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Post by crownowa on Jan 21, 2018 20:27:13 GMT -5
Hi everyone. Fingers asked me to see if we can get some veteran panelists to explain how to prepare for and run a panel/presentation. Is anyone interested?
If anyone has any questions about preparing or running panel / presentation, please post here. I may write up a guide as well, so I'll be posting tidbits here as I think of them.
***Please note that this thread is not for debating which tips are better, so debate posts and posts with duplicate tios will be removed***
Below are some GENERALIZED pointers.
Both panels and presentations: Panelists should arrive and begin on time, and end the panel at 10 minutes before the hour. If it will take more than 10 minutes to get to your next panel (e.g. If its in another building), let your fellow panelists know once the schedule is released, and leave the first panel early. Leaving early is much less disruptive and unnerving to the other panelists than arriving late.
Panels: Panelists should prepare a total of 50 minutes of material to discuss, which does not overlap between panelists, in case the audience is not talkative. Panels are discussions conducted by panelists, but are not Q&A sessions, so panelists are expected to talk for the majority of the panel. Panelists would be considered experts on the topic being discussed, and a source of knowledge or clarification for the audience.
Presentations: Panelists should prepare a total of 50 minutes of material, since they will be expected to talk the vast majority of the presentation, depending on whether they choose to take questions. Panelists would be considered experts on the presentation topic, but are sharing information or conducting an AV event, instead of a discussion with the audience.
Edits:
Voice projection: The largest panel rooms and AV rooms usually have mics, but for medium and smaller rooms, panelists should be able to speak (hopefully not yell) loud enough to be easily heard at the back of the room. Sipping water throughout the panel may help lubricate your throat, but I do not suggest drinking cold water, and chewing gum may get in the way of talking. Panelists should not bring their own AV equipment.
Material familiarity and review: Panelists should at least be familiar with all material that is legally available in Canada / the US (depending on how large the universe is, of course). Panelists don't need to rewatch / reread all series before AN, but need to become re-familiarized with the series. Material that hasn't yet been officially released in Canada / the US, or has just been released, can still be discussed, but require a spoiler warning (we will be posting our spoiler policy again).
A/V Equipment: Presentations use A/V equipment, usually both audio and visual, and have a slightly different approval process than panels. Panels may have mics if they are in a larger room. Panels may also be held in rooms with A/V equipment but may not use the equipment, other than the mics. Panelists may not bring their own A/V equipment or play/show anything that hasn't been pre-approved by Fingers before the con.
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Post by richardthebald on Jan 21, 2018 23:01:54 GMT -5
If you've gone to the trouble of making copious notes, because you can't remember every detail that may be relevant to your given topic, do yourself a favour and organize/ index your notes in such a way that you can quickly access the information you've so painstakingly researched for just such an occasion.
Rifling through a binder, desperately looking for that tiny tidbit of information while the room/ fellow panelist stare at you in bemused silence is not a good time.
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Post by crownowa on Jan 21, 2018 23:09:55 GMT -5
If you've gone to the trouble of making copious notes, because you can't remember every detail that may be relevant to your given topic, do yourself a favour and organize/ index your notes in such a way that you can quickly access the information you've so painstakingly researched for just such an occasion. Rifling through a binder, desperately looking for that tiny tidbit of information while the room/ fellow panelist stare at you in bemused silence is not a good time. You can always bring a copy of your notes on your phone / tablet as well, in case you need to make an emergency ctrl+f. I don't think I've ever brought pages of notes to a panel, usually an agenda with discussion points and questions, but there's no public wifi at the old Doubletree for you to google answers 9n your phone. I remember reception being poor inside the panel rooms as well. |
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Post by emeraldlatias on Jan 22, 2018 22:19:08 GMT -5
I was only a panelist for one panel last year but something that helped our group was using google docs before the con to sort through how we wanted the general layout/discussion order to go (this also helps to avoid discussion points being cannibalized by another panelist). E-mail chains get cumbersome when you're trying to find one idea someone brought up awhile ago so google docs makes it easy to make comments and such (plus there's also a history to them so if someone erased something by accident it can be retrieved). Plus most hotels have a business center so they can be printed off prior to the panel.
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Post by crownowa on Jan 23, 2018 7:59:26 GMT -5
Do you find that having skype meetings help? I've found it difficult to gather all panelists to chat at the same time.
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Post by starglazeddonut on Jan 23, 2018 16:25:07 GMT -5
YOOO I need this panel cuz I sucked... I felt like a baby flailing in the deep end cuz I didn't know what to do last year. Also didn't help that majority of the audience didn't even see/read the series the panel was about...(we kinda planned for a discussion panel)
I think the main problem I had last year was "what do I talk about?" Maybe it just showed that I wasn't prepared enough... So I wanna ask others: What general topics are good starters for panels? (sorry if this is a dumb question) I personally believe starting is the most difficult part and once you get going, things will be okay.
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Post by richardthebald on Jan 23, 2018 16:45:17 GMT -5
YOOO I need this panel cuz I sucked... I felt like a baby flailing in the deep end cuz I didn't know what to do last year. Also didn't help that majority of the audience didn't even see/read the series the panel was about...(we kinda planned for a discussion panel)I think the main problem I had last year was "what do I talk about?" Maybe it just showed that I wasn't prepared enough... So I wanna ask others: What general topics are good starters for panels? (sorry if this is a dumb question) I personally believe starting is the most difficult part and once you get going, things will be okay. This is one reason why conferencing with your fellow panelists well ahead of time is a very good idea. Having even a loose itinerary of what you want to cover in the panel gives you something to fall back on in the event audience participation is wanting (and can give you ideas for enticing/encouraging audience participation.) Series panels tend to be a little simpler to plan; plot discussions, predictions, favourite (worst) characters, ships, elements of the series you like/dislike, music, comparisons with related properties (manga, games, etc.), merchandise, in universe lore/ world building, other series you might like, etc. |
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Post by darkinsanity13 on Jan 23, 2018 17:01:26 GMT -5
YOOO I need this panel cuz I sucked... I felt like a baby flailing in the deep end cuz I didn't know what to do last year. Also didn't help that majority of the audience didn't even see/read the series the panel was about...(we kinda planned for a discussion panel)I think the main problem I had last year was "what do I talk about?" Maybe it just showed that I wasn't prepared enough... So I wanna ask others: What general topics are good starters for panels? (sorry if this is a dumb question) I personally believe starting is the most difficult part and once you get going, things will be okay. This is one reason why conferencing with your fellow panelists well ahead of time is a very good idea. Having even a loose itinerary of what you want to cover in the panel gives you something to fall back on in the event audience participation is wanting (and can give you ideas for enticing/encouraging audience participation.) Series panels tend to be a little simpler to plan; plot discussions, predictions, favourite (worst) characters, ships, elements of the series you like/dislike, music, comparisons with related properties (manga, games, etc.), merchandise, in universe lore/ world building, other series you might like, etc. Yes yes, and plus by collaborating with your fellow panelists beforehand, you all have an idea of what you all want to talk about so someone is less likely to be left out if the others keep inadvertently steering the conversation away from topics they're interested in. As previously mentioned, having a google doc that all the panelists can edit or comment on is super helpful for keeping everyone's ideas organized without having to sort through email/group chat histories, and can be printed out by everyone so they're all on the same page during the actual panel. I've used that in the past and it's been very useful (at least, when the panelists could be bothered to stay in touch, but that's a whole other matter), especially for someone like me who tends to get stage fright and forget anything to be said if it's not right there in front of me. |
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Post by Fingers on Jan 23, 2018 17:23:12 GMT -5
Hint:
36 pages of notes for a panel. 42 hours prep for a convention.
(Okay, not always that much )
F.
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Post by emeraldlatias on Jan 23, 2018 18:10:35 GMT -5
This is one reason why conferencing with your fellow panelists well ahead of time is a very good idea. Having even a loose itinerary of what you want to cover in the panel gives you something to fall back on in the event audience participation is wanting (and can give you ideas for enticing/encouraging audience participation.) Series panels tend to be a little simpler to plan; plot discussions, predictions, favourite (worst) characters, ships, elements of the series you like/dislike, music, comparisons with related properties (manga, games, etc.), merchandise, in universe lore/ world building, other series you might like, etc. Yes yes, and plus by collaborating with your fellow panelists beforehand, you all have an idea of what you all want to talk about so someone is less likely to be left out if the others keep inadvertently steering the conversation away from topics they're interested in. As previously mentioned, having a google doc that all the panelists can edit or comment on is super helpful for keeping everyone's ideas organized without having to sort through email/group chat histories, and can be printed out by everyone so they're all on the same page during the actual panel. I've used that in the past and it's been very useful (at least, when the panelists could be bothered to stay in touch, but that's a whole other matter), especially for someone like me who tends to get stage fright and forget anything to be said if it's not right there in front of me. ^^ Agreed. Basically, in our panel last year (Final Fantasy) us panelists started out by stating which games we'd played/preferred to get a feel for what coverage we had knowledge-wise and know which games/dlc/things would be in someone's blind spot. This kind of thing has a general application as a starting point to know what most panelists can comfortably talk about without being out of depth. One other thing that is coming to mind that is a good thing to do is to operate on the built in assumption that people are generally shy/reluctant to some degree and likely to participate a little less than expected (mileage may vary depending on the panel's demographics). Even if you're wrong and people are participating like mad, it's better to be over-prepared than not. That being considered, I think two good rules of thumb are to- 1. Not to rely on asking a lot of questions that are too narrow in scope where it prevents a bulk of the crowd from answering, either because they're not familiar and/or don't have an opinion on it. 2. Keep questions concise and clear because sometimes people don't answer what they don't understand since it leaves them open to a 'wrong' answer (hello anxiety). So while it's good to have a few specific questions to keep things from being too broad/vague, it's probably a good idea to have a bunch of open-to-all open-ended questions that can get you varied responses from and be able to engage with more of your audience (sometimes that might lead to tangent discussions too). |
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Post by starglazeddonut on Jan 23, 2018 18:52:20 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice! I find myself to be a sort of overplanner as I need details about everything to be comfortable (probably should try to change that). I really suck at public speaking and presentations aahhahahhahhaa........
Also some of my co-panelists last year went MIA until right before the con or just sucked at communication. So what are the preferred methods ya'll tend to use when planning? Like do ya'll stick with email or do you move onto other platforms like Messenger, Skype, etc.? (Yo I feel like such a noob here) And if someone is lacking in the communication dept. what do ya'll do?
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Post by undertheinfluence on Jan 23, 2018 19:00:29 GMT -5
Planning for my panel this year (In the hopes that we do end up getting accepted).
I've talked to the current other 2 members and we plan on meeting up 3x a month over the course of time until Anime North preparing and polishing our powerpoint and notes.
I think the most important point in building a successful panel is preparation so that as others have pointed out; you won't need to rely on the crowd.
Practice your presentation to a group of friends and if you have no friends do it in front of the mirror. This way when the time comes you'll be more confident in what you're saying and you will likely be more enthusiastic. Not to mention getting over the stage freight.
Make sure to time yourself in order to get an idea of how long the panel will be.
Research your topic further. We can never stop learning, so the more you know, the better off you will be.
Lastly, keep it light hearted and fun. This isn't like high school where you had to give a speech on some random topic you didn't really wanna talk about.
You're literally volunteering to talk about how amazing X or Y favorite is and teach others about it!
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Post by crownowa on Jan 23, 2018 19:11:09 GMT -5
Planning for my panel this year (In the hopes that we do end up getting accepted). I've talked to the current other 2 members and we plan on meeting up 3x a month over the course of time until Anime North preparing and polishing our powerpoint and notes. I think the most important point in building a successful panel is preparation so that as others have pointed out; you won't need to rely on the crowd. Practice your presentation to a group of friends and if you have no friends do it in front of the mirror. This way when the time comes you'll be more confident in what you're saying and you will likely be more enthusiastic. Not to mention getting over the stage freight. Make sure to time yourself in order to get an idea of how long the panel will be. Do you mean you're preparing for a presentation? Prepping for panels is more about knowing the material and directing a discussion with the other panelists and the audience, not so much on practicing what you're planning to discuss like you would a speech or presentation. I do think that panelists should be aware of how much time they spend looking at their notes compared to making eye contact with the audience, though. |
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Post by undertheinfluence on Jan 23, 2018 19:20:52 GMT -5
My point still stands. I think if they can come up with some points they want to talk about and discuss it a month before the panel, it will help keep the conversation flowing on the actual date.
You can also tell if you have enough material to cover or if you think you'll need more.
The eye contact is a good point too!
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Post by richardthebald on Jan 23, 2018 19:30:42 GMT -5
It has been mentioned a few times already, but creating a Google Doc and linking it to your fellow panelists can provide an easily accessible place to discuss ideas, outlines and so forth, and doesn't rely on everyone being available at the same time, for an extended period of time (we all have busy lives, afterall).
I've also used FB messenger, but that does necessitate that you friend other panelists (or at least one other panelsist who can friend the others), but this only works if you're willing to do that, and not everyone is (which is perfectly reasonable, imho).
It is worth considering, however, that you may not have the opportunity to plan with your other panelsist at all, again not everyone has the time to do so, so being prepared as an individual panelist is paramount. What happens if you're the only panelsist who shows up (or maybe you're one of two). Know your stuff, enough that you can talk about any given (or maybe your area of expertise/focus) aspect of the topic for 10 minutes, but it'd be worthwhile to be able to do more. Just, on the flip side, also recognize that you may not get to talk about everything you want to.
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