Preparation
Every accepted panel goes through a coordinated preparation and review process.
“Talking helps you see the rough edges in your ideas.” — Mark Twain
This phase helps moderators and panelists align on themes, sequencing, and audience engagement. The goal is to ensure the conversation feels flowing, focused, and cohesive rather than fragmented.
Prepare for your Panel
- Prepare Concept Note – Preparation for a panel start with a concept note for the panel with focus on the flow and the key takeaways for the audience. The moderator can kickstart the process, and the panelist can contribute with their comments to the concept note. An example of concept note is this document called “Discussion & Moderation on Careers”. Refer to Panel Note’s by Aman in the second tab.
- Align on the Panel – Set up one pre-event session, preferably with all the panelists and the moderator together, to align everyone around the concept note and the flow of questions to be covered in the panel.
- Plan the Timing – A shorter panel like 30 mins does not leave much scope for long winding discussion. It is best to agree on a few must-have questions and plan to leave some time for taking audience questions at the end of the panel.
- Promote the Panel & Panelists – Promote the panel topic and the panelists in your own community, including VizChitra Social & ‘Friend of VizChitra’ to kick start the broader conversation, even before the stage. Many times useful stories and questions can emerge through this process.
Structure the Panel Discussion
There is no one correct way to do a panel. It depends on the choice of topic, the skill of the moderator and the styles of the panelist. However, most great panels share a few common characteristics - the panelists are enjoying each other’s company and insights, the questions and answers are building on each other like a jugalbandi and the audience can be seen sharing in the fun and conversation. The moderator’s role is more like a sutradhar helping connect the dots and keep the conversation going.
A good example was the VizChitra panel titled “Breaking into the Viz Biz”, which shared many of these characteristics. You can watch the video of the panel here -