tips on having a great panel discussion

1. Lesson 4
Organizing Panel Discussion
in Making Decisions

2. Objectives:
After going through this lesson, you will
be expected to:
 a. use information from panel
discussions that can be used in
everyday life;
 b. promote the interest and sense of
responsibility in validating the quality of
information needed in academic and
personal use by managing a panel
discussion and;

3. Panel discussions are
useful if an issue is too
complex for one person to
handle, or if the audience
needs to be exposed to
various viewpoints at the
same session.

4. To avoid long-winded and disjointed sessions, here are
some basic tips to help the audience engaged in a
meaningful and lively discussion.
 1. Keep the panel small and focused. Small
panel number will be easy to manage and to
flesh out all points of view.
 2. Plan the questions ahead of time. Planning
questions will help you bullet some points to
discuss during the discussion.
 3. Open with a brief reference to the topic
being discussed. It is important to welcome the
audience and lead into the topic with a short
hook. A short quote, an analogy, or anecdote will
warm up the audience and highlight the
importance of the event.

5. To avoid long-winded and disjointed sessions, here are
some basic tips to help the audience engaged in a
meaningful and lively discussion.
 4. Keep the focus on the panel, not on
you. Maintain an appropriate tone, keep
people on task, and ensure everyone gets
ample time to present his or her point of
view.
 5. Prepare your “cut-off phrases” ahead
of time. Having some pre-planned cut-of
phrases will help filter the long-winded
ramble of topics. Using this tactic will keep
the discussion focused and on time.

6. Activity 4.2.
Imagine you are one of the
classroom officers and you need to
address the issue on imposing fines
for not wearing school uniform.
Construct three-five (3- 5) statements
about the problem about how you will
help you manage the session
regarding the certain issue.