Rule one of panels: it is all about the moderator. Rule two: the moderator is not the center.
principle — attributed to Ben Parr
Parr's two rules for panel discussions sit in productive tension. Rule one: it is all about the moderator. Rule two: the moderator is not the center of attention. The moderator who talks too much is doing a bad job. The moderator's role is to facilitate discussion among the panelists, keep things fast and pithy, cut off rambling panelists, play off each answer to keep the conversation continuous, and ask questions the audience actually wants the answers to. The panel's quality is determined by the moderator's skill, but the moderator's presence has to be invisible. The discipline is operationally rare. Most moderators either drift into talking too much or fail to redirect rambling panelists.
For conference programmers, moderator trainers, and anyone running panel discussions. The principle is most useful as a self-check for moderators who have been receiving low session ratings.
panel-moderation, facilitation, cut-off-ramblers, audience-questions