Panel Discussions Book

Panel Discussions

The ultimate guide to moderating and appearing on panel discussions - By Penny Haslam
Penny Haslam - Panel Discussions - Award

Panel Discussions - start reading now: ‘Hello and welcome to this book. Thank you for coming – you look like a fabulous audience, I have to say! I’m Penny Haslam and I’m delighted to be here right now. 

AND I am really looking forward to sharing my experience to help YOU become a successful moderator who knows exactly what to do when you run your own panel discussions. You’re going to get lots of ideas for both face-to-face panels, in person, and when you’re moderating or taking part in a Zoom version. Other online communication platforms are available. (Cheeky smile. Audience laughter.) 

A bit of background about me before we get started... I’ve been moderating panels for about 15 years. I’m also a professional speaker and I run my own training and coaching business called Bit Famous. It helps people communicate with confidence. 

In a moment, I’ll introduce our brilliant panellists who bring their passion, expertise and sparkling wit with them... No pressure! (Audience laughter.) 

Keep reading the sample chapter...

Three great reasons to buy Panel Discussions, the book by Penny Haslam

Prepare for success and drive a dynamic panel discussion, as a moderator.

Panel discussions form part of almost every event, from huge conferences to small networking meetings, both in-person and online. So, if you’re taking part as a moderator or panellist, it makes sense to learn how to go about it from a professional. 

Confidently share your expertise and insight as a relatable and memorable panellist.

Panel discussions are fantastic opportunities to get known, share your message, enthuse or help others and connect with the people who matter to you.

Engage your audience and speak so people listen, both from the stage and through the camera lens.

 Whether you’ve got experience or are new to the role, this book covers every aspect of panel discussions, so you can be a roaring success and have fun. Includes practical checklists, scripts and planning guides to download for use straight away.

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Panel Discussions - Read the book reviews

Panel Discussions Book - Mike Haigh

"Panel Discussions is a brilliant book, and I wish I’d had it a few years ago! It’s an extremely practical guide to taking part in panels. "

Mike Haigh, Executive Chair, Mott MacDonald
Panel Discussions Book - Jacqui Harper

"Thoughtful, engaging and inspiring. Every time we speak we are auditioning for leadership opportunities and it is particularly true for panel discussions. "

Jacqui Harper MBE, author, presentation skills expert
Panel Discussions Book - Carol Irwin

"It’s a fantastic, fun and completely usable guide to help you shine in your next panel event and I highly recommend it."

Carol Irwin, Strategy & Operations Lead, Dell Technologies
Deb Oxley review of Panel Discussions Book

"I love Penny’s plain-talking and authentic approach. This book is all you need if you’re new to panel discussions."

Deb Oxley, OBE
Michael Hepple review of Panel Discussions Book

"Fun, factual and fantastic. Learn how to shine as a panellist or moderator with this brilliant guide by the princess of panels."

Michael Heppell, author of How to Be Brilliant
Simone Roche review of Panel Discussions Book

"From how to prepare as a panel facilitator, to how to get invited, this book will provide you with both the theoretical and practical knowledge you need to succeed."

Simone Roche MBE, Founder Northern Power Women
Susanne Tedrick review of Panel Discussions Book

"Panel Discussions is a wonderful resource, providing brilliant guidance and strategies for readers looking to not only facilitate successful panel discussions, but to elevate their moderation skills to the next level. "

Susanne Tedrick, author of Women of Colour in Tech
Michael Taylor review of Panel Discussions Book

"An invaluable guide for anyone who wants to get the absolute best out of a panel discussion - you can absolutely trust this book to help you get it right every time."

Michael Taylor, founder, Discuss Manchester

Panel Discussions - By Penny Haslam (sample chapter)

‘Hello and welcome to this book. Thank you for coming – you look like a fabulous audience, I have to say! I’m Penny Haslam and I’m delighted to be here right now. 

AND I am really looking forward to sharing my experience to help YOU become a successful moderator who knows exactly what to do when you run your own panel discussions. You’re going to get lots of ideas for both face-to-face panels, in person, and when you’re moderating or taking part in a Zoom version. Other online communication platforms are available. (Cheeky smile. Audience laughter.) 

A bit of background about me before we get started... I’ve been moderating panels for about 15 years. I’m also a professional speaker and I run my own training and coaching business called Bit Famous. It helps people communicate with confidence. 

In a moment, I’ll introduce our brilliant panellists who bring their passion, expertise and sparkling wit with them... No pressure! (Audience laughter.) 

But first let’s find out more about YOU, the audience. How are you feeling about panel discussions? Put your hand up if you’ve never taken part in a panel but would love to know how to do it. That’s most of you. Now, put your hand up if you have taken part but would like to know how to be exceptionally brilliant at it. 

So that’s all of you covered. Well in that case, you’re going to love this book – so let’s get started by meeting the panellists. First of all, sitting on my right is...’ 

Ha! Not really. It’s just me writing and you reading. But did you feel the energy? 

And that is how I begin most of my scripts when I moderate a panel discussion. It’s how I start the ball rolling and get the room energised. 

Because I’ve been moderating for quite some time now, I’ve got a lot to share with you – including how to write a script. I’ve also been training and coaching people on the subject for several years. 

Taking part in a panel discussion is a great opportunity to ‘be seen’ and is enormously valuable to your career or business. When you take part in a panel, you get to shake hands with the whole audience in one go. Time efficient or what? 

Whatever your role on a panel, you need to display high levels of confidence. Often you have to assert yourself with a line-up of experts and bring the audience along with you as a self-assured performer. 

So, these are jobs like no other, combining live stage presence and performance with a nimble on-the-spot navigation of topics and questions. It’s also nigh-on impossible to compare how you do it with the way other people might do it, because you’re alone in this role at the time of doing it. 

But don’t let any of that put you off, because it is possible to develop your way of doing things and polish your performance, the more you do it. And it can be thrilling and rewarding. 

My primary aim with this ‘how to’ handbook is to share my years of experience with you, my pro tips and techniques, so you too shall go to the panel discussion with ability and knowledge. 

My secondary aim is to rid the world of boring panels. Seriously. As a professional at this, I strongly believe that panel discussion should be lively, energetic, inspiring, relatable, interesting and, above all, useful. 

If we can have conversations that stimulate and invigorate human thinking, we can shape and challenge ourselves. Otherwise, what’s the point if, during the discussion, the people listening are considering new and exciting ways to organise their sock drawer? 

All of this is very much in my blood after 20 years as a business journalist at the BBC. There, I was responsible for making programmes that would enrich the lives and brains of listeners and viewers in some way. 

The BBC’s big aims, first laid out in the 1920s by its first director-general, Lord Reith, are to educate, inform and entertain. He was putting the broadcaster’s early audiences of radio listeners and, eventually, television viewers, first. 

Those aims have stood the test of time, so we may as well go with them too. Think of them when you next moderate a panel discussion. We need to have a vision, a standard to reach for, every time we are in front of people. 

Educate, inform and entertain – wherever there is an audience. This book will help you to do that. So, let’s get you skilled up in the art of taking part in panel discussions. 

It’s time to step into your spotlight... 

Penny Haslam

Order the book now!