Preparing to Speak on a Panel

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Panels are a great way to promote your book or expertise and connect with professionals in your industry or your audience. But it can be tricky to know how to start preparing for a panel, especially if the topic is not exactly in line with your usual talking points.

I’ve spoken on many panels as a media expert, author, and LinkedIn Learning Instructor.

And they’re always a rewarding experience because I do a set of things to get ready every time.

Here’s my list of things I do to prepare for a panel.

1) Ask Questions

It’s important to know how to prepare (or adjust) your talking points for the event you are attending. Most organizers will have a meeting to walk you through how the panel will be run and the information you need to know about checking in.

Here’s a list of things you should know by the end of this meeting:

Who is the audience?How long is the panel discussion? (And when am I expected to arrive?)
How will tech work? When will the tech check be?
Who will be moderating? What is the moderating style?
What questions will be asked?
Will the audience ask questions?
Will the event be recorded and will we get photos and videos afterwards??

If a meeting isn’t set up, send an email and ask these questions!

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2) Preparing Your Talking Points

Once you have the answers to the above questions, you can start preparing your talking points.

Look at the questions and write down bullet points for each one. Keep your responses short so you can remember them. And practice saying your answers out loud!

Include mentions of your book, course or whatever you are promoting in your talking points as well. Planning that ahead of time helps you remember to promote yourself and your projects or direct people to your newsletter!

Plus, make sure you practice! The day before I spoke at the “Building Empathy Across Teams Everywhere” panel at LinkedIn Talent Connect, I sat down with my producer/writer Ali and practiced what I would say for each answer. We worked out some good examples I could use and stories I could tell. Having someone who is familiar with your work to talk through your talking points is priceless. I felt completely ready after our practice run.

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3) Following Up

The panel doesn’t end with the event itself. Make sure to plan ahead to figure out how you’re going to repurpose content from the event.

Ask someone to take pictures and videos for you on social media. And grab the tags of the organization, moderator, and your fellow panelists to cross promote afterwards!

After getting off the stage jot down ideas for upcoming blog posts or videos. It’s always a good idea to go with topics that garnered the most questions or excitement from the audience or panelists.

For more on presenting yourself in the media, check out my NEW LinkedIn Learning course Media Skills for Executive Leaders.