SMOF News, volume 1, issue 23

Advanced program participation.

How to Convention: Program Participation (Part 4)

Previously this space has talked about getting on program items at sf-style conventions and media-style conventions, and what to do once you’re at the con as a program participant. Once you’ve survived that experience a couple times, it’s time to start thinking about advancing to the next level: being a panel moderator.

Typical duties of the moderator include:

• Making sure the panel starts and ends on time

• Providing prompts to get the other panelists talking

• Making sure every panelist gets a chance to contribute

• Controlling the flow of questions from the audience

• Keeping things on topic

This may sound daunting, but haven’t you been to program items where it seemed like the discussion drifted away from what the description promised? Where you wished someone would tell the audience to stop shouting out comments and let the panel talk? Where someone rambled on and on and needed to be encouraged to get to the point? Where something outrageous was said and gotten away with?

Have you fantasized about what you would have done? Then congratulations, you already have the moderator’s most important skill: anticipating how things can go wrong and planning what to do about them. Many infamous panel incidents have happened because the moderator was not prepared to tell someone that that comment was out of line, or that they needed to let someone else talk now, or that no, they could not introduce the panel by reading their multi-page manifesto.

Before the Con

Whether you’re going to be working with people you already know and recruited to the panel, or have been thrown together with a group of strangers by the con programming department, you should be able to reach out to your fellow panelists ahead of time. Give them an idea of how you’re planning to structure the panel. Include at least a couple questions or topics you want to cover. Ask if there’s anything specific they want to have a chance to say.

If your fellow panelists aren’t people you know, and they have a public online presence, read up on them so you aren’t surprised by anything you should have known, like say their credentials in the field being discussed.

Recheck when panels are expected to end. If scheduled back-to-back, the usual expectation is that panels end 10-15 minutes before the end of each time slot to allow everyone to get to the next thing they’re doing or watching. This should be explicitly stated in the information sent to all program participants.

Before the Panel

Arrive early if at all possible. (This is not always possible, if you’re on two consecutive panels at opposite ends of the facility. Good programming departments will try to avoid doing that to you.)

Grab a glass of water, if available, and pick your seat. It’s usually helpful to sit at one end of the table so you can see all your fellow panelists at once.

Bring something you can consult quickly to see what time it is. Program rooms very rarely have visible clocks.

At the Panel

Start on time, even if not all the panelists have shown up. Welcome the audience, saying the name of the program item, just in case someone has come to the wrong room.

Start by setting expectations. If questions need to be held for later, say so. If the discussion is going to have an unusual structure, explain it. Then invite the panel to introduce themselves.

Keep an eye on the time, and start wrapping things up around 5 minutes before the panel should end, to allow everyone one final thought if they have one.

Thank the audience and your fellow panelists, and you’re done! That doesn’t sound so hard, does it?

Starting Slowly

Many cons will give you the option of indicating panel by panel which ones you’d be willing to moderate. You can start by picking just one. If the participant survey only has one general question about moderating, add in comments that you’d like to not moderate more than one panel to start with.

If the con then assigns you to moderate more than you’re comfortable with, you have the right to push back and say you don’t want to take that on. Just as with times and topics, letting the con know there’s something you can’t or don’t want to tackle will result in a better experience for everyone— the audience, the program department, your fellow panelists, and you.

Event Calendar

Weekend of February 4-6

• Capricon 42, Wheeling, Illinois, USA

• Sci-Fi Fantasy LA (sf and science), Pasadena, California, USA

• Running GAGG 25 (gaming), Geneseo, New York, USA

• TableTopCon (gaming), Southport, Australia

• CaptainCon 2022 (gaming), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

• Adventure Con 2022 (RPGs), Hamburg, Germany

• Chattanooga Railgaming Challenge, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• SSA+S Toracon (anime), Sarasota, Florida, USA

• WeebCon (anime), Allen, Texas, USA

• East Bay Comic Con, Concord, California, USA

Weekend of February 11-13

• Boskone 59, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Atlanta Steampunk Expo, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• ScotiaCon (anthropomorphic), Glasgow, UK

• FurcoNZ 2022 (anthropomorphic), Ōtaki, New Zealand

• ATG Expo (gaming), Waco, Texas, USA

• Game On!, Bellevue, Washington, USA

• Geekway Mini (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA

• Ohayocon 22 (anime), Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Kami-Con Season Thirteen (anime), Birmingham, Alabama, USA

• Anime Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Animangapop (anime), Plymouth, UK

• Savannah Animazing Con (anime), Savannah, Georgia, USA

• Brick City Anime Festival, Ocala, Florida, USA

• Animefest 2022, La Jolla, California, USA

• MissouriCon (media), St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Weekend of February 18-20

• Radcon 8B, Pasco, Washington, USA

• Life, the Universe, and Everything (symposium), Provo, Utah, USA

• Anthro New England 2022: Back to the '90s, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

• DunDraCon 45 (gaming), Santa Clara, California, USA

• Con of the North (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Orccon 2022 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA

• Williamsburg Muster (wargaming), Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

• Decepta Con (social deception gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Japan Expo Sud (anime), Marseille, France

• ExpOtaku Logroño (anime), San Millán, Spain

• Katsucon 2022 (anime), National Harbor, Maryland, USA

• Zipcon 2022 (anime), Akron, Ohio, USA

• 47th Annual Boston Sci Fi Film Festival, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA

• Con Nooga (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

• Fan Expo Vancouver (media), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada

• Gallifrey One: Thirty-Second to Midnight (Doctor Who), Los Angeles, California, USA

Weekend of February 25-27

• MystiCon, Roanoke, Virginia, USA

• Gamicon Gallium (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

• Total Confusion 36 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

• CalCon 28 (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden

• Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France

• Revelation (gaming), Sheffield, UK

• K2 Convention (gaming), Dungarvan, Ireland

• GenghisCon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA

• Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA

• TantrumCon (boardgames), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• PrezCon 2022/RevCon (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

• Intercon U: Ultraviolet (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

• LVL UP EXPO (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• SoCal Gaming Expo (video games), Ontario, California, USA

• Kawacon (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA

• ZipCon 2022 (anime), Akron, Ohio, USA

• Anime Crossroads 2022, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• Farpoint 29 (media), Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA

• Cult Classic Convention (media), Bastrop, Texas, USA

• Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA

• Armageddon Expo Tauranga (media), Tauranga, New Zealand

Weekend of March 4-6

• CoastCon 44, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA

• Cleveland ConCoction 8, Aurora, Ohio, USA

• Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 10: Over the Rainbow, Tucson, Arizona, USA

• Llamedos Holiday Camp 2022 – Dragon Trials (Discworld), Llanelli, UK

• VancouFur 2022: EvfurQuest (anthropomorphic), Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

• Fur the ‘More 2022 (anthropomorphic), Arlington, Virginia, USA

• Cardboard*Con (cardboard sf costuming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• BashCon 36 (gaming), Toledo, Ohio, USA

• Tennessee Game Days XV, Franklin, Tennessee, USA

• Gary Con XIV (gaming), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA

• Dice Tower West (gaming), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• SaltCON Spring (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA

• 1d4Con 2022 (gaming), online (usually Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA)

• Evercon 2022 (gaming), Rothschild, Wisconsin, USA

• Prolog (LARPs), online (usually Västerås, Sweden)

• Animeverse Fest (anime), Pasadena, California, USA

• PeoriaCon (media), Peoria, Illinois, USA

• Hill Country Comicon, New Braunfels, Texas, USA

• Middle East Film & Comic Con, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

• Hall of Heroes Comic Con 2022, Elkhart, Indiana, USA

Coda

• The Size of Space (hat tip: Das Krähende Schwein)

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