The Webinar Blog

Managing Panelists As A Moderator

This post will close out my series on tips for panel presentations with some guidelines for panel moderators or facilitators.

I'll start by expanding on a point I touched on briefly in an earlier post: As a moderator, you need to be a liaison between the speakers and the audience. If a presenter isn't clear about a point they are making, it's your job to fix that for the audience. You may choose to restate one of his key points or you may ask the presenter to clarify or elucidate. If a panelist is speaking in academic, abstract terms, you need to help relate her facts to the audience's priorities and help them understand how they can apply the information in practical use.

Part of your job is to play "traffic cop" with the panelists. You want to make sure everybody gets a chance to speak, but you don't have to be slavish to a strict round robin order. Avoid the temptation to go straight down the line on every topic point. If someone has covered a topic or answered a question sufficiently, you can move on to another question and bring in a different speaker. If one of your panelists is less assertive than the others and doesn't speak up as much, make sure to call on them every so often to make sure they are heard from.

On a webinar, you can usually send private messages to panelists behind the scenes. In stage-based presentations you don't have that luxury. So as part of your rehearsal, you might want to work out some signals that indicate when someone is running long and needs to finish up a statement. Maybe "accidentally" clinking a water glass near your microphone. Or pushing your chair back. Or leaning forward a bit and raising your hand slightly.

If you have the luxury of an assistant, put them in the back of the room standing against the back wall. You signal your assistant (simply meeting their eyes and nodding slightly) and they give a cut throat signal to the speaker or hold up a yellow card. Speakers should know that the moderator will be doing this in an attempt to keep things flowing and to get everyone involved. It is not a personal attack!

As a last resort, you may simply need to cut in on a panelist who doesn't realize that they are monopolizing the conversation or going on too long with a single point. Here are some phrases that can help in this delicate situation:

• Bob, it's obvious you have a lot of information and opinions on this topic. I'm going to give you a chance to expand on this a little later, but first I'd like to see if Jane wants to jump in with her view on the question.
• You brought up a really interesting point there, and I'd like to bring Jane into the conversation and ask for her take on it.
• (Clear throat) Oh, I'm sorry, Mike. But as long as I've interrupted anyway, I do want to move us along, so maybe if you can quickly finish that thought I'll bring Jane in for her impressions.

As an extra bonus, here are a few phrases that I have used when time is getting short in the overall session:

• Bob, I’m just going to cut in for a moment here to remind our audience that even though our time is getting limited, they should be thinking about questions to ask during our Q&A coming up shortly.
• Bob, we don't have a lot of time left, but what do you think is the most important takeaway here?
• Let's see if we can slip in just one more question very quickly…

I hope this series has helped give you some new ways of thinking about making your panel more effective for the audience and more structured and comfortable for the participants. Coordination, preparation, and planning are the keys to delivering an  engaging discussion where everyone comes across professionally and confidently.

 

Technorati Tags: presentation tips,presenter training,panel presentations,panelist tips,panel discussions,presentation skills,speaker training

Rehearsing And Delivering A Panel Presentation

In part 3 of this ever-expanding series of posts about panel presentations, I want to cover tips that panelists should keep in mind for rehearsing and speaking.

The first item is trivial, but deserves a quick mention. PICK A NAME! Let your panel moderator and other participants know your preferred form of address. Don't be coy and say "Oh, I answer to all kinds of things." If it really doesn't matter to you, just pick a version. It's not for your benefit, it's for the benefit of your fellow participants and the audience. If one person calls you Billy while someone else calls you William and a third person says Dr. Smith, the audience has a hard time keeping track of who is being addressed. So pick a version of your name during rehearsal and make sure everyone knows how to pronounce it (I hate watching panels where one person says "FAR-hahd" while someone else says "furr-AHD").

On to more substantive matters…

A group rehearsal gives everyone the opportunity to listen to how the other participants are addressing the topic points and how the delivery styles mesh on the panel. A good moderator/facilitator will give you suggestions for either scaling back or stepping up your volume and energy to create a cohesive presentation with your fellow panelists. They may also let you know when you are coming across as too "pitchy" and sounding like you are trying to promote your company or products. Listen to their advice and adapt accordingly. They are giving you a valuable external perception check that you can't create in your own mind. Let them help you be more appreciated by the audience that will hear you.

One of the best things to look for during rehearsal is a point of view from another panelist that you want to counter. Panel agreement is boring. Panel disagreement is engaging and often provides more value for audience members as they think about different perspectives. Let your moderator know that you would like to offer a different take on a topic point after the other person has spoken. This lets the moderator plan who they should include at different times. It also lets your "opponent" have advance warning that this will be a discussion point, so they don't feel shocked and attacked on stage.

The other side of that coin is to let your moderator know when you don't have anything significant to add to what someone else has said. They can make a note to NOT call on you at this point of the conversation so you aren't left feeling superfluous and trying to figure out a way to say the same thing again. Audiences HATE "long agreement" speeches that use up time without adding value. You should always feel comfortable in skipping the opportunity to agree at length, in favor of giving yourself more time later to introduce additional insights and information.

Make sure to assemble the full panel at least 15 minutes before show time (I prefer 30 minutes if possible). If you are on-site, gather outside your meeting room. If you are presenting online, log in early. More people involved means more opportunities for last-minute problems. If somebody is running late or is unable to attend, you want time to know about it and adjust. Review the topic order or agenda, and confirm handoffs (panelist to panelist, or back to the moderator).

Everybody on the panel should have a cheat sheet in front of them. This includes a quick bullet list of the main topic items (and maybe an indication of who wants to speak on each), along with a reminder of each person's preferred form of address and the name of their company. It's amazing how your mind can suddenly go blank when you're on a stage in front of 300 people. Don't get embarrassed by forgetting the name of that person you've been working with for the past month!

During the panel presentation, keep an ear open for subtle cues from your moderator that you are not coming across as clearly as you think you are. Is the moderator asking you to repeat things a lot, or asking you for clarification on what you meant, or repeatedly restating points you have just made? It's probably an indication that you need to slow down a bit and make your points more concisely and unambiguously.

The last point I'll make in this post about speaking on a panel is about not speaking. When someone else has the floor, you should give them your attention. Look at them, nod your head, pretend like you are interested. Your behavior signals your audience as to whether they should care. Don't sabotage your fellow panelists by looking down at your own notes or idly picking your teeth and humming to yourself.

Tomorrow's post will continue the subject by looking at code phrases that moderators can use to help guide and instruct their panelists during the presentation.

 

Technorati Tags: presentation tips,presenter training,panel presentations,panelist tips,panel discussions,presentation skills,speaker training

Prepping A Panel Presentation

In my last post about tips for panel discussions, I teased that proper preparation was critical to putting on a good presentation. This post gets into the details. I strongly advise having a facilitator or administrator in a position of power who can lay down the law on how things will run. If you open it up to all the panelists to decide on format and operational structure, you'll waste a lot of time and end up with a poorly defined format.

As with any presentation involving a guest speaker, start by making sure the presenters know what the audience saw as a session description. Each panelist needs to understand attendee expectations so that they can deliver on the promotional promises that were made.

The next item to nail down is a format. I'm usually not a fan of panels that consist of "sequential presentations" where each panelist clicks through their own sequence of slides and gives a mini-presentation. But you might let each participant have an introductory statement or opportunity to establish their viewpoint. If so, be specific about exactly how many minutes each person has for their opening gambit. Tell them they need to practice out loud and come in on time. Be strict about this part. PANELISTS TEND TO RAMBLE.

In an open discussion format, work out an agenda of topic items that you will talk about. Make sure all panelists have an opportunity to prepare comments and stories about each of the points (or tell you which ones are not relevant to them so they don't get called on for that part of the talk). Find out from your panelists if there are any taboo subjects they don't want to discuss. This is a great time to work out specific questions that you will pose to panelists. You might ask them to contribute sample questions they want to be asked in order to give them a launching point for a statement. Try not to surprise your panelists during the event… A good panel is prepared for the subject and comfortable talking about it.

If you are a panelist, remind yourself that there is going to be a lot of "swirling conversation" going on. Attendees can find it difficult to pull specifics from the conversation. You will stand out if you can work out a few concise, powerful statements that make a strong point on their own. Go for something tweetable… Are you saying something that would make an attendee perk up and instantly tweet the short and pithy nugget of brilliance you just shared?

Another thing to work out is how structured you want the flow. Some panels are strongly controlled by the facilitator, calling on each panelist, who then hands back to the moderator when they finish talking. Other panels have participants jumping in and commenting on what other panelists are saying. Either way is fine as long as everybody knows the format and is ready to participate in the agreed-upon manner.

Decide whether the moderator will introduce panelists or have panelists introduce themselves. Again, either approach is fine as long as everyone is on the same page and knows what will happen in the session. Avoid long introductions! Audiences hate ten minutes of introductory comments about the career and qualifications of five people sitting in front of them. Name, company, and role are usually sufficient. If appropriate, you might add one more sentence about why each person has a relevant viewpoint.

PANELISTS TEND TO RAMBLE… If you let panelists introduce themselves, give them a structure to follow and tell them to keep it short. Given the opportunity, panelists will almost always start with a marketing pitch about their company. This is death on a panel. Make a combined pact to avoid organizational marketing. Add the pitches in a handout or web page that attendees can access. Then each person can add as much about their background and their company as they want.

In my next post, I'll offer suggestions on what to cover in a panel rehearsal and how to encourage consistency and group cohesiveness in presentation style.

 

Technorati Tags: presentation tips,presenter training,panel presentations,panelist tips,panel discussions,presentation skills,speaker training

Tips For Panel Presentations

This week I am going to run a series of posts concentrating on specifics for participating in panel presentations or discussions.

The basics of good presentation skills and content design still apply. You need to work on clarity, projection, audience empathy, and all those other things that are critical in public speaking. But there are additional things to think about when taking part as a panelist or leading a discussion as a panel facilitator.

I am making a distinction in these posts between a "panel" and a "presentation with multiple speakers." The latter is merely a case of giving consecutive talks. Each presenter provides value by offering a self-contained delivery of information.

A panel should allow for more free-flowing conversational give and take, with sharing of insights, experiences, and interpretations stemming from a shared set of facts or assumptions. The best panels consist of participants who represent the variety of interests or perspectives that audience members have. The facilitator acts as a liaison between the speakers and the audience to make sure that all viewpoints are being considered.

Audience members have four key desires:

• CLARITY - Information, opinions, and facts need to be succinct and understandable.
• RELEVANCE - The discussion should offer practical value that can be applied in the audience's work or life.
• INCLUSION - The discussion should acknowledge audience needs and interests so that listeners feel like an active part of the process and not like superfluous bystanders.
• FOCUS - The discussion should stay on topic and deliver on promises made.

These are the same as for any formal presentation, but it is worth paying extra attention to those goals and making sure that panelists have them as priorities. They more easily get lost when multiple personalities are involved and people are fighting to be heard and to express their opinions.

I'll get into details with tomorrow's post, which will concentrate on preparation and coordination among panel members. As with a symphony performance, most of the hard work is done ahead of time - agreeing on pacing, interpretation of the key themes, and how each person is expected to play their part in relation to everyone else.

 

Technorati Tags: presentation tips,presenter training,panel presentations,panelist tips,panel discussions,presentation skills,speaker training

What Presenters Can Learn From Jaws

Steven Spielberg's 1975 film "Jaws" has been credited with creating the concept of the modern Summer Blockbuster as a public phenomenon. But more than that, it is a study in how to create and deliver on expectations. Let's examine two key aspects that worked hand in hand.

A few years ago, Buddy Scalera and Joseph Kalinowski at the Content Marketing Institute performed a deep-dive analysis of the iconic movie poster for Jaws. They correctly attribute the popular artwork to Roger Kastel, but got the origin wrong… The artwork used on the poster was created for the paperback version of the book, which had already spent many weeks on the bestseller lists. But that detail is not important to our discussion, because the analysis applies to the book as well as it applies to the movie.

The CMI analysis nicely showcases how the illustration and layout sets up an implicit expectation for the potential audience. Their quick summary of contextual train of thought perfectly captures what I would have come up with as a 14-year old boy:

I want to go see a movie where the giant open JAWS of a shark are rising up through the water to devour a naked lady! Cool! Sexy! Scary!

I now have a very clear expectation of the value proposition and "hook" that stimulates my interest in the offered work.

Both Benchley's book and Spielberg's film include back story on the family relationship of the chief of police. They discuss what brought him to the island and the political BS he has to put up with. Both the book and the movie also discuss shark behavior and facts about their history and habits. But both works are smart enough not to lead with that background information. The first thing that happens in the book is the first thing that happens in the movie… A naked lady goes swimming and is savagely attacked by the brutal jaws of a shark.

As a viewer or reader, I am thrilled by the action. But more than that, I feel a great sense of satisfaction. All is somehow right. I was promised a specific deliverable and I received it immediately. I got what I came for. The creators have generated a wave of goodwill that lets them slow down and fill in some of the details I'll need in order to truly appreciate the full story they want to tell.

I hope the parallels are obvious for presentations. First you need to establish a very specific value proposition - a promise of a deliverable that your audience wants. That deliverable goes into your promotional copy, into your display ads, and into the reminder emails you send to registrants. You relentlessly build anticipation for something cool, something they appreciate.

Then you make that the FIRST thing you deliver in your presentation. You don't gradually build up to the promised information or demonstration. You satisfy the expectation you have created… FAST. After that, you can step back and fill in additional background, facts, and details to let the audience appreciate "the rest of the story."

Most presentations fail the Jaws test. Presenters feel more comfortable establishing a baseline and working their way gradually to the main point they want to make. Many people worry that once they have presented the big conclusion there is no reason for the audience to pay attention anymore. In actuality, satisfying expectations and making the primary point first builds a sense of trust and empathy with attendees. They are in a much better position to understand WHY you are giving them the rest of the supporting information and background. And they aren't distracted by a sense of unfulfilled anticipation.

By the way (and this is the background information that is supplementary to the main point I promised and delivered on), figuring out how to establish the right hook and build the right expectation can be as hard as creating the rest of the presentation! Benchley estimates that he and his editor went through about 125 ideas for a title. The first book jacket cover design featured the town of Amity framed inside a giant open shark mouth. That was scrapped before publication and the released version featured the same concept of the shark rising to meet the swimming girl, but without the exaggerated exposed teeth.

 

Why don't these create the same expectation in the audience's mind as the later iconic artwork? The scrapped version offers no promise of action. The jaws look like a fossilized display mounted in a museum, or some kind of strange picture frame. Showing a bucolic seaside town has no implied threat. The rising shark was obviously a better choice, but the decision to hide the shark's eyes and teeth make it less of a threat. The final artwork adds motion bubbles to give a sense of direct movement towards the girl. It also adds the separating line between air and water to make the "menace from the unseen depths" more evident.

The takeaway for your promotional materials is to work at making the key promised deliverable more visceral, more immediately relatable and impactful to your audience's triggers. Don't emphasize the town, emphasize the shark. And make sure your shark has teeth!

 

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I Hate Big Buts And I Cannot Lie

Today's post concerns a pet peeve… A phrase that presenters say to signal their audience that they have poorly designed presentation materials and couldn't be bothered to fix them for the benefit of the listeners.

"I know you can't read this, but…"

That's one big but! As an audience member, I don't really care what comes next. Whatever self-justification you have created is secondary to the fact that you just showed me something you KNEW wouldn't work within the context in which you were showing it.

Hey, I get it. I really do. Sometimes you have a complex architectural diagram that needs to be shown in its entirety to establish an overall context. Sometimes you need to show a citation exactly as written, for legal purposes. Sometimes you want to show a chart or table as it appears in a cited reference source so people will know what to look for when they do their own research later.

The solution is to change your conjunction. The word that comes after the comma is not "but"… it's "so."

"I know you can't read this, so I fixed it for you."

Now you immediately switch from the unreadable source to a modified version that works on the displayed screen.

Are you starting with a complex image? Use PowerPoint to copy and paste the entire image. Then crop the duplicate down to one small section you want to focus on. Drag the corner of the cropped portion to expand it to fill the screen. You can do this as many times as necessary to focus on successive portions of the picture.

If you're a PowerPoint wiz, you can use animation effects to zoom the expanded portions out from the full overview picture. Or use Morph transitions, or other fancy techniques (like setting the source image to a transparency emphasis effect). But if you are not comfortable with these manipulations, just shove the expanded piece onto its own slide.

You might want to copy the slide with the large, unreadable image and redisplay it between each expanded section. That lets you re-establish the context and which piece you are highlighting at each step of your explanation. You could even add an empty rectangle with a thick border as a highlight indicator to show which piece of the big picture you are about to expand and display.

Are you starting with a long text citation? Insert a nice, big text box on your slide that overlays the original source. Use a big, bold font and display one sentence from the original, or just some keywords that explain the one concept you want to highlight. As with images, you can do this as many times as necessary to move through concept points one at a time until you have covered everything you wanted to talk about.

This technique holds true when you are presenting in an auditorium setting to an audience looking at a big screen in front of the room. It holds true when you are presenting to individuals watching your webinar (perhaps on small mobile devices). It holds true when you are presenting to a few people gathered around your laptop in a conference room. There is never a justification for leaving something unreadable in your presentation. Fix it.

 

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