Master your Online Moderator Skills - Part 2

Master Moderating: How to shine online. Part 2

I hope you enjoyed and were able to draw value from the first segment of this two-part series about moderating great virtual webinars.

Having mastered the preparation part, I will now deliver more pointers for you on “owning the space” as you begin to deliver your online event.

Getting down to business

Introductions: People know what the topic is, that’s why they signed up, so unless you have breaking news or a magnificent survey or study to unfold, I suggest you keep the topic introduction brief. Introduce your panel but keep it short and snappy instead of reading out full biographies. Ask that they nod in acknowledgment rather than deliver gracious thanks for being part of the panel etc. as this can often take a while. I understand cultural nuances, so you decide, but I find if you explain to your panel members in advance, then they come on board with the swift introductions.

Your panelists may have impressive careers and brilliant accomplishments so include these details in the invitation prior to the event so the audience is aware of the value they bring. The company, job title, and name is more than sufficient when you introduce panelists. I usually ask questions in order of appearance for the first round, this helps establish who’s who. Then you can mix and match in any order. Ask your panel members for a shorter first response so that everyone has contributed something to the discussion in the first ten minutes. There will be time for more in-depth answers later.

Look straight ahead and establish clear eye contact with the camera position on your computer and remind your panel members to do the same when responding to a question. Don’t get distracted looking at other people’s images on the screen, keep your eyes on that small camera light so as to look engaged throughout. Listen to other panel members as they respond and look interested and ask panel members to do likewise. There’s nothing more distracting than the dis-engaged panel member. Before you get started, help your guests with better camera placement by adjusting their computer or their light source so as not to distract the audience.

Make sure you keep the conversation relevant, be prepared to get opinions from others so that the panelists and the audience are comfortable with exploring new ideas. Panel interruptions don’t always work well on-line, so ask people to send you a note in the chatbox and you can bring them in on any topic they want to add opinion too. Bring a natural flow into the conversation and have everyone feel they are contributing to useful and interesting dialogue. Remember, you are like the orchestra conductor and you want to deliver a melodic and harmonious [if possible] masterpiece of a conversation. Different opinions are good and will add to a lively debate, so encourage varying viewpoints.

Take time to ask each member of your panel a different opening question. The one-size-fits-all question for every panel member never makes for an engaging opening. I always discuss the opening questions, the themes for the discussion, and the closing questions in advance, so your panel is better prepared.

Your audience: A virtual audience likes to be involved as quickly as possible and prefers the discussion to get underway immediately as soon as the panelists have answered one or two moderator questions. You’ll find the audience will ask some of your questions, so don’t be too precious by staying on script. You are here to engage, inform, educate, and hopefully inspire the audience, not just the panel. On virtual events, your audience’s attention can be distracted easily, so keep your segments controlled and concise to ensure everyone is engaged.

Establish a comfortable rapport with your audience from the beginning. Engage them with a poll or a thought exercise and familiarise them with any housekeeping rules. Your core focus as a moderator is to keep the audience interested in what your panelists are saying, so connect with them early and let them know their questions in person or in the chat will be welcomed and remind them throughout. Let your panelists know there will be audience engagement and establish any no-go areas. If you know there are experts in the audience who might add value, then see if you might engage with them in the discussion.

Always direct your question to a specific panel member by name. With a lack of eye contact, you need to be very clear who will answer what question. Throwing a blanket question to everybody can often invite an awkward silence, so direct the question to one or two-panel members. Suggest everyone uses the internal chatbox if the others want to tackle or follow up on any question.

Your panelists have taken the time out of their schedule to speak at the event, so make sure it's beneficial to everyone by maintaining a balanced conversation. If a speaker’s answer is too long, be prepared to segue to another speaker when a natural break in the conversation occurs. Pay attention, pace yourself, and do your best not to be too abrupt or rude when moving on. You can always suggest another speaker will have a vital opinion on the first speaker’s great idea or ask them to hold that thought and return later, or not.

Question and Answers: Don’t save audience questions to the very end! There’s nothing worse than fielding audience questions in the last 10 minutes of an event. You will definitely run over time and many of your audience members who offer questions will feel ignored, so invite audience questions early. I recommend you do this no later than the halftime mark, but make sure you can still go back to your own planned questions. There’s nothing worse than realizing and then highlighting that there are no audience questions, so make sure you have plenty ready in advance.

End with a call to action: The event should ideally conclude with a closing call to action with your speakers, which should be discussed in advance. If there isn’t a clear actionable point, I recommend you suggest they end on an inspirational note. All experts are good at offering advice, so don’t be afraid to ask them for their short term and urgent solutions for the issue at hand. The closing thoughts from your speakers should be inspiring and memorable and should hopefully linger in the minds of your audience long after the event.

As a moderator, you can add a few precise, punchy, and powerful few lines to sum up, but be wary of the long concluding statement. Leave something that is thought-provoking and inspiring so that you also Own the Space as you close out and leave the audience looking forward to the next encounter with you as the master moderator.

If you’re looking to “OWN THE SPACE” - get in touch for corporate training and expert guidance on corporate and event panel moderation at www.etreanor.com