Tag: Moderating

General

Make it an event: Delivering successful round tables

A group of men and women in business attire sat around a long narrow table. They are listening to one person speaking.
Moderating a round table at MIPIM 2019

Round tables can be a great event format for generating high-trust, peer-level conversations rather than one-way marketing, but what makes a successful round table?

You can use round tables to:

• Bring together senior industry stakeholders

• Share real industry challenges and workshop ideas.

• Kick off a campaign or as part of a campaign

• Means for gaining qualitative insights

• Generate a variety of insightful content

• Build a reputation as a leader within the industry and a brand around which experts gather.

How to deliver a successful round table?

PURPOSE: Have a clear aim. What do you want to get out of the people that you are gathering together in one place?

How do you want to use their knowledge and experience? Is there a particular question you want them to answer or a problem you want them to solve?

GUESTS: Think about the best combination of guests to deliver on your purpose.

You don’t want a group that is going to say similar things, so make sure there is a variety of voices with different experiences.

Will the people around the table learn something from each other?

Are there people who will challenge thinking and, therefore, help drive the conversation in a more interesting way and deliver better results?

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Audience engagement, Repurposing, Video

Getting value from panel events and podcasts

Panel discussion at MIPIM 30th edition event on 'UK: Regeneration & Waterfront Developments.' The stage features four seated male panelists and one female moderator standing at a podium. A large screen above displays the panel title and participant names and roles: Moderator Stacey Meadwell (Freelance Editor), Cllr Jon Collins (Leader, Nottingham City Council), Steve Dunlop (Chief Executive, Scottish Enterprise), Mark Sitch (Senior Partner, Barton Willmore), and Cllr Huw Thomas (Leader, Cardiff Council). The event branding and social media information are also visible on the screen.

Panel events and podcasts are powerful platforms for raising your profile as a thought leader to a broader network, expanding your brand reach beyond your own social media connections and email list.

These powerful formats help your audience connect with you or your team’s expertise on a more personal, human level. It can help build connections and brand trust, and open doors to other opportunities and conversations.

Panel events and podcasts foster brand storytelling in a way that builds trust and familiarity, especially compared to more polished written communications.

But you and your business want to come across well and get the most out of the experience or event. Here are just a few tips to get you started.

Invited guest: Delivering your message effectively

Tip 1: Align your messaging with the theme and audience

Do some preparation ahead of your panel or podcast appearance. The audience has turned up or downloaded the episode to hear a conversation on a specific topic, so make sure your messaging aligns with the overarching theme.

If you go off topic or fall into a marketing pitch, you risk damaging audience engagement or, on a podcast, being edited out.

Equally, to engage the audience, make sure you are speaking their language. What is their level of technical knowledge? Use plain English with a clear point of view, as it will always land better than jargon. 

Tip 2: Give the right answer

Listen carefully to the question you are asked and answer that. There is a danger of being overprepared and answering a question you anticipate rather than the one being asked, or giving too much away too soon.

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General

Mistakes I’ve made moderating panel discussions

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.

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Uncategorised

How to moderate a panel or webinar like a pro (part 3)

During a conversation about moderating over on LinkedIn, I was asked how you avoid’ a sluggish’ webinar or panel event.

Photo by Edwin Andrade on Unsplash

And it’s a good question. It is really easy for people to log off a webinar if it isn’t holding their attention.

Whether it’s online or in person you want to be associated with an an event people talk about in positive terms.

The best webinars and panel events are when there is a lively discussion and an engaged audience.

Obviously, having a cracking topic and panellists is a key component, but that doesn’t guarantee your event will go with a bang.

So what can you do to try and inject energy?

An engaged panel

I’ve noticed over the years that the more relaxed the panellists, the better the discussion flows. If they are really nervous, they may talk quickly or clam up.

There is always an element of nervousness to start with, so the quicker you can get the panellists ‘warmed up’ and into the flow the better.

I mentioned in How to moderate a webinar like a pro (part 2) some techniques for helping moderators combat nerves – and the same can work for panellists.

Make sure your panellists are prepared, understand the format and who the audience is.

As a moderator, that ideally means a pre-event conversation so the panellists can get to know you and each other and feel part of the planning process.

Continue reading “How to moderate a panel or webinar like a pro (part 3)” →