How many panel sessions have you attended that were worth your time? I bet your answer is "not many." Why? This post from Scott Berkun's Speaker Confessions to which I link below addresses most of the major problems. And cites some remedies.
Almost every panel I have attended over the decades that was beneficial to attendees was the result of lots of pre-panel planning and discussion. Of course, this prep time is one of the remedies mentioned in the post.
From "Why panel sessions suck (and how to fix them)":
Most training conferences in most industries resort to what’s called a panel session. This is where 3 to 5 experts get up on stage and each one, in turn, bores the audience to death.
Why do panels still happen? One reason. They’re sooooo tempting.
In theory a panel is jam packed with goodness, as it gets more people on stage at the same time, creates something real and spontaneous, and all things being equal more interesting stuff should happen than your average lecture.
Why doesn’t it work? Here’s why:
Click to read the rest.
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