moderating a panel

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: moderating a panel 🔈️ 

i’ve spent the last 2 days hanging out at collision conference and for each talk i listened in on, i always found myself drawn to the moderator/host among the speakers.

it’s probably because that’s where i see the most improvement for my own public speaking skills: asking questions and directing the flow of a discussion seamlessly.

i’ll share some of the mistakes & takeaways i observed:

1) always introduce your panelists / speakers 🎤 

for one of the talks i sat in on, i had no idea who the speakers were, and i wouldn’t have known until the end unless i checked the digital schedule and read each person’s profile. the panel started immediately without any introduction. the host went right into asking a question after saying, “you guys already know these faces, haha! so ….”

um … i did not know these faces.

even if the speaker is a world-renowned athlete or a-list celebrity, introductions establish context and connection with the audience. 

2) don’t list off questions 📜 

my favourite moderators spoke like they were part of the conversation, and not someone solely there to fire off questions one after the other. as an audience member, a discussion is much more engaging rather than an interview. this is also my biggest area of improvement — being able to connect what someone said previously to another question or turning point in the conversation.

not only is it a sign of a good public speaker, but also a good listener. you have to listen intently in order to respond accordingly after all.

3) personality! ✨ 

a host shouldn’t be a robot. i love it when personality shines through in talks, it makes it all the more engaging, and it also prompts others to reach out because they feel more connected to you individually. speaking authentically is an opening for a lot more opportunities and appreciation opposed to sticking to a prepared script.

i’m a bit of a presentation nerd as you guys can probably tell, but i really enjoy speaking to narratives, stories, and ideas to a wider audience. it’s so powerful.

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