First Time on a Panel? Advice on how to make the most of speaking opportunities for newbies
Tips for those venturing into the role of a speaker, and how to manage uncertainty in conversation - when and how to facilitate a great panel discussion.
Participating in your first panel discussion can feel daunting, but with thoughtful preparation and some strategic insights, you can approach the experience with confidence and clarity. The following advice outlines important considerations to help you deliver your best during panel presentations, especially tailored for those new to speaking in this format.
Foundational Panel Advice
For the basis of this article, we’ll review what you’ve probably heard before: know your audience, and anticipate how to deliver relevant commentary.
Preparing Your Content
Before stepping onto the panel, invest time in clearly understanding your audience. Reflect on who will attend, their likely background, and primary interests. Tailor your comments to match the audience's level of expertise, making sure your points are accessible and inclusive.
ProTip: It may be worthwhile to specifically get acknowledgment from the host or moderator that your level of experience or expertise is appropriate. If you were invited, then yes it is inherently, but if it helps you to feel more assured, you can ask again; this can help you feel that your perspective, even if its the first time or you are early-career in terms of experiences, that it is valid and valued. It can alleviate any expectations to speak beyond the scope of what you already know; that it is enough as it is.
Identify two to five key points you want the audience to remember. Aim for clarity and conciseness, intentionally avoiding overly technical language or detailed explanations that may lose your audience's attention. Request potential questions or themes from the moderator beforehand, and prepare concise examples or anecdotes relevant to these prompts.
Delivery and Communication
Your delivery matters in panel discussions. It is is worth practicing speaking slowly and clearly, especially when discussing complex ideas. Rehearse your answers to anticipated questions, but avoid memorizing your responses or feeling you have to trust a script. Authenticity and genuine engagement resonate more deeply with your audience than rehearsed perfection - and in general, consider that the audience is interested in you finding your way to a useful or meaningful point, and will support you in doing so.
Additionally, your nonverbal communication plays a crucial role in effectively conveying your message. Maintain regular eye contact with the moderator, fellow panelists, and audience members to foster a sense of connection and engagement. Be mindful of your posture— in the ideal sense, “sit upright, orient yourself towards the moderator or audience,” and incorporate natural hand gestures to complement your verbal points. Sure, all of that is valid, but mostly consider being an active participant in the conversation.
When and How - Interjections and Navigating Panel Speaking Uncertainties
As conventional wisdom suggests: demonstrating respect for others' insights helps create a supportive and dynamic atmosphere. Even when your views differ, engage respectfully and constructively. Avoid interrupting or dominating the conversation, ensuring space for all panelists to contribute equally.
For first timers, I encourage them: Don’t be afraid to speak first, but it is also ok to let someone else take the lead. You can be a valuable conversation participant whichever form is comfortable for you to take.
ProTip: If you are in a panel with many other folks of the same general experience as you, and you have a sense there is uncertainty about what to say next or who to go first - consider doing this maneuver, which I’ll call the “Engage Then Pass” tactic.
Engage Then Pass: A Tactic for Conversation Flow
This is especially useful if you are in situations like: you have a sense it might be “your turn” to comment on something, but you don’t really know what to say - or there is longer pause or silence after the moderate asks the question, and you don’t have anything grand to say but want to get the ball rolling or help with facilitation of the discussion itself. Essentially, it is about fielding the question with the intention of saying something brief and then engaging others or “passing” off to them.
Indicate your willingness to handle the question, either by raising your hand or starting up the conversation; you can do this in a tentative or slow-building sense, even, to help everyone else come up to speed. “Sure, I might have some thoughts on that…” or “Yeah, I’m not entirely sure, but your question made me think of….”
Say a bite-sized and relevant piece of information. Many times moderators or panels run into a tougher flow of conversation when segments change, or there is a transition of some sort — or other, perfectly natural lulls. If you (or the panel) aren’t particularly sure where to go, you can offer a nugget of commentary that you, the panelists, or the moderator could play off of. Things to keep in mind.
In essence, what you are doing is creating an option for directing conversation turn, that others can choose to go down, or not, and that in itself facilitates the flow of conversation at large.
It may be useful to ground this comment in your direct, personal experience, since it is a natural bridge to context, and has an existing story (beginning - middle - end, cause & effect, outcome) that you can reference as necessary.
OR, you could potentially “zoom out” some, and talk about a very broad comment, but also in a concise way. Referencing the theme of the conference, the panel itself, or some other generic experience could be a good sounding board, or inspire & trigger others thoughts.
After sharing a nugget, look to pass or connect with others. As you were talking, did anyone’s eyes light up? Did the moderator nod knowingly? Or even in the audience, did someone react? If there is anyone who seemed to resonate, you can loosely toss the question or mic in their direction.
If NOBODY says anything and you have nobody to receive your pass - don’t worry about it! It happens more than you’d think. But what you did is allow the moderator to sort out things on their end, and see where to steer things.
Being a good ally to the moderator itself is its own useful lens. Teamwork makes the panel flourish.
So, a super brief example of this:
MOD: Ok, now let’s talk about NewTheme. Question for the panel, how have you dealt with NewTheme in your position or experience?
PANEL: …. (silence)
MOD: ….
PANELIST A: applies Engage & Pass
“Ok, I may have something to say about NewTheme, let’s see…”
“So, I’m not sure if this fits, but [Relays a Personal Experience that also came up within the same general context of the question]. One time, I was working on a project and [Something Happened]; and [here was an interesting takeaway or something I learned]
“This kind of reminded me of something PANELIST B said (said before / mentioned / or seemed to allude to); did you want to say more about that?”
PANELIST B: “Oh yes, I had a similar experience, actually ….”
This is a toy example, but the general aim is to find connection points or offer up connection points. Even if Panelist B responded less directly or disagreed with the connection, it still offers opportunities for conversation. Ideally, Panelist A will not simply belligerently choose someone to throw the conversation at, but if there isn’t a clear target, sometimes the Toss could be reframed towards the general panel or even audience at large: “ — does anyone else have an experience like that?” or “I’m curious what others think about the topic, too.”
Key concept: being on a panel is only partly about what you know, and your ability to report on it. It’s also about elevating the conversation and facilitating meaningful or insightful turns with others. You don’t need to know all the answers, but if you are willing to explore topics earnestly with others, that is wonderful for the audience and hopefully for the other panelists as well.
On Working Effectively with the Moderator
Moderators facilitate the conversation, ensuring a balanced and engaging dialogue. If you have a point to contribute, gently raise your hand or catch the moderator’s attention during a natural pause. Remember, the moderator's role is to highlight diverse insights and ensure everyone has space to share.
A Secret Tip: You are a moderator, too. As my above point essentially suggested, you can attempt to set other people up who may have useful things to say. There’s no pressure or expectation for you to do this, but if you think there’s something relevant to be said that someone else has access to, think about how to phrase a story, an insight, or a topic that might offer a place for their own commentary to emerge. This will get much easier the more experience you have, though, so no worries about doing this now. Consider that other experienced panelists may attempt to do the same for you, too - so don’t be shy about mentioning a specific area, topic, or experience that you’d like others to “set up” for you to, as well.
At large, the moderator will be focused on steering the conversation and hitting an necessary topics of conversation. They will also attempt to mediate panelists, and also eventually questions from the audience, when applicable. As a first time participant of a panel, you may have little context for what this means, but it can be something you learn during your time on the panel, or through watching other panel discussions take place.
Engaging with the Audience
When addressing audience questions, pause briefly to formulate your thoughts. If necessary, restate the question to confirm your understanding or to address underlying intentions. It's perfectly acceptable to acknowledge uncertainty, offering to follow up later or deferring to other panelists who might better address the query.
Difficult or unexpected questions can be challenging. Maintain your composure, politely reframing or clarifying the question as needed. If you genuinely feel you cannot contribute meaningfully, it's appropriate to acknowledge this openly by saying something like, "I'm not sure I have much to add—would anyone else like to comment?" As noted above, it’s perfectly proper to let the conversation flow around a topic, avoid it, pass on it, or come back to it later.
A final comment on uncertainty around speaking, interjecting, or sharing your thoughts:
Many first time panelists might tempted to have a Perfect Answer every time, or say something profound and over-prepare for such a declaration (or feel pressure to Say Nothing, until the Perfect Moment arises to deliver the Perfect Answer). That’s ok.
You don’t have to do any of those things. And to reiterate, even if you pass on a topic you thought you had something to say — but then remember a great story or cool moment or relevant idea — it’s very acceptable and often good practice to engage the moderator and mention that you have something to say. “I know this came up a few minutes ago, but I just remembered, [STORY]" ; trust me this happens all the time, and it’s much better to even make a brief reference to the insight you had, both so you feel like you said something and didn’t wait around “losing your moment” to say something, and because, even if the timing isn’t perfect, the moderator or other panelists may circle back to it later on. So, don’t worry about having everything happen perfectly in the exact moment the question arises.
Regulating Yourself & What to Avoid
Much advice centers on “words” and “context” and “what to say”, but learning how to manage yourself internally is part of the broader public speaking and panel-saying discourse, too.
Managing Nerves and Anxiety
Feeling nervous is entirely natural, especially when speaking publicly (in general) or for new experiences. It’s generally advisable, as I’ve attempted to suggest, to approach the panel as an open dialogue rather than a high-pressure performance. Prepare a confident opening line or brief self-introduction to ease initial anxiety. In moments of nervousness, take slow, deep breaths.
A useful perspective may also be that you are collectively telling a story, together. Your specific part may not be entirely clear, but there’s a space for you in the process, and how can you help illuminate the topic or the matter, or make the story more rich or vivid, for the panelists or the audience. I encourage you to believe in yourself relative to your experience in and of itself as having meaning, and others can recognize and benefit from hearing about that meaning, too.
What if you say too much?
Or that you should stop talking? The only real red flag here is if you’re getting strange looks from the panelists or moderator. Don’t worry too much about wondering if you’ve said too much at large, as the moderator’s job is to help direct you and the entire panels conversation. If you have lost context of other panelist’s opportunities to speak or aren’t thinking about how to incorporate them, you may want to pause internally and reconsider how to collaboratively build on the conversation.
What if someone interrupts you?!
You have every right to communicate that you were interrupted and you have more to say. It’s not your responsibility to have to be confrontational (that’s the moderators job), but you can interject or show some protest. In general, gracefully doing so is seen as ideal. If you feel uncomfortable addressing the person who interrupted you directly, any halfway-decent moderator will recognize this and allow you to be recentered or continue your point. As a first-timer, panelists and moderators should specifically be aware of this, and take the burden off your shoulders. But, if they are not, or miss the opportunity to support, it’s important to recognize that it is not a reflection of you, but rather them missing something. If it happens multiple times, you are entitled to complain or protest about the event or how things were handled. Here’s hoping that will not be your experience!
Post-Panel Reflections and Networking
After the panel concludes, be open to interacting with attendees who may approach you for further discussion. Consider sharing your professional contact information or social media profiles if comfortable. Briefly reflect afterward on your experience, noting any areas for future improvement or personal growth - it’s also a great opportunity to connect with moderator, hosts, or others working on projects or in interesting spaces. Your panel role is an easy discussion starter, and a great way to bridge into other matters of interest.
If you are looking to further comment on things, there may be some opportunities to do so — if you are seeking them out, feel free to suggest them yourself. If you’d like to be interviewed or to interview, if you’d like to have your thoughts recorded or to be shared, things can happen if you aspire for them. Even writing up a solid post on a blog, or LinkedIn, for example, can go a long way, and extend the moment asynchronously.
More about these tips and connecting your experience to meaningful networking and future opportunities are coming in future posts here!
Suggested Resources
For additional support and insights, consider exploring these resources:
"How to Give a Great Panel Presentation" (Harvard Business Review)
"Speaker's Guide" (TED Talks)
"Surviving your first academic conference" (The Professor Is In)
Approach this opportunity with confidence, knowing you're well-prepared to make a meaningful contribution to the panel discussion.
What resources on panels would you suggest? Has anything been insightful for you? I’d also love to follow up with others and continue the conversation with interviews around this and other topics - please leave a comment or reach out if you are interested in such.