Moderating Archives - Page 2 of 3

How to moderate a panel or webinar like a pro (part 2)

In How to moderate a panel or webinar like a pro (part 1), I talked about pre-event preparation; in this post, I’m going to give some tips for what to do once you are in front of an audience.

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash

Webinar: Lights, camera, action

If you are joining a webinar from home, make sure you have sufficient lighting so that people can see you properly. Sitting with your back towards a bright light or window will throw a shadow over your face.

Position your camera so you can look directly at it; it looks more professional and is more engaging for the audience if you are looking directly at them from the screen.

If you have a standing desk, then moderate standing up as this will give your voice a bit more energy.

Dealing with nerves

It can be nerve-wracking speaking in public.

Your heart starts racing, your hands might shake and, if you are like me, you talk faster.

Remember to breathe and consciously slow down your speech a little. It not only has a calming effect, but it gives you a bit more thinking time. It can help you feel more in control.

And if you appear calm and in control, it will help the panellists feel calm.

Set the scene

As a moderator, you run the ship; you are guiding the panellists and audience through the discussion.

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Uncategorised

How to moderate a panel or webinar like a pro (part 1)

If you have been asked to moderate a panel or webinar, preparation is key to ensuring the session goes smoothly.

Here are some things to think about and questions to ask before the webinar to help you prepare.

What is the purpose of the webinar and who is the audience?

This is an important starting point because it will steer the questions you ask or choose from the audience. And understanding the audience is also important for knowing when to ask panellists to clarify or explain something in more detail.

What is the format?

As the moderator, once the event goes live you are the captain of the ship which means you need to keep things running smoothly. To do this you need to know the order of proceedings.

For example, are there presentations and in what order, is there a poll or polls and what is the timing of those? Will the audience get the opportunity to ask questions and when?

There is more tech to think about on a webinar so you may need to mute at certain points or switch off your video for presentations.

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B2B media

Panel events: Are you creating an echo chamber of views?

Many years ago, I chaired a roundtable on the future of business parks.

A business park developer, an agent who leased business park space, an architect who designed business parks, and a business park tenant took part in the discussion.

There was lots of excited conversation about what the business park of the future would look like, what facilities it would have and how it would be used.

The occupier wasn’t joining in, so I asked what they thought of the suggestions. What they said stopped everyone in their tracks.

Why?

The tenant – the business that may or may not lease space in the future – didn’t want most of what was suggested.

Instead, they reeled off a list of what they did want from a business park.

I used to regularly chair panel discussions for the magazine I worked for.

Curve ball panellist

They were great generators of content and brand awareness but what made them really fly was when there was a ‘curve ball’ panellist.

There would be a range of people on the panel representing different sides of property development. However, the best discussions were when there was someone whose experience was different from the rest of the panellists.

An outsider.

One example was a discussion about economic growth in a particular region. Four out of five of the panellists were from the area and one was not.

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Training

How I got a portfolio career

kelly-sikkema-411622-unsplash — Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Last year when I was exploring what I wanted to do next in my career I met with a careers advisor who suggested a ‘portfolio career’ might be the direction to go.

I wasn’t entirely sure what a portfolio career was and how you approached getting one but looking back over the past 12 months of self-employment I now know.

It’s happened by stealth rather than design, people asking me if I can take on certain work.

My ‘portfolio’ of work to date covers a lot that is obvious but also many areas I hadn’t initially considered as a freelance:

• Content writing

• Copywriting

• Ideas generation/content strategy

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Training

A lesson in moderating panels

The first panel I moderated, I was thrown in at the deep end. There was no training or coaching; it was just a case of taking a deep breath and muddling through as best I could.

Moderating was always seen as part of my job as a senior B2B journalist, not quite an expectation but actively encouraged.

‘Performance journalism’ I called it – asking questions in front of an audience – but it wasn’t something I thought about or signed up for when considering the job.

That first panel was terrifying but I survived, learned a lot and continued to learn from subsequent sessions.

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