Making an Effective Panel

 There are various ways to make an effective panel.

  Preparation

• Get together to organize the panel early, divide up tasks, then meet again to coordinate the panel.
• Be sure you spend sufficient time preparing for your part after you have your first organizational meeting.
• Meet about a half an hour before class to review the presentation and be sure everyone is prepared.
• Have specific passages of texts to refer to, and know how to find them quickly.
• Have support for your interpretations: evidence, argument, external authority.
• Think through the use of supporting materials (e.g., blackboard, handouts) so that when you have to use them you know what you are doing.

  Performance

• Be interested in the subject. This will help make your participation more enjoyable and the audience more interested.
• Know the structure of the panel: who is doing what when. Stick to your topic/aspect of the panel. Have prepared some natural kind of transition from one panelists to another. Know when to move on to another topic of question.
• Engage each other with questions and with a respectful conflict of ideas.
• Be sure there is a balance in the participation of the panelists. Don’t let one or two students dominate. Don’t let one or two melt into the background.
• Engage the audience with questions.
• The panelists should keep some level of formality with the audience: they aren’t shooting the breeze with some buddies.
• Know when to end by keeping track of time and feeling the flow of the discussion. Have some prepared conclusion so you don’t just abruptly stop.
• Pace: Talk in a slow, relaxed, and clear manner. Talking too fast or too quietly is a common problem.
• When reading quotes from a text, read slowly. If the students have the text, give the page number and the location on the page and give them a moment to turn to it.
• Keep in eye contact with the audience. Don’t look down at your notes all the time.
• Come to teach the audience.

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