How to Moderate a Conference Panel: My SXSW 2023 Experience

This is a behind-the-scenes video about how I was the moderator of a conference panel at South by Southwest 2023 for AppSumo featuring Noah Kagan, Neville Medhora, Sam Parr, and Justin Mares.

So, how do you moderate a panel? These are the things that I did which helped the event to flow:

(1) Name tags for all the guests to help them mix and mingle

(2) Welcomed the early arrivals and did icebreakers -- the event was scheduled from 4-7PM, with the first hour being open to networking. I stepped up as the moderator to help the guests do quick introductions in small groups

(3) Interactive and frequent Q&A -- instead of waiting until the very end of the panel for questions and answers, I took breaks every 10-20 minutes to hear from the audience. This gave more people a chance to ask more questions

0:00 Intro
0:46 Name tags
1:17 Icebreakers
1:48 Panel discussion
2:06 Q&A example
2:43 Conclusion

[RobDix]

What a great panel. I love that you're the go-to moderator for all Austin events now!

[saymithbuterbaugh]

We need more of this in schools. Get teenagers talking to other teenagers!