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Engaging Virtual Meetings

 7️⃣Valuable ✔️Tips for More 🎇Spectacular and 💍Engaging 🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏻Panels

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Have you ever been to a boring panel?

I was asked to moderate a panel at the 2,000 attendee Meetings Professional International World Education Congress called “Cultural Competency 2.0; #RealTalk on Allyship in Action”.

This topic is very challenging this year with all the changes happening in the industry.

Many panels suffer from boring or tired as they follow the same format or one panel member takes up all the time.

As 1 of 400 National Speakers Association Certified Speaking Professionals, I want to share what I did to elevate this panel: This is what you’re looking for in an emcee and moderator.

1) 🧑🏽‍🤝‍🧑🏻Panel before the panel – Schedule a meeting before the panel to meet each other, plan and get agreement

2) 🥅Goals and Roles – When you meet, agree on the goals of the panel and each person’s role or in this case, who each person was representing

3) 🌱Create ground rules – We then agreed on ground rules to meet the goals. In this case, the goal was “Real Talk” so every panelists agreed to take off the gloves and say what’s real, while leaving politics out. Another ground rules was to allow “Nasty Questions” and a panelist came up with the question, “Have you ever regretted being an ally?”.  This question elicited amazing and insightful answers that the audience appreciated.

4) 🙃Unpanel – Use a 60-second clock, every panelist can answer any question but they only have 60-seconds.  We coach panelists to get the best information out in the first 30-seconds.  The audience loves this as more questions get answered and if they don’t like the question, they just wait a minute and they get new content.

5) ❓AUA – Ask Us Anything.  I created a QR code to a Google Form so the audience could ask a question at anytime during the program.  I used an iPad that was able to monitor their questions in real time.

6) 📢Get Feedback – I used Talkadot to get feedback from the audience.  Click https://www.talkadot.com/s/ceojohnchen/events/realtalk-cultural-competence-2-0-allyship-beyond-the-basics-meeting-professionals-international-fa97b5 to see ratings and comments we got.  Based on this feedback, this panel is a success.

7) ⏩Speed Round – I wrote questions that I asked each panelists to answer as quickly as possible.  This ends the panel at a fast pace and on a high note that leaves the audience amazed and grateful for the experience.

🎁BONUS: Get the panelists to answer all the questions that didn’t get answered in the panel.  Click to read their answers.https://engagingvirtualmeetings.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/MPI-WEC-RealTalk_-Cultural-Competence-2.0-Allyship-Beyond-the-Basics.pdf

Click to watch these 7 tips in action, click on questions in descriptions to hear those answers – https://youtu.be/jqeVKsCqI9YThank you to MPI VP Jessie States for allowing this valuable sessions to be shared from MPI WEC.


-John Chen




-John Chen
CEO, Engaging Virtual Meetings
Your experts in engaging virtual and hybrid meetings

—INVITATION—–

You are personally invited to The Engaging Retreat.  10/28/25-10/30/25

If you a speaker, planner or leader who wants to be more engaging, CLICK to join this community.
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$97 VIP – Zoom
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–UPCOMING CALENDAR—–
7/16/2025 3:30-5pm – Good Food Economy Livestream, Seattle, WA
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/seattlegoodbusinessnetwork/1749621
7/26/2025-7/29/2025 – National Speakers Association Influence
Scottsdale, AZ
I will be the LaughNSA Producer, Host of API+ NSA, Host for NSA NW Influence Dinner, Host for Jam Night
https://influence.nsaspeaker.org/

7/28/2025 – Facilitator for Tony Robbins Global Youth Leadership Summit High-Tech Scavenger Hunt
San Diego, CA
https://www.thetonyrobbinsfoundation.org/programs/youth-leadership/tony-robbins-global-youth-leadership-summit/

8/16/2025 – NSA NW Confab with Lisa Ryan – Smiling and Dialing
Mercer Island, WA and Virtual
9am-12pm PST + Optional Lunch
I will be the Producer and President
https://nsanorthwest.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=372276&item_id=2600840

8/23/2025 – NSA NW Happy Hour and President John Chen Birthday Celebration
12pm-5pm
Shoreline, WA
https://nsanorthwest.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=372276&item_id=2620980

9/13/2025 – Florida Speakers Association
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
https://www.floridaspeakers.org/

10/19/2025 – 10/22-2025
The Presentation Summit
The BEST place to learn how to make your presentations even better.
I will be the Main Producer and Speaker
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10/28/2025 – 10/30/2025 – The Engaging Retreat 2025
If you want to learn how to be more engaging as speaker or an event planner, this is your retreat to bring you NEW ideas.
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11/5/2025 – 11/6/2025 NSA Activate
NSA’s Virtual Conference!
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11/15/2025 NSA NW Confab with Legendary Speaker Patricia Fripp!
Mercer Island, WA and Virtual
9am-12pm PST + Optional Lunch
https://nsanorthwest.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=372276&item_id=2607859

11/18/2025 – 11/20/2025 – Association for Financial Counseling & Planning Education Symposium 2025
Phoenix AZ and Virtual
I am the Virtual Emcee
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