What Should a person do if they are hosting a Panel
Because pannel submission was recently open, I started to wonder, what are the steps of hosting a panel? Can any one who has hosted one in the past give some tips or suggestions to some one who has no idea how to host one or get it accepted as a panel? LLike what should one bring, how to get the 'ball rolling' on a activity in a panel.
Thanks!
One more point: Bring a watch. Your panel ends 10 minutes before the hour. It takes that long to clear people out of a room, get the audience in for the next panel and give the following panelists time to set up. If your time slot is 1:00-2:00, in reality that means 1:00-1:50.
However, many panels don't quite 'end' when the time approaches, so it's entirely possible for some to wander over as a huge mob to the zoo and continue there. Other times, such as the Avians panel at MFF this year, we were supposed to get done at 5, but we were still talking, and after finding that the room literally was not used until 1PM the next day, we kinda stuck around for an extra 45 minutes. (For reference, Kage, are overruns like that allowed at AC if the room is not needed?)
If the room is indeed not scheduled, then we do not mind overruns. If the room is scheduled and the next panel does not start on time, then it starts a cascade effect as each subsequent panel starts late (and inevitably, later and later), until by evening things are half an hour or more late, and then the chairman, who is an obsessive-compulsive about timeliness, has a hissyfit and orders Programming to track back to the original panel that ran late and asks to speak to the person who ran it.
Thanks for all the advice!
Im not hosting a panel, but there was one that I enjoyed at AC2010, that I like to see happen again, and if no one else gets going, id do it. Namely the "Gathering of Dragons" But I had no idea on how to host one so I thought it would be a good idea to ask before attempting any thing. Also it gives other new people some place to look.
I hope we can have that on the schedule again this year. I'll be sending out emails to previous panelists within the next week or two to see if they're interested.
I've run/helped run a few tournaments in the past, and my advice is this: learn how to BS. Be flexible. Not everything will always go according to plan. Something will break, or someone won't show up. As long as you can keep going and keep things entertaining, people will have a good time. You can't always please everyone, so as much as you may want to, don't try to take EVERY SINGLE PERSON into consideration. There will always be sticks in the mud, but hopefully you won't be in a room full of them.
Find some friends who can help you out. Having more people involved might seem to make things complicated, but it can give one of you a change to rest/set things up while someone else maintains the flow. Not everyone is a charismatic public speaker, as much as they might want to be. There's no shame in letting someone else be your voice for a bit if you're stumbling over your words.
Learn to banter. If you can only reiterate things you've written down if someone asks you a question, they're better off reading a book. If I go to a panel about hybrids, I already know the basic concept of "animal + animal", you don't need to tell me this. And a basic description is probably in the con schedule. But don't speak over your audience's heads, not everyone will go into a panel knowing everything about it. Some go to learn, some go for entertainment, so mix it up.
As you happened to mention...
I was one of the two panelists who ran the Gathering of Dragons panel at AC2010. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
I'm going to offer the suggestion that if you think you want to do a panel, it doesn't hurt to plan ahead on topics, etc. And if you think you've planned enough...well, plan some more!
The suggestion about having friends to help co-run a panel is VERY good. I don't think last years panel would have went as well without my friend Blastdav (the other panelist) being there to back me up, as normally I am not much of a public speaker.
Also, being able to improvise (as Miltonius mentioned before) is good, as you never know what subjects may come up.
Do you plan on attending AC this year? :>
Sorry if it didnt sound right, but what i ment was that I dont know if I can go this year. I was hoping some one else would be able to host it. >.>
No, that's fine. I was checking. Right now I've got noone scheduled, but I'll put out a final call for panels I don't have that I'd like to have shortly.
Greetings, Ravtrag!
You have come to the right place for programming questions!
But I have one for you: ARE you hosting a panel at AC? The title of this topic sort of suggests that you are, but the body of your post does not sound so sure - or rather, that you are planning to, but do not know if you can, or how to go about getting it on the programming schedule. Perhaps this will help.
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A word of caution here - I am NOT part of the AnthroCon Staff, certainly not part of Event Programming. I have never hosted a panel at AnthroCon, nor even formally suggested one. My explanation provided below is based on expereince with other conventions, applied to what I could see of the process here, on this website. It may be a whole lot easier than what I Describe here. But the best guidance will be provided by the programming and event staff, after you have made your panel suggestion.
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Panels at Fan Conventions are part of the convention programming, and to actually present a panel using AnthroCon's programming space, the panel must first be suggested to the staff member in charge of programming, with details such as "What do you call it?" and "What is it about?" and "Who is running or moderating it?" and "Who are the Panelists?", and "What support (besides the use of the room) will it require?".
The best, quickest way to get the ball rolling on a potential panel (aside from posting your Question here) is to mouse over to the dark blue sidebar over on the left, drop down to the topic of "Guests and Events", and click on the link labelled "Suggest A Panel". This will take you to the form where you put in the details listed above, and pitch your panel suggestion.
The reasons for needing to suggest a panel first, is to best use the time and space that AnthroCon is paying for in the event venues. For example, there may already be a panel suggested on the same topic, but with a different name - or two panels with the same name, but about two completely different topics, or one may be a panel discussion, and one may be a "How-To" demonstration. Having redundant panels doesn't work out very well. If there is already a similar panel suggested and approved, then perhaps you might wish to volunteer as a panelist for that other panel.
It may be that your suggestion has been used for a panel in the past - and was found to not quite work, or not fit in with AnthroCon's general purpose, or was poorly attended - in which case, you will probably need to explain or demonstrate how your panel would be different, and be worth giving another try.
If your panel has been approved - and if you have volunteered to lead it, or at least be a main presenter/participant, then what and how you put on the panel will be up to you, and it will depend upon the actual nature of the panel - will it be a traditional "Panel of Experts (or at least, Authorities on the subject)", discussing the topic and being
heardedmanipulatedguided by a moderator? Will questions be solicited from the audience? Will it really be more of a "roundtable discussion" with the audience, with the moderator just getting the conversation going and keeping it orderly?Or are you planning a demonstration of a technique , say for fursuit construction or animatronics, or a presentation on How To Write or Draw more effectively? Will you need a projector, or props? Can you supply these things yourself? Will you require electric power where it isn't already readily accessible?
These are all things which must be thought about well in advance, and if they require some sort of support from AnthroCon staff or from the hotel or convention center (within reasonable limits, of course), it needs to be mentioned in your panel suggestion, early enough in the process so that if such support can't be provided, then you shall have enough time to make your own arrangements.
Good Luck!