PANEL MODERATORS

GENERAL ROLE

The general role of the panel moderator is to act as the ‘master of ceremonies’ for each Thematic Workshop. This function includes:

• starting the workshop on time;
• briefly introducing each speaker;
• ensuring speakers complete their presentation in the allocated time;
• taking questions from the participants; and,
• generally guiding the discussion.

The moderator should be a neutral person who promotes and guides discussions and does not become involved deeply in the professional dialogue.

All moderators will be provided with brief biographical notes of all individuals who will speak at their sessions, as well as copies, if applicable, of any relevant materials (ie. speaking notes, decks, etc.) to be delivered in the session.

Specific suggestions are as follows:

Prior to the conference:

• Moderators will receive confirmation (by email) of the location of the session they will be facilitating.
   
• Please note that your travel costs, including airfare, taxis, hotel, and meals, will be paid by the FLMM LMI Working Group. We request that you contact our conference coordinator, Heather Gibson by phone at (902) 483-6334, or by email at Forum2005@khgmanagement.ca to arrange your travel and accommodation requirements. This will ensure that charges are applied to our master account.
   
• Moderators are requested to:
   
  • Register for the conference by October 7, 2005. Program and registration information will be available on the Forum website at: http://www.flmm-lmi.org , commencing August 15, 2005.
     
  • By September 9, 2005, provide a brief biographical note to be included on the Forum website and in participants’ Forum kit.

Day of Conference:

Starting the Panel Session

NOTE: if you are not fully bilingual, we suggest that you pick up a headset at the Simultaneous Interpretation Desk.

1. Call the panel to order: Briefly present the topic as outlined in the program.
    
2. Introductions: Introduce yourself and all the speakers/panelists. Do not read long biographical notes—these should be kept to one small paragraph for each respective panelist; introductions of panelists should be no longer than 20-30 seconds.
    
3. Ground rules: Clearly define the rules of how the session will be organized: (a) indicate that panelists have 10 minutes each, b) that each panelist should respect this time, and that you will indicate to them when they are three minutes from the end of their period. You can decide how to do this, either by raising a card, your hand, or slipping them a note. You must not let panelists go beyond their allotted time as this detracts from other panelists and the question period. In general, the session should be not more than 2/3 formal presentations, and 1/3 questions and discussion with participants.
    
4. Questions: At the end of all formal presentations you should open the floor for questions and comments. Ask participants to be brief and specific in their interventions. Request that they give their name, and organization before asking a question, and whether their question is directed to a specific panelist. You may want to take several questions, and then ask appropriate panelists to respond, as opposed to taking one question at a time. Do not allow one participant to dominate discussions; try to ensure that contributions are made by as many participants as possible. If questions start slowly, or get bogged down, you may want to pose a question to the presenters to get discussion started.

Closing the Panel Session

1. Final Comments: About 5 minutes before the end of the session, stop taking questions and ask each panelist if he/she would like to make any brief final observations.
    
2. Thanks: Thank the panelists and participants for their participation in the session, and close the session on time. Kindly inform participants of the next agenda item and its location as indicated in the conference kit.