Some of the mistakes I made when I first started moderating panels:
🙄 Reading the panellist intros straight from my notes without looking up, not realising they were sat in a different order, so mixed up names and gender.
🙄 No watch. No clock in the room. No clue how long the panel had been going for.
🙄 Not listening properly and asking a question that had just been answered.
What did I do next?
🎤 The panellist who’d been mixed up made a joke, and I laughed along with everyone while feeling mortified.
🎤 Tried and failed to sneakily get the time from the watch of the panellist sitting next to me, but eventually wound things up when the events team started gesturing wildly from the back.
🎤 Felt embarrassed but managed to move on.
What I’ve learned
💡 Check the panel order against my notes and look up. Acknowledge little slip-ups and move on; the audience is forgiving.
💡 Always have my phone with me (on airplane mode) to keep tabs on time if there isn’t a clock in the room.
💡 There’s a lot to think about when moderating, aside from what the panellists are saying, but getting the gist of the conversation is key.
The less nervous I am, the easier it is to focus, but these things often feel like a bigger deal at the time than they actually are.
I was thrown into the deep end with moderating and learnt by making mistakes, trying stuff, watching what others did and seeing what worked.
Nothing wrong with that way of learning, of course, but I want to help those new to moderating fast forward through the process and feel confident and in control much more quickly.
So I’ve created a moderator masterclass so new moderators can learn how to prep, structure, manage and create a flowing discussion.
It’s online on 30 April, 11-12.30. Head to my EventBrite page for more details and to sign up.
Related posts
How to moderate like a pro part 1