Help Wanted: Skilled Moderator for Lively Conversations
You’re great at one-on-one interviews. So why is moderating a panel discussion so hard?
(Daan Jaartsveld flies high during a preview performance of "WEG," as part of the 2021 Tanz im August international dance festival in Berlin. Photo by Stephanie Wolf.)
Hi storytellers –
The other day I received a request in my email. “Could we hire you to create a bespoke interview training package?” the emailer asked. The podcast host she works with, she said, does a great job with one-on-one interviews: the conversations sound natural, engaging, and wise. This host has built a successful podcast with an enormous audience.
And they don’t just sit there — they respond. They write thoughtful Youtube comment threads that become conversations not just with the host but with each other. Most hosts and producers would kill for that.
But when he hosts roundtables with four guests? Things go off the rails.
I spent a lot of time as a business reporter. I’ve watched hundreds of panels at corporate conferences. All too often these roundtables are audience endurance tests, not lively, thought-provoking conversations.
“Can you help us make these discussions more interesting?” my emailer asked.
What an invitation! I can’t count the number of times I’ve recommended to newer hosts that they confine themselves to one-on-one interviews. Mastering the art of the interview can be challenging enough. Add extra people into the mix and the challenges amplify.
(Colorado Conservatory of Dance adult division students perform a piece titled “Beatles Project” during the 2023 DanceFound concert. Photo by Stephanie Wolf.)
If you’ve ever moderated a panel and it’s gone well, it feels like a dance: You’re leading a troupe of dancers – call them jazz dancers – each of whom has their own style, their own personality. The choreography is both controlled and free: You know when you’re pulling this dancer, then that one, into the conversational dance, and when you’re letting them go. But you don’t quite know what they’ll do under the spotlight, which is where some of the excitement comes from.
You’re also acutely aware of the needs of the audience. You’re serving as their advocate and stand-in: You’ll jump in with a leap or a twirl of your own when you need to. And you’ll spin someone out and a different dancer in when the music changes.
To moderate is to lead with a firm but gentle hand. It’s also a performance.
If this is all too metaphorical for you, don’t worry: In today’s Try This in Your Studio, you’ll find a handful of practical panel moderating techniques and ten tried-and-true interview questions.
What you won’t find is a formula that applies to every panel discussion. I wish there were a checklist that would guarantee you’ll never have a dull moment. It doesn’t work that way: Good roundtables require great driving questions to frame the conversation; clarity on why you’ve chosen each guest; and the skill to keep a conversation moving. Each one is different.
What are your favorite tips and tricks to shine as a panel moderator? Share in the comments! (And give us an example.)
Try This in Your Studio
Techniques for moderating panels audiences will love
1. Start with your purpose. What is this conversation about? Why are we here? Intrigue your audience from the get-go.
2. Understand the difference between a panel (or an interview) that’s “about” a topic and one that poses a thought-provoking, driving question – one that moves that conversation forward.
Crafting a driving question is a topic for another day, but here’s a taste of the difference: “Let’s talk about weather patterns in the U.S.” is a topic. A driving question might be, “Tornadoes have doubled over the last decade. Are we prepared for what’s coming?” (This “fact” is entirely made up, by the way!)
3. Introduce your guests after you’ve hooked the audience and shared your purpose. But make those intros sing! Don’t be a slave to their bios. The audience doesn’t need every detail. A sentence or two about their relevant experience is plenty. And feel free to personalize it if it’s appropriate: “Jane Smith and I grew up next door to each other, lost touch for 20 years, and lo and behold now she’s a Nobel-prize winning physicist! We’ve been studying the same topic all these years!” It’s what you would do if you were introducing one guest to another at your own cocktail party.
4. Don’t ask guests to introduce themselves. Jump right in with your questions about – in this case – our tornado-prone future.
5. Don’t ask every guest to answer every question. Address questions to the person you think will have an interesting response. It’s a chess game: Someone makes an interesting comment, you but think another guest will have something to add? Redirect to that guest, perhaps changing up the question along the way.
6. Ask for stories and examples. Don’t let guests generalize. To prompt a story, consider telling one of your own and asking a question about it.
7. Be willing to interrupt. You’re in service of the listener. There’s always someone who will want the spotlight.
8. Challenge your guests when necessary.
✅ 10 smart questions for panel moderators
Who will be most affected by XX trend? Why?
How high are the stakes for [XX person or group]?
What will happen IF [XXX initiative fails; some bad or good event occurs; if we fail to take action on XX topic, etc.] This is to establish the stakes or urgency.
How do you know? [In response to assertion of an opinion or a “fact” given without evidence to back it up.]
What’s the evidence?
Give me an example. [This is the number one question people forget to ask. It’s one of the easiest ways to bring an interview to life — and also to figure out when someone is lying/making something up.]
Tell me a story about… [a consistently useful question, especially when a guest is generalizing]
Take me back to the moment when [you made a big decision, something happened to you, you realized something, something was transformed, etc.]
What has changed?
What would you like to see change about [the status quo]?
🏆 Learn from the best
Listen to:
— Secrets of Hosting In-Studio and Live with the Queen of Book Podcasts, Anne Bogel, on Sound Judgment
— This recent Death, Sex & Money episode: You’re at a Crossroads. We’re Here to Help. Anna Sale does a masterful, graceful job choreographing this conversation.
Read:
— One of the best books I’ve ever read about hosting a great podcast isn’t about podcasting at all. It’s about creating meaningful events, whether that’s facilitating a meeting at the UN or hosting your wedding. Read The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker. It changed me. I now think of hosting podcasts and panel discussions as practicing the art of radical hospitality.
Smile:
For fun and the inspiration for my dance metaphor: Jean Batiste’s brilliant piece, “I need you.” I can’t get enough of it.
Speaking of radical hospitality, one of the nicest things we can do for each other is to make introductions. If you’d like to be radically hospitable, please introduce a friend to this newsletter by sharing it with them!
New Resources Section coming
Every day, I encounter wonderful resources like the ones I mentioned above – podcasts, articles, books, groups, and more. So I’m starting a standing resources section! This newsletter is free for everyone right now, but the resources section, along with some other things up my sleeve, will soon be for paid subscribers.
In the meantime, get my full list of panel moderation techniques and sample questions! Just restack this post on Substack Notes and comment on it. Make sure you add, “Send me the questions!”
International Women’s Podcast Awards
Have you purchased your ticket yet? This event, which is always a lot of fun, is June 19 in London or live-streamed. I’ll be watching it from my old creaky office chair in Denver, unfortunately. But I’ll be watching with excitement, because three different Podcast Allies podcasts are finalists! Get the details on the ceremony and read all the shortlists here.
Degrees: Real talk about planet-saving careers, hosted by Yesh Pavlik Slenk for the Environmental Defense Fund, has been nominated for “A Moment of Insight from a Role Model.”
Complexified, hosted by Amanda Henderson for the Institute for Religion, Politics and Culture at Iliff School of Theology, has been nominated for “A Moment of Raw Emotion.”
Sound Judgment has been nominated for “A Moment of Behind-the-Scenes Brilliance,” for my episode “Courage vs. Comfort: Is it finally time to pursue your dreams?”
My own Sound Judgment
Sound Judgment kudos return in the next issue. Here’s my own Sound Judgment: I’m heading to Mexico next week to attend a workshop on “purpose” at the Modern Elder Academy in Baja! I cannot wait. There won’t be a newsletter next week…unless I’m inspired to write from my perch near the ocean.
As always, it is a joy to be with you.
Elaine
What are your thoughts about pros and cons of having a preparation call with panelists (or not), and whether to send your questions to them all in advance? Please send me the additional questions. Thanks!
So helpful! And timely, as I was just asked yesterday to moderate a panel at a Jane Austen conference in the autumn. Even though my day jobs includes radio hosting and sometimes panels, you made me realize how much I need to prepare and practice for this! Thanks for the insights and tips!