When you speak on a conference panel discussion, get your team ready to ask questions

When you speak on a panel at a conference, at the end of the panel 3 things can happen:

- ⏰❌ The panel runs too long, and there is no time for questions.

- ✋🙋‍♂️ Q&A starts, and dozens of hands go up with questions.

- 😶 Q&A starts, and no one puts their hand up.

It's a bit heart-breaking when you have an amazing discussion, and there are no/few questions. Sometimes it's the start of the conference, and the crowd is still getting comfortable. Sometimes it’s after lunch, and everyone is lazy. Sometimes the panel topic is outside the core experience of the audience. 😔

A great idea is to prepare some good questions and have your team members jump up to ask them as soon as Q&A starts. 📝👥 As the person asking the question usually says their name and company, it's good branding to have your company name called out in combination with a smart question. It also triggers more hands to go up. ✋🗣️ Just make sure that your team members are asking questions to the other panelists, not to you. 😉