Panel Problems

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Let's talk about panels. Specifically, problems with panels. I know that there was a panel ABOUT bad panels (I think I may have been the one to suggest it), but I wasn't able to make that one due to a conflict.

But I'm probably not the only one to notice that some, even many panels...well...there's no way to say it nicely...suck. For various reasons. And please note, I've been a panelist at Arisia for practically forever.

Among the problems I've seen:

1. The monologing panelist. There are three, four, even five or six people on the panel, but this panelist insists on doing 90% of the speaking. Nothing must get between this person's ears and the precious, precious sound of their own voice.

2. The bored panelist. S/he's not interested in the topic, but feels free to talk about some other subject that s/he IS interested in. Too bad for audience members who expected the panel to actually cover the listed topic.

3. The audience member who won't shut up. We've all seen this one, and it's painful.

Yeep, look at the time! I'll come back to this in comments. Please add your own ideas.

Comments

[cheshyre]

Gripes are often easy. Can we also make a place for complimenting things that went well?

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Sure, go ahead.

This isn't a gripe, though; as I said, I'm an old-time panelist myself. My concern is to provide a good show for the audience, preferably an informative one.

I will also admit that I have sometimes been guilty of one or another of the sins I listed in the original post. Except for #3.

There does seem to be a tradition of hostility on the part of some Arisians towards anything perceived as criticism. "If you didn't like it, why don't YOU volunteer?" is their usual response.

That bothers me, because it A) assumes that the person making the comment/complaint HASN'T volunteered (often not true), and B) it works against the best interests of the con by silencing or demonizing constructive criticism.

This isn't particularly directed at you, cheshyre. It's just something I've been thinking about for a while.

[cheshyre]

I understand what you're saying, but I generally prefer to see a broader "lessons learned" format, rather than separating out "what went well" from "what went poorly" Because (a) this softens the blows, and (b) often the answers to the former can help resolve the latter, thus (c) making the discussion more productive.

For example, one thing I considered adding to your list was panels that ignore the program description, particularly when it's the panel description that drew me into the room.

But as I thought more on this, I realized I attended two such panels. One I walked out of because the discussion was so completely not what I was led to expect it became something I wasn't interested in.
But the other diverged just as much and turned into a rollicking good time -- probably better than if we had hewed strictly to the original description.

See what I mean?

[penk.livejournal.com]

The key to a good panel is picking a good panel moderator. You can't always pull together 4-5 good public speakers, but just get one good moderator, and you can really help things out.

My panel went great, we had good people and a good moderator.

[bridgetminerva.livejournal.com]

It would be great and helpful if you could send the above to program@arisia.org. The Div head is not on LJ and would like to see this. In that email could you list the actual panels you refer to.

The only way to make Arisia better is to define it's plus's and minus'

Bridget, One of the program people

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nicolai_/]

3a: The moderator (or perhaps someone else on the panel) must be the most assertive person in the room, or it will all go bad quickly as some audience member's ego derails the event.

4. The panelist who hasn't planned what to talk about - even if you know your subject, you need to work out what to talk about today, or have a menu of topics.

(The good panels I went to included "How to spot the Fen" (sufficiently assertive moderator and good set of topics ready to provoke discussion) and "How to get laid at a con" (sufficiently assertive moderator, panel of people with stuff to talk about)).

[fireheart.livejournal.com]

It might also help if they moderators are told how assertive they should be. I was at a panel where almost every audience member who spoke felt the need to recount their life story. The moderator was pretty good at keeping them from going on too long, but when someone monologs for 10 minutes in a 45 minute panel, that is quite a hit. It looked like he wanted to shut them up, but he didn't want to be seen as a dictator.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Um...that might have been me. :D

[fireheart.livejournal.com]

You may have done the same thing, but the panel I refer to was not you.

I only went to two panels this weekend (plus the Sunday night panel that I ran) due to the demands of being a dealer.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

I'd like to say that these are perrenial problems to *all* cons, not just Arisia. Part of the trick in preventing it is picking good panelists and a strong moderator; having the panelists meet in the Green Room beforehand to discuss the panel (or via email, at least); and putting people on the panels they are interested in. Feedback to the Program people will help improve the future program.

[mycroft.livejournal.com]

Not to repeat, but: this is where it often helps to have a good moderator. You need someone who can politely tell people to shut up and keep the panel on track.

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I kind of lost that ability somewhere last year. I was off my game as a panelist this year, I think.

It's hard to quell a fan without hurting him/her, and I'm too soft-hearted. I'll work on that.

I'll start by finding some bunnies to kick. :D

Seriously, I'll work on it.

no, no pain necessary

[wren13.livejournal.com]

You don't have to hurt them, just verbally cut them off at the knees, preferably with something relevant that moves the topic along. I tend to use comments like "Sounds good to me, next?" or "Yup, I agree, any dissenters?" to get different view points. I will also purposely call on folk related to the panelist/audience member in some way if I know the crowd well enough, to get different viewpoints.
Of course, studying ahead of time helps alot. Sometimes I bring props.

Re: no, no pain necessary

[bobquasit.livejournal.com]

Actually, I study ahead too - more than most panelists, I think. I also try to bring handouts, with the requirement that they be useful and informative. Any leftovers go into the free rack, where they usually are snapped up pretty quickly.

I do like the idea of panelists being able to get together, or at least confer by email, BEFORE the con. The email thing shouldn't be too hard to arrange, huh? Maybe next year.

Re: no, no pain necessary

[measi.livejournal.com]

That would help a lot, actually. Being able to think about different topics related to the panel and actually be able to put together a more coherant position or example would make the panel much more effective and interesting, I think.

Organization and collaboration makes for the best panels.