Sphinn - How to Successfully Moderate a Conference Panel, A Comprehensive Guide

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How to Successfully Moderate a Conference Panel, A Comprehensive Guide

Went Hot: February 5, 2008 - 7:00 am
Posted By: Wiep 518 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.web-strategist.com)
Category: SEM Industry

The value of some conference panels can be really poor, and this is mostly due to the lack of moderation. Jeremiah Owyang made a great guide to successfully moderate a conference panel.

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from toprank 517 days ago #

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When I first started going to SEM conferences, it didn't really phase me how important the moderator was. When speaking at conferences, you realize pretty quickly how much the moderator can impact a panel - both in a good way and too often, in a bad way.

from g1smd 517 days ago #

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A poor moderator can break the session, and I am guessing that it is often a thankless task to moderate a panel.

Additionally, there are often long queues of people wanting to converse with the speakers, but usually much fewer waiting for the moderators.

from Gab 517 days ago #

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I made sure to thank my moderator after speaking at FacebookCamp Montreal. A fellow from http://www.cloudraker.com named Ben, as I recall.

from Gab 517 days ago #

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Oh, and Lee, I've got some link love for your flickr profile in my latest post.

from CarrieHill 516 days ago #

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I moderated a few panels at SES Travel and my performance was less than stellar - it's hard to be a newbie and not exactly know what you needed to do - add that to the fact that it was my first search conference and my session was the second of the day - and I didn't have a lot of time to study how someone else did it. I made the most of it and tried to not look to dumb ;)

One issue is when the panelists arent chosen by you - and they refuse to communicate or coordinate prior to the conference - my tip for SPEAKERS would be to let the moderator help you and make sure everyone on the panel provides effective information.

These are great tips for making sure you're an effective leader of the discussion - thanks for Sphinning.
~C