussions
, at places as diverse as the Harvard
Business School, the South by Southwest Film
Festival
, Las Vegas' humongous Consumer
Electronics Show, and a convention ofagricultural
marketers in St. Louis. I've also planned conferences,
assembled panels, and recruited other moderators.
This article is a compilation of some of the things I've
learned.
While it's of course important for every panel to have
a tight focus or value proposition (what is the
audience going to get out of it?), and for the
moderator to have a sense of how to structure his
questions and juggle the different points of view, I'm
going to leave those issues for another day. Instead, I
want to talk about how a panel's success can hinge
upon some subtle, under-appreciated factors -- all of
which need to be considered well before the day of
the event arrives. Some of the factors may seem
insignificant, but I've found that each one has a big
http://bible.org/seriespage/panel-discussionhttp://www.scottkirsner.com/events.htmhttp://www.scottkirsner.com/events.htmhttp://www.scottkirsner.com/events.htmhttp://www.hbs.edu/http://www.hbs.edu/http://www.sxsw.com/http://www.sxsw.com/http://www.cesweb.org/http://www.cesweb.org/http://www.nama.org/amc/index.htmlhttp://www.nama.org/amc/index.htmlhttp://bible.org/seriespage/panel-discussionhttp://www.scottkirsner.com/events.htmhttp://www.scottkirsner.com/events.htmhttp://www.hbs.edu/http://www.hbs.edu/http://www.sxsw.com/http://www.sxsw.com/http://www.cesweb.org/http://www.cesweb.org/http://www.nama.org/amc/index.htmlhttp://www.nama.org/amc/index.html -
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impact on how much your audience will get out of
your panel.
1. Length and panel size.
The ideal length for a panel discussion is 45 minutes
to one hour. The ideal number of participants is 4-5,
plus moderator. I tend to book five guests for many
panels, on the assumption that one of them
sometimes drop outs at the last minute, leaving mewith four. Panels with six people can work, but once
you get to seven, everyone on the panel starts to get
anxious about getting enough airtime.
In cases where some of your panelists plan to show
slides (more on that later), you may need to extend a
panel to 90 minutes, but my rule is that there should
be no more than one 90-minute session per day at a
seminar or conference - that's a long time to ask the
audience to sit and pay attention. And ninety-minute
sessions are best scheduled for the morning, rather
than the end of the day.
2. Choosing a moderator.
Every panel needs a strong moderator, and the role of
the moderator is very different from the role of a
panelist. I don't recommend having one of your
panelists try to fill both roles. It's like trying to
conduct an orchestra while playing a solo.
The best moderator is someone who has moderated
panels in the past, understands the subject matter,
knows a bit about the panelists, and realizes that she
is there to guide the conversation - not to impress the
audience with her brilliance. The moderator is there
to make the speakers look good and make sure that
they connect with the audience. Moderators also need
an innate sense of pacing (how long each panelist
should talk, and how long she should dedicate to each
topic before moving on) and a smooth approach to
weaving in questions from the audience.
There is a very delicate balance between a moderator
who talks too much and one who doesn't talk enough.
The moderator who talks too much typically believes
that she should contribute as much to the panel as the
panelists, and is as much of an expert as they are, and
wants to convey that to the audience. The moderator
who doesn't talk enough lets the inmates run the
asylum: some panelists will go on long jags,
discoursing on topics that are not related to the panel
at all.
Journalists, analysts, industry "gurus," and
consultants can all make good moderators, since
they're accustomed to asking probing questions. (I
tend to think that people without something to sell to
your audience work best as moderators, which
sometimes excludes consultants and industry gurus,
who may be inclined to shill for their services.)Be clear with your moderator that you are entrusting
her to run the show, but that you'd like her to spend a
fixed amount of time (usually no more than five
minutes) introducing the speakers and teeing up the
discussion before bringing in the perspectives of the
panelists. It's also a good idea to let your moderator
know that she has the authority to politely cut off or
redirect speakers if they stray. But an experienced
moderator will already know that.
I often tell moderators that they are "all-powerful" -
but I expect them to know that that doesn't mean
they're the star of the panel. I often tell speakers thatthe moderator will "guide the conversation," so that
they know what to expect, and aren't surprised if the
moderator reins them in or redirects them.
3. Panelist guidelines and advance preparation.
I think it's a good idea to communicate with panelists
at least twice before the event -- and yes, it is
possible to over-communicate, annoying your
panelists and causing them to pay less attention to the
materials you send them.
Once a panelist has signed on, I send a confirmation
via e-mail thanking them for agreeing to be part of
the event. Contained in this e-mail are the
date/time/location of the event; anything the speakers
need to do in advance of the event (such as send in a
short bio for your program book or reserve a hotel
room or indicate their meal preferences); and a
mention that they'll be hearing more from you or the
moderator about the specifics of their session in
advance of the event.
The second communication, which can come from
the event organizer or the moderator, should again
list the date, time, and place. It's a good idea to send
this at least two weeks before the event itself. The
focus of this communication is to let the panelists
know who'll be moderating, and get into more detail
about the topics/themes of the session, and what you
hope to achieve.
Explain how the session will proceed, and what each
panelist should be prepared to do. (Often, I find
myself saying, "Don't bring a prepared speech or a
PowerPoint presentation, just your anecdotes, recent
experiences, and data points about this topic.") The
moderator may want to include some samplequestions. You might also want to send the panelists
a copy of the full agenda (or point them to it online),
and the bios of their fellow panelists. Another good
idea is to send them a cell phone number for the
person who'll be coordinating event, in case a panelist
is having trouble finding (or getting to) the venue on
the day of their panel.
Finally, it never hurts to call the panelists and the
moderator the week before an event to make sure
they've received all your materials and check if they
have any questions.
I don't tend to organize conference calls amongpanelists before panel discussions, as I've found this
can be more trouble than it is worth. Scheduling is
difficult, and if even one panelist misses the call,
someone needs to fill him in on what happened. I
think it's sufficient to get the panelists together in the
hallway fifteen minutes before a session, or have
them sit together at breakfast or lunch. Spontaneity is
preferable to having all of your panelists preface their
statements by saying, "As we discussed on the
conference call..."
But once your panelists are on-site, make sure they
get connected to their fellow panelists and the
moderator as quickly as possible.
A CEO once told me that he'd been on a live TV
show where the only instruction he got beforehand
was this: "No dead air." I think that's a good
instruction to give panelists, too. I also usually tell
them that I'm not necessarily going to go straight
down the line and have each of them answer every
question. Instead, I ask them to jump in whenever
they have something to say.
I also frequently mention that it's not a bad idea to
accentuate conflicts and differences of opinion (not in
an aggressive way, of course), rather than
highlighting areas where the panelists agree ("I agree
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with what the other four panelists said.") That makes
for an action-packed and enlightening panel.
4. Slides.
Since a panel discussion is usually part of a larger
agenda that includes plenty of slide presentations by
keynote speakers and others, I usually ask panelists
not to bring slides to show as part of the panel.
Audience members will enjoy hearing the panelists'perspectivessans slides, and seeing the interactionbetween the panelists. No one has ever left a
conference or seminar saying, "I just wish there was
more PowerPoint." That said, there are some topics
that can benefit from slides.
When slides are involved, I try to avoid having all of
the panelists bring slides. It's not unfair to ask one or
two panelists to bring a short slide presentation if you
make sure that other panelists who haven't brought
slides will get an equivalent amount of airtime. If
that's what you choose to do, or if you allow all of
your panelists to bring slides, you should give them a
limit: ask them to bring the three or five slides that
they absolutely must show to get their argument
across. (If you give them a time limit instead of a
firm number of slides, some people will imagine they
can somehow squeeze twenty slides into five
minutes.)
You should avoid having your speakers connect and
disconnect their own laptops to the projector during
the session; either an audio-visual person should do
this, or you should have all of the slides on a single
laptop and someone designated (again, not a panelist)
to switch from one presentation to the next.
Even better than slides is asking speakers to bring
objects for "show-and-tell"; this only works in some
circumstances - for instance when your panelists
represent manufacturing companies, or they're
doctors implanting a new kind of medical device, or
they're designers. If a panelist brings a couple of cell
phones that his firm helped to design, the audience
can pass them around while he's talking.
5. Setting the stage.
The worst kind of set-up for a panel discussion,
unfortunately, is the one you encounter most often in
hotel ballrooms and convention centers. There is a
long table on a raised stage, usually draped with a red
tablecloth, with chairs behind it. The moderator
stands at a podium apart from the speakers. There is a
gap of about twenty feet between the stage and the
first row of seats.
It's much better not to hide your panelists behind a
table. The audience will appreciate seeing them
better: body language is a very subtle thing, and it's
often part of panel discussions, especially whenpeople joke with one another or disagree about
something. Give your panelists tall stools, or regular
chairs, to sit on. (If you have a few side tables that
can go between some of the chairs, or a low coffee
table that can go in front of them, those can be handy
for placing pitchers of water or notes that your
speakers may carry onstage with them.)
The chairs should be arranged in a slight semi-circle,
since putting them in a straight line makes it hard for
panelists to see one another. This is important:
remove any extra chairs that may have been left
onstage from previous panels. Otherwise, there will
be vast oceans of space between your panelists, and
the audience will wonder who didn't show up.
The moderator should sit with the panelists so that he
or she can guide the conversation, not at a podium; I
usually like to sit in the middle.
Your objective should be to get the first row of seats
as close to the stage as possible, and to encourage
people to sit in them. This raises the energy level in
the room. It makes your speakers feel more
accountable to the audience, and it helps your
audience feel like they're part of the conversation. If
you have some freebies or prizes that you can give
away, the moderator or conference host shouldn't
hesitate to use them to bribe people to move from the
back to the front row, just as you're beginning the
session.
Make sure that when your entire audience is seated
and the panelists are in their chairs, the audience will
be able to see the panelists. Otherwise, their attention
will quickly drift. Sometimes this entails bringing in
a riser/stage, or using the aforementioned stools or
tall chairs.
6. Everyone needs a microphone.
It can be a clip-on lavalier mic, or a handheld, or a
mic perched on an adjustable stand, but forcing
everyone to share a single mic means that there will
be long stretches of dead air as your panelists hand
the mic back and forth.
This slows down the pace of the discussion, and often
it prevents panelists who have something to say from
jumping in, because someone else will hijack the mic
while it is traveling down the line.
A second-best option to having mics for everyone isto have mics for half of your panelists - but one
microphone dedicated to the moderator, who needs to
control the flow of the discussion. Panelists can then
share a mic with their immediate neighbor, reducing
the amount of mic-passing that has to take place.
7. Lighting.
Lighting is an easy thing to overlook, but too often
panel discussions take place in the shadows of a
fluorescent-lit room. If you can get supplemental
lighting, focus it on the stage - the audience wants to
see panelists' facial expressions, and good lighting
will guide their attention to the stage, rather than to
their Blackberries or the copy of USA Today that
arrived on their hotel room doorstep. If you can't get
supplemental lighting at your venue, at least make
sure that your stage and your panelists are positioned
in the brightest part of the room.
8. Identifying your panelists.
You want to help your audience understand which
speaker is which - even if an audience member
missed the beginning of the session, when each
speaker was introduced.
There are a number of different ways to help your
audience understand who's onstage, and who's
speaking. I think the best scenario is to have a list of
their names and titles in your printed conference
agenda, and ask them to sit in that order from left to
right on the stage. (You can facilitate this by placing
a piece of paper with each speaker's name on the
chairs before the session. Again, you probably will
want to put the moderator in the middle.) Instead of
(or in addition to) that, you may want to list your
speakers on a slide that's projected on the screen
throughout the session. At some point, the event's
host or the moderator - or both - should let the
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audience know that panelists will sit from left to right
as they're listed in the agenda or on the slide.
I'm not a fan of putting the speakers' names on folded
name tents, since these are usually hard to read from
the back of the room. But if you have a coffee table
onstage, you could certainly place name tents on the
front of that, or on the front edge of the s tage.
Having each panelist's bio printed as part of the
conference agenda or program is also wise. That willfree up your moderator to simply give a one- or two-
sentence introduction to each panelist, rather than
reading their complete bio to the audience. With four
or five panelists, the recitation of the bios can get
tedious, and it cuts into the time you have for the
actual discussion.
9. Question and answer period.
For an hour-long panel discussion, you should
allocate at least fifteen minutes at the end for
questions. Twenty or thirty minutes is better, if you
think the audience will have lots of questions and if
the panel is more educational in nature.
I can't emphasize enough how important a Q&A
period is; without one (or with an abbreviated one), it
sends the message that the audience is there to be
passive listeners, rather than active participants.
The moderator might also choose to let the audience
know that he or she will take questions throughout
the panel discussion, if audience members raise their
hands. The key with doing that is not to allow an off-
topic or obscure question to derail the panel and bore
the other audience members. If you get a super-
detailed question that seems like it is only of interest
to the questioner, the moderator can easily ask one
panelists to address it, and then move on.
During the main question-and-answer period, the
moderator should try to avoid calling on the same
person twice until everyone has gotten a chance to
ask a question. In the event that there are no
questions immediately, it's good for the moderator to
either have someone in the audience (perhaps one of
the organizers) primed to ask a question, or for the
moderator to have an extra question or two in
reserve.
Not everyone on the panel needs to weigh in on every
question; my goal as a moderator is usually to try to
get as many audience questions into the Q&A period
as possible.
10. Watching the clock.
It's the moderator's job to make sure no panelist drags
on for too long, and that there's plenty of time for
questions at the end. To help the moderator and
panelists, you may want to have a digital countdown
clock that all of the speakers can see positioned at theedge of the stage.
But the lower-tech approach is to have a person in the
back of the room holding up signs (with BIG
LETTERS) that say "10 Minutes," "5 Minutes," and
"1 Minute." Introduce your moderator to this
timekeeper before the session starts, so that he or she
will know whom to look for. A good timekeeper will
wave the signs like a checkered flag at a NASCAR
race until the moderator sees them; a good moderator
will nod at the timekeeper to let him or her know that
the moderator has gotten the message.
Why is time-keeping important? You may have a
panelist who has booked a flight or made an
appointment assuming that her panel will be done at
1 p.m., and there's nothing worse than someone
leaving the stage before the panel is over. (I've seen it
happen.)
11. Thank your panelists.
You really can't thank your panelists and your
moderator enough for helping out with your event.
Some people give them a small gift at the event, or
send a nice handwritten note afterwards, or both. If
you got positive feedback from your audience about
the panel - either on feedback forms or just
informally after the session - you should also convey
that in your note.
12. The panel ain't over when it's over.
Many audience members will want a chance to chat
informally with the panelists and moderator. Ask
your speakers in advance to stick around at the event
for at least 15 or 20 minutes after their session, so
that attendees will have a chance to buttonhole them
in the hallway after their session. Even better is to
encourage them to stay for lunch, dinner, the cocktail
hour - or whatever else you've got planned.
http://www.scottkirsner.com/panels.htm
Facilitating Panel Discussions
ByDiane DiResta
A client recently called to say she was going to
facilitate a panel for the next business meeting. She
had never done so before and asked if I could coach
her. After the session, she realized that there are some
basic skills needed when facilitating a panel ofspeaker.
To create a seamless and smooth panel discussion
here are some tips every facilitator must know:
Meet the panelists in advance: The meeting can be a
phone call. Get a sense of their styles and message
points. Decide how long each person will speak and
in what order. Have them send an introductory
paragraph.
Consider logistics: Contact the meeting planner and
visit the room. Discuss room set-up, lighting,
refreshments, microphones and AV equipment.
Decide whether the panelists will sit or stand during
their presentations.
Arrive one hour early: Check the room, test the
microphones. Check seating visibility. Be ready to
greet the panelists with a smile. You're the host.
Make them feel welcome.
Prepare a short bio:. Give your bio to the person who
will introduce you as the facilitator. Keep it brief-no
more than a paragraph.
Make your opening remarks: A statement about the
topic and the benefits for the audience will prepare
the audience to listen. "We expect to have a lively
discussion tonight about the state of the economy.
Our three speakers have differing view about where
to put your money.... Our first speaker...."
Set the ground rules: Let the audience know what to
expect. "There will be a 30 minute question and
answer period after the presentations. Please hold
your questions until the end."
Introduce the speakers: It works best to introduce the
first panelist. After the presentation, introduce the
next panelist. If you read all the introductions at once,
people will forget the information. Practice saying
their names and write them out phonetically if the
names are difficult.
http://www.scottkirsner.com/panels.htmhttp://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Diane_DiRestahttp://www.scottkirsner.com/panels.htmhttp://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Diane_DiResta -
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Act as time keeper: Sit in front of the panelists and
give them a 5 minute time signal. You can write the
number 5 on an index card or you can hold up 5
fingers. If the panelist is running over, give the
speaker a wrap up signal. Or interject, "You have 30
seconds to summarize."
Facilitate questions: It's your job to keep order.
Thank the panelists, applaud with the audience and
open up the floor for questions. Explain the process."Please stand, say your first name, and be brief."
If somebody is rambling on, jump in and paraphrase
or ask them "What is your question?"
If nobody asks a question, the facilitator can ask the
first question. So have one ready. Or choose
somebody in advance to ask the first question.
At the five minute mark, let the group know that
you'll have time for a couple of more questions. Then
announce, "Last question."
Summarize and acknowledge: "That was an
interesting discussion. You've given us a new way to
look at our investments. Please help me thank our
panelists. (Applause)
Copyright Diane DiResta 2005. All rights reserved.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Facilitating-Panel-
Discussions&id=25332
The panel discussion is a 1/2 hour session that takes
place at the end of the sit-down lunch at Pathways.
There are typically four or five panelists (2 from
academe, 3 from industry) and a moderator.
During lunch, the students discuss career-related
topics with the scientists/engineers at their tables.
Then they write questions for the panel on slips of
paper available at their tables. The moderator poses
these questions to the panel.
You can start the session by either saying a few
words about each panelist or asking to say a couple
sentences about herself. Subjects the students like to
hear about from each panelist:
how a panelist chose her career/ what she
studied what a panelist does on a typical day at work
It is important to keep this portion of the panel
session brief so you can pose many student questions
to the panel.
About 10 min. before the panel is due to s tart, the
questions the students have written down will be
brought to you. Sort through them and decide how to
pose them to the panel. Often they divide naturally
among a few topics and you read several similar ones
aloud before asking panelists to respond. Eachpanelist need not answer every question -- scanning
the panelists' bios in advance will help you direct the
questions. There will probably be time for about 5-6
topics to be addressed.
A few days before the event, think about how you
might briefly answer the following questions:
how did you chose your career ?
what did you study to prepare ?
what do you actually do at work on a typicalday ?
how much does someone in your field earn ?
have you ever felt discriminated against (e.g.
due to gender, race, ethnicity...) and how did
you respond ?
do you have a life outside your work ? a
family ? hobbies ?
what advice would you give someone
wanting to enter your field ?
At the event, speak clearly and into the microphone.
Feel free to show emotion and enthusiasm -- it helps
the student connect with you when you're way up onthat platform.
1. Find a panel moderator. It can be one of you, or
another woman scientist/engineer. Please have the
moderator fill out the standard Pathways participant
registration form (available on the web site or from
Cynthia). Share the "tips for moderators'' with her
(those above or your own version).
2. Invite four - five panelists. It's preferable to have
two from academe and three from industry, and to
have some who are in a long-term relationship or
have kids (the family/career balancing act is often
asked about). Also, try to find women who represent
different fields and/or disciplines. Aim for people
who haven't been on the Pathways panel before (in
the `highlights' section of the web site), since students
sometimes come to Pathways more than once. But
people who have been speakers or led tours or given
demos before are fair game!3. As each panelist signs up, get her to fill out the
standard Pathways participant registration sheet and
to provide a brief bio that you can send to the
moderator. Share the "tips for panelists'' with her
(those above or your own version).
4. A week before the event, check that the panelists
and moderator:
have received directions to the GSU
have parking passes (if needed),
know what time they are expected to arrive,
understand the format of the panel session.
5. On the day of the event, be on hand to greet thepanelists when they arrive and help them get settled
for lunch. Seats will be reserved for them at tables
near the platform so they will be served early
relatively early.
6. Towards the end of lunch, collect the s tudents'
question slips and help the moderator sort them.
7. After the event, work with Cynthia and Liz to draft
thank you letters to panelists
http://www.bu.edu/lernet/pathways/organizers/panel.
html
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