Includes index.

"Conference panels run the gamut quality-wise -- some are great, but others can be dull, lifeless, and confusing. Despite the presence of qualified experts, these panelists often are not given a platform to share their opinions or expertise. Rather their expertise is subsumed by ill-considered, irrelevant, and disordered panelist questions and moderators who lose control of their panels. The solution to this problem is having a well-trained moderator, who knows how to prepare for the panel professionally, with a well-thought-out process that ensures panelists are ready, the audience is engaged and the conference organizers are confident the event will be a success. Despite the importance of having a great moderator to ensure a great panel, there is a lack of how-to guides or training programs. Rather a moderator learns through observing others who they think are good and when they ask for tips and tricks, they often receive misguided and ineffective advice. This book seeks to fill that gap -- a start-to-finish guide on how to expertly moderate a panel from understanding the purpose of the panel and the panel's audience to assembling the right panel participants, pre-panel prep sessions, and guidance on how to handle a multitude of events that could derail the panels' flow"-- Provided by publisher.