Pan
nel Presen
ntation G
Guideliness Updated May 2012
Thank you
u for agreeingg to participatte in a NICSA Educational program! We appreciate your supportt and participattion! Panel prresentations are a great w
way to pack a bunch of info
ormation in to
o a short timee frame and
d are key to the success off NICSA’s face
e‐to‐face meeetings and weebinars. ould be dynamic, entertaining, funny, aand brave. If yyou treat you
ur panel like aa lecture, you
ur Panels sho
audience will act like b
bored studentts. But treat yyour panel lik e a performaance and yourr audience wiill be grateful. Length
h and Panel Size The ideal length for a p
panel discussion is one hour. The ideal number of paarticipants is 2‐3 plus a moderato
or. Moderrator The key to
o an effective
e panel is the moderator. TThe moderatoor keeps a tigght rein on the speakers, a close eye on the audience an
nd a firm grassp on the top
pic. NICSA willl provide mo
oderator guideelines for you
u to help you sselect and infform the mod
derator for yo
our session. moderator is someone wh
ho has moderated panels i n the past, un
nderstands th
he subject maatter, The best m
knows a b
bit about the panelists, and
d realizes that he/she is thhere to guide the conversaation ‐ not to be a content expert within the presentattion. The mod
derator is theere to make the speakers llook good and
d make sure
e that they co
onnect with the audience. Moderators also need an innate sensee of pacing (how long each panelist should talk, and how long she
e should dediccate to each ttopic before moving on) aand a weaving in que
estions from tthe audiencee. smooth approach to w
Choosiing a Mod
derator There is a very delicate
e balance between a mode
erator who taalks too much
h and one who doesn't talkk enough. TThe moderato
or who talks ttoo much typically believess that she sho
ould contribu
ute as much to the panel as tthe panelists, and is as much of an expe
ert as they aree, and wants to convey that to the audience.. The moderator who doessn't talk enou
ugh lets the innmates run th
he asylum: some panelists will go on longg jags, discou
ursing on topics that are no
ot related to tthe panel at aall. Journalistts, analysts, in
ndustry "guru
us," and consu
ultants can al l make good moderators, since they'ree accustomed to asking probing quesstions. Be clear w
with your mod
derator that yyou are entru
usting them too run the sho
ow, but that yyou'd like them
m to spend a fiixed amount of time (usuaally no more tthan five minuutes) introducing the speaakers and teeing up the discussion before bringing in the perspectives of the panelists. It's also a good idea to let your moderator know that they have the authority to politely cut off or redirect speakers if they stray. But an experienced moderator will already know that. Moderator Functions: 
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Coordinating the content of the presentation and communication with the panelists Introducing speakers Moderating the conversation and question‐and‐answer sessions Ensuring the learning objectives for the course are met Keeping the course on time, energetic and lively Provide any “housekeeping” information to attendees Choosing Speakers When selecting speakers for a presentation, please ensure: 
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Diversity in representation from the industry Diversity of NICSA member organizations (fund companies, service providers etc.) Strive for one non‐member presenter (to encourage their company to participate and become involved in NICSA) Developing the Presentation: A NOTE ABOUT AV/POWERPOINT Before you use PowerPoint during a panel presentation, really think it through: In most cases, panels should focus on the discussion and interaction between the panelists. Presentations should only be used in these situations: They add value by visualizing a conceptual concept or graphically represent industry stats that preface the event. Have a mental checklist: Is this going to add value? Is this truly necessary? If you do choose to have slides, no more than 5 slides per panelist is recommended. Interaction is the lifeblood of a panel presentation Panel presentations are designed to be interactive discussion forums between representatives of organizations with differing/unique perspectives on the subject matter. Panel presentations are NOT multiple independent presentations by each speaker with a few questions at the end. For an hour‐long panel discussion, you should allocate at least fifteen minutes at the end for questions. Better yet, address audience questions throughout the presentation. Twenty or thirty minutes is better, if you think the audience will have lots of questions and if the panel is more educational in nature. The Q&A period is CRITICAL to the success of the presentation; without one (or with an abbreviated one), it sends the message that the audience is there to be passive listeners, rather than active participants. Panel presentations should: Involve the audience: Moderators should allocate approximately 30% of the duration of the panel to questions from the audience. Any more, and the audience will run out of high‐quality questions. Any less and the audience will feel like it did not participate. Just in case, always have a few good questions in your hip pocket just in case no one in the audience has a question. Or, even better, “seed” the audience with questions in advance. Let the panelists talk to each other: Don’t over structure the panel by leading into a moderator question and response pattern alone, allow for some healthy banter between the panelists, and let them chatter, jab, and joke among each other. Not everyone on the panel needs to weigh in on every question; try to get as many audience questions into the Q&A period as possible.