A Lesson in Moderation by Sarah E. Burr

As I sat down to write my goals for April, I felt a pinch of anxiety over everything going on this month. Yet, there was also a sense of glowing excitement, too. I’m twenty thousand words into Book Three in the Trending Topic Mysteries (after scrapping the original twenty-thousand-word draft…a tale for another time). In addition, I’m celebrating the release of #TagMe for Murder, Trending Topic Mystery Book Two, on April 25^th, for which I can hardly wait. Coco Cline’s next mystery adventure was so much fun for me to write, and based on early reviews of the book, it seems my readers are having a blast with Coco and her friends. Finally, to cap off the month, there’s Malice Domestic, the fan conference for mystery lovers, where I will be moderating a panel about the one-and-only Nancy Drew, my childhood role model.

I’ve had the pleasure of moderating before and being on numerous panels guided by deft moderators. However, I’ve also attended some events where the moderator didn’t really understand the assignment, and the audience was left wanting. I thought for this month’s post, I’d share some of the lessons I’ve learned while moderating and been taught by others. With conference season in full swing, if you’re selected as a moderator, I hope you’ll find these helpful!

Do your homework: Given the time constraints authors face, this is probably the toughest bit of prep work, but it is also the most important. Moderators should know whom they are speaking with and have insight into their work. You don’t need to read an author’s entire backlist, but reading their latest book is a great place to start. Becoming familiar with the author’s writing style, characters, setting, and so on helps you build a strong foundation for creating probing, thought-provoking questions.

Allow your panelists to shine: This part should be easy if you’ve done your homework. Crafting questions that lend themselves to both the topic and the panelists is vital to an engaging panel. As a moderator, you need to be able to make connections between your authors and their writing, as well as highlight their contrasts. Frame questions to be open-ended and encourage your authors to share examples from their work to help illustrate the point. Avoid questions likely to lead to similar responses from all the authors. “What he/she said” doesn’t create a riveting discussion.

Share your questions beforehand: No one likes surprises, and moderating a panel is no exception. Give your panelists at least a week (I recommend two) to review your questions. This allows them to come prepared with examples and answers. This preparedness helps alleviate nerves and anxiety, as well as ensures you don’t encounter any awkward pauses while someone searches for a spontaneous response.

Accept that it’s not all about you: Moderators are the unsung heroes of conference panels. They put in a ton of work to create a thoughtful discussion but don’t get a lot of time to shine on their own. When framing your questions, you can slip in clever mentions about your books or characters, but as a moderator, your goal isn’t to promote yourself. Instead, your objective is to create an entertaining and educational session for the audience and your panelists. Yet, if you achieve this goal, you can bet that people will remember the moderator who orchestrated such a wonderful experience.

Do you have any moderating best practices you’d like to share?