Master your Online Moderator Skills

Master Moderating: how to shine online

As coronavirus continues to sweep through the world, many of us have rapidly learned new technology and adapted to conducting events and conferences online. By now, our webinars and on-line calls should be spectacular and a joy to attend, to watch and to listen to. We should be used to this as we have pivoted to virtual connectivity being part of the ‘new normal’.

How many of you are eager and willing to take on that moderator/facilitator role in this emerging trend that is set to continue?  How good are you at it? How confident are you? There’s always time to refine and upgrade your skills on successfully managing and moderating larger meetings and events, either in-person or virtually in order to keep the audience engaged, informed, educated, and hopefully inspired.

Before the event – preparation is key

There is no such thing as being too prepared: A moderator should always be unfazed, even on the rare occasion when things are not going to plan. You need energy, enthusiasm, and a bit of expertise; this is the perfect combination. Research your panelists, devise insightful questions and review your information. Your job is to navigate the content and not over-deliver too much of your own opinion and expertise. You need a certain amount of knowledge to ask considered and confident questions, but your real focus should be to make the panel members and guest speakers shine.

A moderator caters to several parties, so think about your role like an orchestra conductor. You need to engage the panelists, help them deliver the right notes so the audience is interested and informed and feels the melody of the unfolding symphony. That’s when the magic happens and everyone feels it. When you get it right, it will be a truly memorable, relevant and inspiring conversation.

You want your panel members to deliver their expert and timely information, always keeping the audience at the heart of why you are all there. Your job is also to help balance the conversation, ensuring each panelist has their say on all issues and hopefully you distribute the time well. There’s nothing worse than the long opening statement that delivers an over-prepared marketing message. The other problem with the state of the industry, economy, or company address is that the final speaker is often repeating what everyone else says. Opening questions to each speaker will engage the audience with greater interest.

Prepare themes in advance rather than full questions. For online meetings, keep any written notes easily accessible – either on an alternate screen or on paper. A cheap music stand within the eye-line is most useful to hold your notes typed in large font. If you have paper notes, keep them handy, but please don’t bring an obvious folder of notes with you. It makes you look unprepared and disengaged and referring to them creates distracting noise.

Finally, the dress code should be agreed in advance. For professional online events, the same rules apply – business dress, casually elegant is good, and choosing colours that are complementary to your background, lighting, and skin tone. For example, don’t wear white if your background is the same and resist showing off your bold jewelry accessories. Check patterns don’t work as they tend to cause the camera to strobe, so opt for plain colours.

Chat with your key speakers: As a moderator, you need to take the time to get to know your panelists in advance and agree on the flow of conversation. It’s your job to avoid embarrassing anyone, and there’s little advantage to be gained from putting someone on the spot. Not all panel members will be seasoned public speakers and may need some guidance on condensing their knowledge into audience-friendly content. Occasionally, your panelists may also need advice on time management as well as what to wear, how to sit, and how to engage. Encourage them to share examples and tell stories, but make sure they have time to prepare this in advance.

Rehearse to solve technical hiccups: Always do a tech rehearsal to make sure everything goes smoothly during the event. Some panelists or speakers may take part in their first virtual event. Some may be unfamiliar with the platform used. It is also important to go through the protocols e.g. use of mute, taking questions from the chat boxes, and other engagement tools. Once you and the other panelists are familiar with the tech, then it’s easier to get everyone else settled and feel confident.

Get your speakers familiar with their camera positions, lights, and backgrounds. If you have a window and natural light, then face towards it so the light flows through the camera position on your computer. Make sure you have a neat, clear, and presentable background. Many use bookcases in their offices or a favorite painting, but this can also be distracting. A plain wall with a carefully positioned table behind with a plant will add depth. This is your choice, but for bookshelves, check the titles on display in advance. Avoid using virtual backgrounds as the speaker often morphs into the image. Flat background with few distractions is best.  

If you need or desire to have your branding and logo in view, invest in a full-size wide banner, not a vertical popup. Be careful with big coffee mugs and water bottles, a short clear glass with water is always less obtrusive. Offer this advice to panelists and speakers in the early stages of planning.

Check your sound in advance. An outside source microphone will often enhance the sound, but it occasionally mutes other participants when used on different platforms. Use discreet headphones if you need them and hang from behind. EarPods tend to look like a new earring style, but they are often useful. The fighter-style pilot bomber headset is becoming all too common in webinars and the look is often less than appealing, outweighing any sound quality advantages. If you wear glasses, be careful of light reflections and dark-framed glasses may be fashionable but they tend to restrict eye contact with the audience.

Now that you have mastered the basics and prepared for the event, you’re ready to move on to the next part; moderating that impressive virtual meeting or webinar. Stay tuned for the second installment of this article, following soon. We all need to “Own the Space,” so please leave your thoughts if you find this helpful. Do get in touch for any corporate training and communications guidance and especially if you need me to moderate your upcoming event.

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