6 Tips for Effective Discussion Facilitation - DEAS 2023

 

@Digital Energy Asia Summit (DEAS) 2023: 7-8 June, KL Convention Centre

Panel Discussion - “Process Safety and Cyber Security: Convergence towards Asset Protection” 

Alhamdulillah, I have been granted the opportunity to contribute as moderator of the plenary discussion at the DEAS 2023 conference. 

Being a moderator for a discussion in front of a live audience is always anxiety-inducing tough work, especially when we need to facilitate topics we aren’t very familiar with, such as what I had to handle in this case. 

Here are sometips and strategies I implemented to improve and enhance my role towards becoming an effective moderator: 

1. Preparation, preparation, preparation - I’m not an impromptu guy, and I never come to a panel session unprepared. Get the panelists’ bio, get help from subject matter experts to prepare the scripts and questions in advance (focusing on specific target panelists we point them to), inform the panelists before the event, spend some extra get to know the panelists so they are comfortable talking to you. Get a feel of the conference context: Come early to assess the venue and setup, listen to the other panel discussions and paper presentations, gauge the audience and presenters. And last but not least: rehearse!

2. Always have the audience in mind - “if you want to impress people, make things complicated. If you want to help people, keep it simple”. As a rule, I always keep things simple and grounded so people have actionable takeaway points. Always use practical real-world analogy which laymen can relate to, while keep a the tone of an excited, curious student. My favorite approach is, “Enlighten me: I always thought that (provide layman perspective here)”. 

Finally, minimize the use of complex terms and jargons. The mark of a true expert is the ability to keep it simple. In Einstein’s words: “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”.

3. Be ready to adjust and pivot - this is perhaps the most anxiety-inducing aspect of being a panel moderator. To me, the essence is point #1: be prepared. Once you’re very familiar with the core structure, overall message, and panelists' expertise and backgrounds, then you’ll have enough confidence and agility to shift things around as the discussion progresses.

4. Active Listening - To be a good moderator, we need to be more than just the “guy in between questions” who waits for the previous panelist to finish their points before moving to the next. A great moderator is able to relate the discussion points being raised, string the points together, make good callbacks and references, and form a cohesive message from what was discussed. And the only way we can achieve this is through Listening. Listen attentively, look out for interesting little threads that you can pick out, complement, magnify and relate, or seek clarification. 

And if you can’t find anything interesting? Just move on to the next question in the script!

5. Add levity and humor - Look at the title. Process Safety and Cyber Security: Convergence towards Asset Protection. Sounds dry, right? With very technical subjects like this, especially for a session lasting over 1 hour long, there’s always a risk of the discussion dragging on, and losing people’s interest. So, I always look for ways to interject some light-hearted banter and remarks to keep things engaging, exciting and add a degree of unpredictability, for that good ol’ dose of dopamine. 

6. Complement, don’t dominate - It’s always important to keep in mind, that the key is to make the panelists the star of the show, not the moderator. The real input should come from the experts - our primary role is to help retain audience attention by keeping the discussion alive and engaging. I’ve witnessed some forums where the moderator steals the show - and while that may sometimes look impressive, it is also a bit frustrating, when that dominance overshadows the panel of experts and sucks away their time & opportunity to share knowledge. 

Hope that helps!

What do you think? Any other ideas and strategies for effective discussion facilitation I should know of? Do share!