PROGRAM OF EVENTS

 

Hints for panellists

Research your topic well before the convention. Be clear on what you intend to speak about. You will need about eight minutes of prepared material and a brief introduction. In the introduction, identify yourself, any relevant experience or why you decided to participate in this panel and the intention of your talk. If you require data projection facilities, make sure your laptop battery is well charged and you know how to select the external video connection of the laptop.

It is often a good idea to make contact with the other speakers on the panel before the event. If you don’t know the other panellists, ask the Programmer to put you in touch with them. Establish what each panellist intends to discuss. Select a panellist to be a moderator or ask the Programmer for a moderator to be provided.

A lively debate is an interesting debate. It is fine to have strong opinions. It is not okay to make personal insults or ridicule other speakers or their ideas. It is helpful to ask questions of other panellists and the audience. The audience has come to hear about your ideas. They will forgive any stumbles, awkwardness and nerves if you speak with passion, clarity of idea and have prepared your material thoroughly.