Five top tips for panel appearances. Saying yes to being part of a panel discussion is a clever way to shake hands with the whole room in one go – the audience gets to hear about what you do, your business and how you help people. And if your performance is good, you’ll be memorable, likeable – and might make a business connection with someone in the audience, if not immediately, then later down the line.

But what can you do to really stand out as a brilliant panellist?

As a seasoned, professional panel chair here are Penny’s five top tips for a successful performance on a panel:

1. How long have you got?

Working out how much ‘air-time’ you have in which to speak is crucial – so you know how much you can say. For example, if the discussion is 30 minutes and you’re sharing that time with three others (and a panel chair), then you have just six minutes speaking time. Not long! Audience Q&A might be in addition to that time, but find out exactly what the structure is beforehand. Eliminate waffle and get straight to your point.

2. Use real life examples 

How many talking shops must we sit through? Blah, blah, ”…as individuals we should be doing this/our industry is focusing on that…”, blah, blah. Liven things up with real life, interesting examples from your own working world. It can illustrate the type of people/clients you work with, how you help, and you can reveal your successes and failures, because you are a real person after all. Examples give everyone something to relate to.

Avoid “Titanicdotes” where you think your story is a good idea, start the journey, only to find it’s too long, sinks and goes nowhere. Rehearse your stories so they are pithy and make an impact.