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| About Paul Kedrosky |
| Dr. Kedrosky is currently the Executive Director of the William J. von Liebig Center in San Diego, California. Using an innovative seed capital program, the Center catalyzes the commercialization of technologies from the internationally-ranked University of California, San Diego. Dr. Kedrosky is also a venture investor with Ventures West, Canada's largest institutional venture capital firm, where he is most active in consumer technologies and software. He is currently on the board of Marqui Corporation, a marketing automation software company. |
Recent Article:
Ten Rules for Being a Good Conference Panelist
- For more on Paul Kedrosky visit paul.kedrosky.com
Having moderated many conference panels, and participated on many more of same -- and suffered through even more as an audience member -- I've decided to share some words of advice, even if it's mostly intended to give me something to point panelists to the next time I'm a moderator.
Herewith, my Guy Kawasaki-ish "Ten Rules for Being a Good Conference Panelist":
Be prepared. Know what your panel is about, and be sure you have something to say that matters. But then forget all the prep and go with the flow. Returning repeatedly to pre-planned notes and talking points when the conversation takes a direction you don't like is a no-no, so don't do it.
Be brief. Short answers are better than long ones. Really short ones are better yet. While maintaining the spirit of having a conversation, respond to people without giving the kind of speeches that would get you deemed a boor in everyday life.
Be specific. Lofty answers full of lovely principles are deathly boring. If you are somehow forced to reluctantly give one, apologize then cheerfully provide a brief example to illustrate your lofty point. But keep rule 2) in mind. No five-minute war stories allowed.
Be (appropriately) provocative. Disagree with people without being disagreeable. Do it often. Agreement is boring, disagreement is fun and interesting. That said, don't go contrarian on everything. It is 99% as bad as agreeing on everything.
Be an expert. Be broad in the panel subjects on which you're prepared to comment. Don't hide your light thinking that you shouldn't answer because it's "not my area". You're on a panel, so you're an expert for the next 40 minutes: Act like one. That said, don't pretend to be an expert about something in which you have little idea at all. While no-one may call you out for it, the audience is smart and will know you're a blow-hard anyway.
Smile. Show your teeth often. 'Nuff said.
Talk to someone. Great panels are great conversations, so find someone to talk to. It could be a panelist, the moderator, an audience member, or Harvey the giant invisible rabbit, but talk to someone, At all costs, don't lecture.
Don't wait. Without continually interrupting, jump in early, often, and without waiting for the moderator to call your name. As a general rule, you should give it a few minutes to let the panel conversation find its footing, but then start going after people and treating it like the kind of hallway mixup you'd ordinarily have after the panel is over.
Bury your pride. In a good panel you're going to get interrupted, challenged, and contradicted. Deal with it. You're not always going to get the last word -- that's the moderator's job -- and don't constantly complain to the moderator looking for air-time to respond to the bastard at the other end of the dais.
Have fun. Above all, have fun. Look like you're having the best time you could imagine having right here, right now. Because if you're not having fun then you should not do it: The audience won't have fun, and another boring and unfun conference panel the world does not need.
Ten Rules for Being a Good Conference Panelist - To learn more about this author, visit Paul Kedrosky's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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