In this post, I share some of the reasons I decided to try panels and podcasts, along with three practical tips that helped me as an anxious new panellist.
Introduction
In 2024, I wrote Three Mantras For The Anxious New Speaker, a post about my experiences with presentations, public speaking and personal anxiety. Since then, I’ve been working to become more comfortable with spontaneity through panels and podcasts.
This has not been easy. Unlike presentations, panels remove much of the structure and predictability that I usually rely on. However, I have also found them to be valuable experiences for developing confidence and conversational skills.
In this post, I want to share what I’ve learned about panelling so far, including my motivations for trying it and some practical tips that helped me as an anxious new panellist. Although my experience in this area is still limited, I hope this information is useful to others in similar situations.
Choosing Panelling
As an anxious new panellist, I quickly realised that speaking and panelling are fundamentally different experiences. This section explores some of the things I’ve learned so far about these differences.
Panelling Is Not Speaking
Panelling and speaking have some key differences. These don’t make panelling harder than speaking; they just make them different types of activity. Adjusting to those differences needed a very different mindset from traditional presenting.
Predictability
Speaking is fundamentally easier to rehearse. Slide order, speaker notes and demos can be practised until they feel familiar. Even if nerves appear on the day, there is comfort in knowing roughly what comes next.
A panel discussion is different because, while the main theme is known in advance, the direction of the conversation is not. Conversations can move unexpectedly, panellists may introduce entirely new perspectives, and moderators may skip planned topics altogether if the discussion naturally flows elsewhere.
Control
Speaking is largely under the speaker’s control. They decide the pacing, the structure and how long to spend on each point. Points can also be expanded or adjusted depending on the audience and timings.
Panels are more collaborative and less predictable. The moderator guides the discussion, and control shifts between panellists and the audience as the conversation develops.
As a frequent overthinker, I initially found this surrender of control uncomfortable. However, I discovered that it can in fact reduce pressure, as no single person is responsible for carrying the entire session alone.
Focus
During presentations, much of the audience’s attention is directed towards the slides, demos or visuals. While the speaker is important, they are often sharing attention with the content on screen.
Panels and podcasts are different. The audience is watching the panellists: how they react, listen and respond to one another. Audiences here are usually looking for authenticity and conversation rather than a perfectly delivered performance.
Presence matters more than polish.
Understand Your Why
Panels and podcasts can be uncomfortable experiences, especially when you are naturally anxious. Before throwing yourself into them, it helps to understand why you want to do them in the first place.
For me, there were several reasons, framed around becoming more comfortable in unscripted conversations:
Practising Questions
Many speakers dread the post-presentation Q&A. Even experienced speakers such as Sheen Brisals have discussed how difficult it can feel. The challenge is that there are not many ways to practise it authentically.
Panels and podcasts are effectively extended Q&A sessions. Panellists are constantly listening, interpreting and responding in real time. Over time, this helped me become much more comfortable with unexpected questions and with creating frameworks to handle and respond to them.
Practising Being Off-Script
Presentations have pre-set structures. Even when nerves appear, there are usually familiar slides, demos or rehearsed transitions to fall back on.
Panels are different. Their inherent unpredictability forces you to think aloud, adapt to others and contribute without knowing exactly what’s coming next. Instead of mentally searching for what to say, the focus is on listening and responding naturally.
For me, this was one of the most valuable skills to develop because it carried over into presentations, meetings and everyday conversations.
Learning Different Types of Confidence
Confidence is not a single skill. It has many aspects, such as:
- Presentation confidence: Delivering something prepared.
- Conversational confidence: Joining discussions naturally.
- Recovery confidence: Staying calm when losing a train of thought, misunderstanding a question or needing to change direction.
For a long time, I confused preparation with confidence and began hitting unexpected walls. Now, speaking develops my confidence in prepared and expected situations, and panelling is helping me build my confidence in spontaneous and ad hoc ones.
Talk About What You Know
Presentations can sometimes hide uncertainty behind preparation. A polished slide deck, rehearsed demos and carefully memorised transitions can do lots of heavy lifting. Conversely, the conversational nature of panels makes uncertainty much more visible, especially when discussions move into unexpected territory or follow-up questions appear.
In general, greater knowledge and experience with a topic make conversations easier. On the other hand, unfamiliarity increases the mental effort required to think, respond, and adapt in real time. And audiences often notice when someone sounds unsure, especially in conversational settings.
For me, speaking from genuine experience made a huge difference. Conversations became more natural, answers became less rehearsed and I spent far less energy trying to sound credible.
Panelling Tips
This section covers some practical tips that have helped me as an anxious new panellist.
Do Your Research
I am not saying to go full CSI or Sherlock Holmes here, but doing a bit of homework before a podcast or panel can make a big difference. It helps you avoid obvious mistakes, tailor your answers to the audience and feel more settled before you start.
While this section covers both established and new events, some advice applies to both kinds:
- Arrive early. As an event organiser myself, I know the “What if my speakers don’t show up” feeling well. The sooner you’re there, the sooner the organiser can relax a little.
- Speak to the event organisers before the panel starts. Whether you’ve met them before or not, an informal pre-event chat is a great icebreaker and helps ensure everyone knows what’s planned.
- If there’s an audience, speak to some of them before the panel starts. You’ll get a feel for who’s in the room and what they’re hoping to get out of the evening.
Not everything on this list may be required (or even possible), but the more context you have going in, the better.
For Established Events
Established events usually have some kind of online presence. This might be Meetup pages, LinkedIn posts or event websites. Review these for examples of:
- Topics that past events have covered.
- Speakers who have been at past events.
- Recorded sessions, if they exist.
These are good indicators of the usual event tone and the level of detail expected. They can also tell you whether the audience prefers practical advice, big-picture discussion or a more conversational approach. Clues can also come from the event’s organisational team and intended audience.
For example, in April 2026 I spoke on panels for Logicast and Preston Tech Connection. Logicast is an online event that is more technically oriented and AWS-specific, so my preparation included reading the latest AWS blogs and topical news stories.
Preston Tech Connection is an in-person event geared more toward exchanging ideas and community support, so this time I drew more on my personal experience and broader industry observations for preparation.
For New Events
It’s also possible that this might be an entirely new event, or the first time the event has done a panel. If so, that can actually work in your favour. If there is no history, there are no fixed expectations. There is more freedom to shape the tone, bring your own style and help set the standard for that event.
Reach out to the organisers. Ask questions. Clarify expectations. Remember – they’ll want the event to be a success too! Find out if there are any topics they definitely want to cover, what they expect from the audience and what their vision of success looks like.
Have Talking Points
One of the most common fears for an anxious new panellist is sitting there with nothing to say. One of the easiest ways to reduce anxiety here is to arrive with some familiar, relevant topics that you know you can talk about.
Personal Introduction
Have a short, direct personal introduction that you’ve practised to the point where it feels natural. Introductions will vary depending on the event, but most should quickly cover:
- Name
- Occupation
- Relevance to discussion topic
For example, my prepared intro for Preston Tech Connection was:
- Damien Jones
- AWS Consultant at Steamhaus
- Presented an AI-assisted web app at last week’s AWS London Summit.
During The Event
An anxious new panellist may worry about awkward silences or moments where they suddenly can’t think of anything useful to contribute. To prevent this, keep a safety net of notes and bullet points to use. A live panel isn’t a closed-book exam, so carrying notes is a smart move.
These notes can help you stay focused and relaxed during the event. I find that writing my ideas down guides my thinking and stops my mind from going blank. A quick glance at a notepad or device is preferable to staring blankly at the audience while your thoughts dry up.
Not all points will be relevant as the conversation develops, but it’s better to have an unused point than to need one and not have it.
Closing Remarks
You may want to, or be expected to, give closing remarks at the end of the event. Prepare for this either way.
A good closing remark doesn’t need to be long. A sentence or two summarising your key takeaway or position, or a quick mention of where people can continue the conversation afterwards, is fine.
Give Yourself Kindness
As an anxious new panellist, the pressure to have a perfect answer for everything can feel overwhelming. You don’t need one. All three points below come back to the same idea: being honest about your limits is better than pretending you don’t have any.
These points also apply to post-presentation Q&As as well – in fact, some of this advice was born there!
Taking Thinking Time Is Reasonable
You may get a question that you need time to think about. That’s completely normal. I use two ways to handle this:
- Say “I need a moment to think about that.” Yup. People generally perceive silence as bad. Silence with a purpose is perfectly acceptable, especially when it results in a relevant, focused answer. This gives you some breathing room to gather your thoughts.
- If you need more time than that, say so and consider if this question is best answered after the panel. Remember – the rest of the audience is in the room too! If so, offer this and anyone interested can join you then. Alternatively, ask the moderator to move to another panellist while you gather your thoughts.
We’ve all seen someone visibly making up an answer on the spot, and it’s usually obvious. Don’t be that person. Take the time you need. The quality of your answer will improve, and you’ll maintain the room’s trust and respect. People are far more likely to appreciate a thoughtful answer than a rushed one.
One resource that helped me a lot with this was the following Luxury Academy video. While it’s about interactions with high-net-worth people, the advice on handling silence has helped me massively.
‘I Don’t Know’ Is An Answer
This isn’t a memory test or an exam. Frankly, admitting you don’t know something is a stronger response than trying to force an answer that might be substandard or wrong.
While saying “I don’t know” in front of a group is hard, the audience is more likely to value your honesty than to accept attempts to bluff your way through. In the worst-case scenario, you’ll know what to research next. In the best case, someone in the room might have the answer, leading to a more engaging conversation than you could have had by yourself.
‘I Don’t Have An Opinion’ is An Answer
You simply may not have an opinion about something. Reasons for this may include:
- Having no experience in the question’s domain or speciality.
- Not having encountered the problem or situation described in the question.
- The question being contested or nuanced, with no clear answer either way.
Indeed, a response of ‘I don’t have an opinion on that, because…” is valid. During a lecture, I was once asked whether I preferred tabs or spaces when writing SQL. I replied that, as long as the code is readable and standardised, I don’t mind. So while not answering the question directly, my answer still had some value.
Don’t present this as ‘I don’t care’ though. While not having an opinion is neutral, not caring is usually negative. People can struggle to ask questions, so always treat inquiries with respect.
Summary
In this post, I shared some of the reasons I decided to try panels and podcasts, along with three practical tips that helped me as an anxious new panellist.
I examined the differences between speaking and panel discussions, emphasised the value of preparing key talking points, and highlighted the importance of being honest when you do not know something or need time to think.
Panel discussions don’t have to be perfect. At their best, they are conversations among people sharing experiences and perspectives. While preparation is helpful, it’s equally important to let yourself be human and spontaneous during the process.
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