TL;DR—The key to hosting a good panel is to be incredibly prepared for your panelists, moderator, and attendees. Weeks before the panel starts, organize your event tech, send invitations to panelists, solidify your panel structure, prepare probing questions for your speakers, and do it all well in advance.

How to Organize a Panel Discussion

1. Choose a moderator who has done this before.
2. Select your panelists carefully.
3. Stick to a theme and plan questions in advance.
4. Allow your panelists to pre-mingle, but don’t overdo it.
5. Keep introductions short.
6. Give the audience a chance to participate.
7. Consider a one-sheeter of key takeaways.

A two to five minute introduction of the topic with each panelist taking five minutes to introduce themselves and their perspectives on the topic. Then 20 minutes of curated questions from the moderator, 10-15 minutes of Q&A with the audience ending with a summary and thanks.

How to Start Out Your Panel Discussion

1. Welcoming Comments. Start with a friendly, warm hello and then lead into the topic with a short, interesting fact, statistic, quotation, anecdote or poll.
2. Process. Provide a high level review of the process as well as any ground rules.
3. Your Role.
4. Panelist Introductions.

The Beginner’s Guide to Moderating a Panel Discussion

1. Do thorough research on the topic.
2. Meet the speakers before the panel.
3. Manage time effectively.
4. Start with a powerful opening.
5. Be strictly neutral.
6. Mix in audience questions throughout the debate.
7. Don’t be afraid to cut the panelists off.

Plan out the rest of the panel. Determine how much time you will set aside for questions; typically, this constitutes half the panel’s length or more. Use the last 20–30 minutes for audience questions and discussion, or 15 minutes if time is short or you have a more lecture-focused panel format. Introduce the panelists to each other in advance.

Plan out the rest of the panel. Determine how much time you will set aside for questions; typically, this constitutes half the panel’s length or more. Use the last 20–30 minutes for audience questions and discussion, or 15 minutes if time is short or you have a more lecture-focused panel format.

Moderating a panel can be a challenge even for experienced professionals. It’s true that you’re not answering any questions yourself, and you know them all in advance, but there are still unpredictable elements. You have to choreograph the interaction of multiple opinionated leaders, keep everyone on topic, and probe for deeper insights.

SEMINAR ON PANEL DISCUSSION PRESENTED BY: Mr.Meghsham Gholap 1ST Year M.Sc. NSG CON,PIMS 3.