4 Tricks To Make A Panel Fun

I moderated a 5 person panel at SXSW

Here are the 4 tricks I used to make it fun and engaging.

1/ Questions

A panel is never about the panel.

It’s about providing value for the audience.

But figuring out what your audience wants is hard.

The solution?

Ask.

I started the panel with asking my audience to start thinking about questions.

It does two things.

1. It gets the audience involved in the conversation
2. It focuses them on the discussion because they are thinking about what questions they want to ask.

Get the audience engaged from the BEGINNING with Q&A's.

2/ Referee

I learned this one from Nick Gray

But don’t be afraid to cut people off.

One of our panelists got a little longwinded for a moment, so I (politely) cut them off.

Not because what they were saying wasn’t valuable.

But like a referee… I have to keep the playing field fair.

Everyone on a panel is an expert in their own right.

They should all have an opportunity to share.

The audience will appreciate it, I promise.

3/ Discomfort

What’s (often) the best part of a comedy show?

Crowd work.

Why?

Because it’s raw, real, and in the moment.

This is equally true for a panel discussion.

Halfway through the discussion, I put an audience member on the spot.

I asked them a personal question about one of the panelists.

Initially, it was a little awkward for them, but what resulted couldn’t have been recreated or fabricated.

It was honestly one of the highlights of the event.

Mostly because it was so real.

Discomfort breeds connection.

Get your audience involved… even if it makes people uncomfortable.

4/ Research

Never go into a panel blind.

Research your panelists.

Part of asking good questions and having a fruitful conversation is knowing your panel well enough to ask them personal questions.

There were multiple times when I would pick on a specific panelist based on what I’ve seen in my research.

• A recent social media post they did.
• A recent article they wrote.
• A recent topic they’ve been discussing.

This one might seem obvious, but do your research.

That’s what the pros do.

RECAP

• Ask the audience questions from the beginning.
• Be a referee, not a friend.
• Put audience members on the spot.
• Research your panelists (and sometimes guests).

What would you add or remove to the list?

Shoutout to all the panelists

• Trish Mock ??????
• Alli ?? Schaper
• Jonathan Mendoza, DC, APRN, NP-C
• Phoebe McPherson