12 VERY Easy Ways to Turn Off Your Audience During a Panel Discussion

We’ve all been there. The panel moderator or a panelist says or does something that turns us off. Instead of leaning into the conversation, we lean out. Check our email. Respond to a text. Daydream. Anything to escape their audacity to be so rude.

Here’s my list of very easy ways to turn off your audience during a panel discussion:

1. “So sorry! We’ve run out of time so we’ll just skip the audience Q&A.”
2. “It’s like what we talked about during our prep call.”
3. Panelists talk but don’t say anything of value.
4. “Is the microphone on?  Can you hear me?”
5. “I’ll echo what she said…”
6. Panelists talk about anything BUT the published topic.
7. “I’d like to introduce our fifteen panelists.”
8. “In addition, I have just one or two more things to say about that.”
9. “There is an important study somewhere, I should have looked it up, that says…”
10. Ignore the audience.
11. “We’re running overtime, but we’ll be done in ten minutes.”
12. “You need to buy my book/product/service NOW.”

I am sure there are others…any you would like to add to the list?

Kristin Arnold MBA, CSP, CPF, CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame | Master, is a professional panel moderator and high stakes meeting facilitator who shares her best practices for interactive, interesting, and engaging panel presentations. She is the author of the award-winning book, Boring to Bravo: Proven Presentation Techniques to Engage, Involve and Inspire Audiences to Action.  

To order your copy of The Powerful Panelist: Everything You Need to Know to be a Capable and Confident Panelist in a Panel Discussion visit this link.

For more resources on moderating panel discussions, visit powerfulpanels.com/store. To have Kristin moderate your next panel, visit the Powerful Panels official website.