Source: Jerry O (Jeremiah Owyang)
- aim to please the audience not the panelists
- know the benefits you want the audience to take away
- get 3-4 experts who disagree.
(more than four, no one gets time to state a clear point of view)
- tell them how the time will be structured, 5 key points you want to cover,
ask them to bring solid proof of their contentious ideas (eg. a case study).
- write out your agenda and questions.
- start off with a quick overview of what you want to cover.
- don't do long intros of the panelists.
- the first question should be general and easy
(a definition, bit of background, why this topic is interesting)
- don't let anyone make a long presentation
- before you get into details, tell us why they are going to be important
in terms of benefits
- challenge the panelists when they say something dubious
- never let them pitch
- when they wander or get vague, bring them back to clear, relevant ideas
(then get out of the way)
- let them speak to eachother freely
but make sure everyone gets a decent chance
- have some questions ready in case the audience doesn't ask any
- always repeat a question from the audience; summarize long winded questions
- don't let any questioner go on too long
- at the end, have the panel members say where they can be found online
- thank the panel; send each a thank you
