Oh, shi--!

[jpskewedthrone]

I just realized that not only did the coordinators at Albacon put me on 4 panels, far exceeding my wildest expectations . . . but I'm the moderator on ALL FOUR PANELS. Including the one that Terry Brooks is on.

Um . . . I think I'd better write down some notes. Any suggestions from people out there on what good qualities are in moderators? Anything I should definitely NOT do?

Comments

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

interrupt big name speakers like Terry Brooks
have a shot of something strong prior to the panels

I have no clue, but hey, it sounded good to me (sarah m, btw)

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

Don't hog the panel. Some moderators feel that it's THEIR panel, and so start every topic with a long diatribe about how THEY feel, with a few minutes for other panelists to chime in with agreement/disagreement before it's on to the next topic.

Don't let anyone run away with the panel. On panels with big-name people, the other panelists will often cede their time to the big name person, saying things like, "I'm sure the audience is more interested in X's opinion" or "X knows more about that than me" but they should always be given the opportunity to respond to every question. And just because someone's a big name (or, even worse, isn't a big name but has a big head) does not give them the right to ramble on and on. Try to keep everyone on track. Especially, cut off anyone who is overly impressed with his own wit.

Have a bunch of questions written out before the panel, that you can ask to get things started, or to keep things rolling. If you want the panel to go in a certain direction, state that at the beginning. But be willing to let things go off on interesting tangents and explore things that the audience and other panelists find intriguing.

Remember your name tent card, and your cover art to display during your introduction.

You can also meet up with other panelists beforehand and ask them what they'd like to talk about. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn't.

[everyonesakitty.livejournal.com]

wow, that's fantastic! I hope this is great promotion for your books. I'm sure you'll do a fabulous job. :D

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Show up on time.

Don't start the panel off by saying "I have no idea why I'm here or what I'm doing" -- it insults the audience who cared enough about the topic to come listen.

Do make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk, but recognize that all speakers are not created equal. If Speakers A-C are offering fascinating insights while every time Speaker D opens their mouth they say "Well I don't know much about what Speaker A said, but I can tell you all about my not-related-at-all-to-this-topic novel since it's all about me" then it's time to gently shut off Speaker D and spend more time listening to the rest of the panel.

If your panel has wandered hopelessly off track but everyone is having lots of fun, then go for it. Off track & fun is better than strictly sticking to the program description while putting your audience to sleep.

Finally, remember to introduce yourself, hold up your book cover, and if you are doing a reading, announce the time of the reading at every panel you are on and beg people to come. Don't be afraid to say "This is my first reading at a con so I'd really appreciate having a few friendly faces in the audience."

[barbarienne.livejournal.com]

Jennifer and pbray both gave great advice. I second what they say.

New input: I've moderated a bunch of panels, and they keep making me moderator again, so I must be pretty good at it. This is what I do:

1. Have a bunch of questions prepared in advance. These should not be yes/no questions; they should be "Do you think..." or "Why does..." sort of questions.

1.a. Have a pen handy for quickie notes. Sometimes someone says something really interesting that you want to get back to, but can't follow up on immediately.

2. Start by letting each of the panellists introduce themselves. Just start at one end and work your way across the table. Don't forget to introduce yourself. Your introduction should be something like, "I'm Joshua Palmatier. My first novel, a fantasy titled The Skewed Throne [prop up book or jacket] comes out from DAW in January [XX]. By the way, I have a reading at 3pm tomorrow, hint hint."

Where I put [XX] is where you mention why the book got you on this panel, if applicable. Frex, if it's a panel on flashbacks, you can say, "...comes out from DAW in January, and it's full of flashbacks."

3. Don't be afraid to control the panel, but do it gently. You are the moderator--your job is to keep the panel interesting and varied. If someone is running on and on and is boring, interrupt them when they pause between sentences.

My favorite interruption ploys:

a) "That's very interesting. [Other Panelist], what do you think about that?"

b) "I'm sure we'd like to hear more about that, but I think we should take a couple of questions from the audience first. That lady's been waiting very patiently..." [call on lady in audience]

I particularly like ploy (a) if a panelist is being kind of quiet. Cuts off the blabbermouth and encourages the quiet one to speak, all at the same time. Ploy (b) works best in the second half of the allotted time.

And remember, it's hard to insult the blabbermouths by cutting them off. If they realize "He's cutting me off because I'm talking too much" then they can hardly take offense. If they are too insensitive to realize they are babbling, they're usually too insensitive to get insulted. It's really a funny dynamic.

So, what are your topics?

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, the topics. I've got one on religion in fantasy, another on how to make your writing your own (and not copies of those that inspired you to write), another on what's more important--character, plot, etc, and the last one is on breaking into the market, obviously the most appropriate for me right now.

The weird thing will be talking about not copying those that inspired you and creating your own work . . . when Brooks is someone who inspried me originally and he's on the panel.

my two cents

[mistress-sin.livejournal.com]

step 1: take deep cleansing breaths.

step 2: be yourself and listen to the advice of the people above me.

step 3: if all else fails, threaten to release the Kracken that you have hidden in your pocket.

if that fails . . . um . . . beat them with a wet noodle?

i got nothing.