Business Post: Tips on Paneling and Moderating at a Convention

Let me begin this post by saying that while I have been on over three dozen panels by now (at least, I really have not counted but Dragoncon throws me on 8-10 each time I go); this is just my view. I like to think I'm a decent panelist and I've been complimented on running (when moderating) and being interesting when on panels; so... here's some of my thoughts.

1) Don't Just Join Anything

While it's super exciting to be offered a panel at a convention, do not just join one because they offered it to you. Seriously consider whether you have something useful to add to the panel, if you can talk on it with some degree of expertise. There's nothing worse than watching a panelist who has no idea about the topic flounder. Often, doing so can engender dislike among the audience because there are often subject matter experts sitting in the audience who didn't get asked to be on it.

So, unless you can speak intelligently about the topic, don't volunteer to be on it. 

2) Be Prepared

A good moderator will send questions beforehand, allowing you to prepare for what might be asked and also giving you an idea of what you will be speaking about. This is important since many panel topics are quite wide ranging and which direction it moves in could leave you floundering. I once did a panel on Game Design and Writing and if the moderator hadn't clarified some of the topics beforehand, I would have bowed out. After all, I have never written for a video game before (even if I do have friends and poked at it on the backend). However, the topics suggested were going to be discussing writing, how video game writing had infiltrated other works, structure and areas I had some knowledge about; so I was happy to be on the panel.

If you're a moderator, send questions! Ask about what the panelists want to talk about, what they don't want to discuss and what you can do to make it easier for them. Make sure you know how to say their name, their preferred pronouns (and don't be a dick about whether you agree with them of using whatever pronouns they want or not. That's a great way of not ever getting asked back, nevermind being incredibly disrespectful) and outline how you want to run the panel. 

Lastly, being prepared also means researching the topic (if you need to) outside of the band of questions. Moderators can (and will) take panels in the way that audience and panelist interest lie to keep the panel interesting and audience questions can come very far left field. 

As an example - we had an audience asking about poisons in our Fantastic Foods panel in Worldcon which, well, left many of us stumped. After all, poisons and foods don't exactly line up.

3) Learn Your Locations & Get There Early

If you're in the UK, there's a green room where you meet 20-30 minutes before the panel as a matter of course. In the US, it's more common to meet at the actual panel itself. Get there 5-10 minutes early just in case you need to figure out where your panel is and also to get used to the setup. Most setups are similar, with a microphone each or a shared pair of microphones, but you'll want to get an idea anyway. It'll also let you calm down, run over the topic once more and importantly - meet your other panelists!

Sometimes, some of the best aspects of these panels are meeting other panelists. It's a nice way to network with them, and you never know, you might end up with a new friend.

4) Be Succinct & Let Others Talk

When on the panel, you'll want to be succinct. Don't ramble on forever, especially if the panel has more than 3 panelists. If it's a full table (often 4 panelists and a moderator), if you ramble, other panelists won't have a chance to answer the question. Also, no one needs to hear you say umm... uhhh... etc. forever, so if you need more time to compose the answer, pass it on to someone else for the moment.

And don't feel the need to answer every question, you can say 'ditto' and move on. Sometimes a single answer covers everything that needs to be said.

On another note - don't dominate the panel. While it's the moderator's job to make sure other panelists have a chance to talk, you can help by choosing NOT to answer every question. Even if you have a good one, you can let others talk. Men, please note - you probably talk a LOT more than you think you did. There are literal studies backing that up, so try to talk even less than you're comfortable with.

Moderators - if there are 3 or less panelists, you can play the part of panelist sometimes. If there are 4, your job is to ask questions and guide the flow of the panel, NOT to answer questions. There's not enough time for there to be 5 individuals up there. 

5) Think fast!

So, while you hopefully have panel questions prepared, and are ready to answer them, sometimes things move or questions are asked in ways that you were not expecting. Think fast, think quickly, answer succinctly.

This is particularly important when audience questions arrive, since you can't prepare for them much (beyond knowing the subject matter). The best way to train for that is experience.

One way to get experience at answering questions fast? Go join Toastmasters. They have a portion of their programme called 'Table Topics' which involve speaking about a topic for 2 minutes on an impromptu basis. It teaches you how to think fast, talk about any topic and helps calm your nerves.

Toastmasters is also really good at teaching basic speaking skills and helping to cut down your vocal temporizing (uuuh, umm, etc.) and the people can be quite nice (each club is going to be different, so check a few out to see which one works for you).

6) Don't Over Promo Yourself (Or Your Book)

Alright, so this one might be a little controversial since all of us do panels for a chance to let people know about us and our books. However, mentioning the work only a few times (preferably at the start and end and maybe once during the panel itself) is more than sufficient. If you want to promote yourself, drop a book or two in front of you at the panel, let your covers speak for themselves as you discuss the topic.

Over promoting yourself and your book can get very tiring for listeners. Unless it's directly relevant, there's often not a point in saying things like, 'well, in my book we...' and it's even worse when a panelist stretches the point to make it about their book again. This is especially bad when none of the other panelists are doing the same, because then you'll come off as overeager.

Make your points in the panel, make yourself seem fun and interesting and you might get a sale or two. But really, panels are a long-term game; not a sudden 'oh, I'll buy a book now' aspect (UNLESS you have books in the vendor room and/or a signing coming up, at which point you might see more of an uptake).

Mind you, that's my view on this, others might have a more nuanced or different opinion.

7) Work that Mic

This is one that I'm still working on, but the microphone is your friend. If you end up doing multiple panels in a convention and also do barcon afterwards, you'll find your voice going. Make use of the microphone so you don't have to project as hard and makes it easy for those who have hearing issues to hear what you're saying.

Get close to it - sometimes a lot closer than you think. Test it out beforehand a little, just in case it is a VERY good mic and you need to back off. Project your voice which often means speaking from the chest and not throat (working on that!). 

8) Moderators Only

Alright, for moderators (and mind you, I've only moderated half a dozen or so panels so far); here are some basic tips;

• be gentle and firm if one of your panelists is rambling on (though a little rambling is fine). Sometimes, a simple 'And (name), what do you think of (topic)' when the speaker is taking a breath or just over them, will work. If they're offensive, you can just say 'no, that's not how we all think' and move on. Don't get into arguments on the panel though.

• make sure you have your phone with you and/or a stopwatch to keep track of time

• be willing to deviate from your questions if something crops up that is interesting to the panel and/or audience

• watch for panelists which are too quiet and throw questions at them, so that they can speak up. Most will be grateful (on the other hand, if they're underwater and/or on the wrong panel and have nothing to say, be cognizant of that too). 

• set expectations of when questions can be asked / answered. Don't deviate from that, and be careful about 'statement / questions'. Some cons will have audience members who REALLY want to be on the panel and will take the time to actually make statements rather than ask questions. They can be useful, but can also take up precious time

And that's it. That's all my tips that I can think of for now. If you've got others, feel free to throw them in the comments! Most of all, remember, conventions and panels are meant to be fun. So have fun!