Presentation Skills: Appropriate Body Language as a Panelist—Part 3 of Series on Presenting as a Panelist
No matter how powerful or persuasive your words, your body language can sabotage your success as a panelist. Make sure you’re in full control of all moving parts—including your tongue.
Avoid “grand-standing” other panel members while they are speaking with attention-grabbing body language when you disagree. That is, don’t “yell” with head wagging, rolling eyes, dismissive chuckling, chortling, eyebrow contortions, and so forth. They’re having their turn; you’ll have yours. Such behavior while another speaks smacks of playground antics.
Keep eye contact with the audience after you accept the “relay baton” from the moderator or another panel member. Directing your comments to another member of the panel—particularly when you disagree or when the comments may be controversial—appears unnecessarily antagonistic.
Keep your energy high. Consider voice projection and intensity, facial animation, and gestures. When seated and when speaking informally as if in conversation, it feels natural to relax. Don’t be tempted, however, to let your energy level lag. Keep things lively to engage your listeners.
Prevent the deer-in-the-headlights expression. When caught off guard with a question outside your area of expertise, you can quickly look panicked or pleading. If the moderator has failed to do so upfront and if you want to avoid questions from the audience outside a specific focus, clarify your area of expertise again and defer the question or issue to another panelist. Or simply state that you’re not qualified to comment on that topic. In doing so, just remember to look confident, not caught.
Play with words—not toys. Sensitive microphones pick up rustling papers, finger-tapping, throat clearing, clicking pens, cell phones, and so forth. A play on words is clever. Noisy panelists are, well, just rude.
For more tips on your preparation as a panelist, see “Never Wing It” Part 1 in the series on Presenting as a Panelist. For tips on interacting with other panelists, see “Holding Your Own with Other Experts” Part 2 of Presenting as a Panelist.
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