Guy Kawasaki has spent many hours of his life serving as a panelist at conference and conventions. Here's his summary.
Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm. He gives sixty keynote speeches a year and doesn’t even keep count of the panels he’s appeared on or moderated.
His latest article at http://www.alwayson-network.com/ provides ten tips for being a better panelist. These tips are sooo spot on that they should be printed out by every panel moderator and given to the participants ahead of time.
10. Provide a way to get in touch with you.
9. Never say, “I agree with what the other panelists have said.”
8. Answer the question posed, but never limit yourself to the question posed.
7. Make casual conversation. You’re on stage, but act like you’re not.
6. Don’t look at the moderator.
5. Never look bored.
4. Err on the side of being plain and simple.
3. Tell the truth—especially when the truth is obvious.
2. Entertain, don’t just inform.
1. Control your introduction.
I'm going to be on the software tools panel at VSLive this coming February. Looks like I've got some work to do.