Dan Perry

A month ago, I wrote an article titled “How to Keep An SEO Conference from Clipping the Iceberg”. The post was specific to the Pubcon event in December, 2007. I posted it on Gooruze, and Brett Tabke was kind enough to respond with some great insight, and with something I was hoping for. He ended the reply by asking “Any suggestions for getting quality moderators?” Well… Since you asked, here goes.

It is tough finding good moderators. Kevin Ryan told me the same thing about SES, so don’t feel like it’s only Pubcon. Speakers are a dime a dozen, good speakers are a lot more, but it seems like good moderators are even harder to come by (my thoughts, not Kevin’s).

I think that my “rant” was also caused by a previous situation that I didn’t mention in the original post. I spoke at ad:tech Chicago over the summer (6 months prior to Pubcon), and was lucky enough to experience the best moderator I’ve ever met (Teresa Caro, this is all because of you!) For reference, I’ve spoken over a dozen times, which is nothing compared to a lot of industry folks, but enough where I know a good moderator when I see one. Here’s what differentiated her.

• She emailed the speakers (three including me) about 6 weeks prior to the conference; it may have been 2 months. She asked what specifically each of us would be speaking on, and to “Reply to All”, so everyone could see it. We all picked a time to meet on a conference call about 3-4 weeks in advance, so everyone had room on their calendar.
• Before the conference call, she called me (I’m guessing she called the other speakers as well) to personally discuss my topic, and mold it into something the audience would not only learn from, but enjoy.
• During our conference call, we all discussed what we were going to talk about, and ensured that nobody would be covering the same material, to avoid overlap. She also asked each of us to share one thing about us that few people knew, as a point of introduction. She asked for specific takeaways that we planned on presenting to the audience. Finally, she asked us to provide one question we’d like her to ask us, to “prime the pump” if you will.
• After the call, she sent out the notes she took, to ensure we were all on the same page, and to provide a reference point. This was key for me; it kept me focused, rather than wandering off the path, which I’m prone to do, and I think other speaker are as well.
• As the decks rolled in, she reviewed them, and passed them on to the other speakers, to ensure we all understood what each other was covering.
• Just before ad:tech, she sent an email to all of us, asking us to meet prior to the session, so at least we all knew what everyone looked like. She also stated where she’d be, and what she’d be wearing. Talk about attention to details; very nice.
• Just before the conference, she emailed us to let us know that the presentations would be on her computer, but to feel free to bring in a copy on a USB. Also, she sent all of us the softball questions she’d be asking, just as a reminder to be prepared for them.
• When we finally met, we already knew a little about each other, so it wasn’t nearly as awkward as usual.

Now, I realize this is at the opposite end of the spectrum than my blog post, and I realize the level of effort needed from a moderator, but I’m telling you, I’ve never felt more confident stepping up on stage as I did for this one. The Ben Franklin quote “By failing to prepare, you’re preparing to fail” comes to mind. I’ve never felt more prepared, and I think the audience got the most bang for their buck from our session.

So, back to your question. Here are some thoughts:

• Create a step-by-step guide for moderator’s. Even if they only follow half of the points mentioned above, a lot of panels would benefit from it.
• Moderator’s can’t be speakers; one or the other. Having to prepare decks AND be a moderator would be extremely tough, and if you have to focus on one, I can almost guarantee it’s not going to be the latter.
• Don’t overload the moderators. I’ve seen conferences where the same person moderated many, many panels. This has to be tough (make’s me feel sorry for you and D. Sullivan). You can only be spread so thin, and the quality is bound to suffer.
• Choose moderator’s early, and have them assist with speaking pitches. If you have 20 speaking proposals, have the moderator narrow the applicants down to the top 5 (or so), and then forward to you for the final decision. Ask them to put the presentations in order of which ones they feel would be most beneficial to the audience and more importantly, why. This will give you insight into their thought process in choosing speakers.
• Incentivize them. I’m not saying foot their bar bill, but offer them something. Free conference pass, ½ off for a friend or coworker, invitations to invite-only parties, high-end conference-specific swag for speakers/moderators (ad:tech does this), etc. There are lots of things you could do here.
• Have the potential moderators pitch. Way in advance have them send you an email as to why they’d make a good moderator. Even better, you could post a list of 5-10 questions for them to answer. With the right questions, I’ll bet it wouldn’t be too hard to find some great moderators.
• Build a moderator’s wiki, to share best practices. After the conference, ask each of them to post what they did right, what the audience seemed to respond to the most, and what they would do differently if asked to moderate again. (You could also do this for speakers). Imagine the value of the wiki 2-3 years out in getting new moderator’s up to speed.
• Have the audience rate moderator’s. This may already be happening, but if not, I’d be sure to add it.

Finally, since I’ll definitely be attending Pubcon this year (to defend my poker crown), I’d be happy to assist, if needed.

Now… what did I forget to add to the list for moderator’s?

I’ve been lucky enough to speak at over a dozen conferences over the last 4 years, most of them being search conferences. I’ve spoke at Multiple Search Engine Strategies, ad:tech, Search Insider Summit, eMetrics, the Internet Marketing Conference in Montreal (old school; hey Barb Coll, remember that show?), and most recently, Pubcon. There’s one element of every panel that will either make it a floating success, or turn it into the Titanic: The Moderator.

My moderators have run the gamut from impressive professionals, to unprepared legacies, and the problem for the audience is that many skew towards the latter.

Now, before every moderator decides to ban me from future sessions, let me preface this by saying that I understand. You’ve probably been attending/speaking at shows longer than I have, and based on seniority, have been elevated to mod status. It only makes sense.

Also, I understand that everyone has a day job, and it’s very, very easy to push a lot of the “non-essential” duties aside, specifically moderating. Making money for your respective company takes precedence over moderating; I get it.

Finally, it’s a pretty thankless job that takes up a lot of time, for no pay, and probably little to no value for you personally. In fact, it may have evolved into more of a chore for you than anything else. The problem is that in some cases, it’s starting to show.

No doubt about it: The audience suffers when the moderator is weak. Couple that with the fact that, regardless of the strength/weakness of the moderator, these conferences are going to continue to grow. It’s like having a very poor marketing department at a casino. Sure, there are numbers to hit, but at the end of the day, they’re going to make money, so it’s not as critical as it is to most organizations. Same thing here: More and more people are getting into the industry regardless of the strength of the shows.

Here are a few things I’ve seen lately that have made for poor panels.

I was asked to speak on a panel, about 6 weeks prior to the conference. During that six week period, I never received an email from the moderator. Nobody asked what I’d be speaking on, to ensure there was little overlap between presentations. When the conference began, nobody reached out to me to ensure I was prepared. Nobody reminded me to bring the presentation on a USB stick. When the session time arrived, nobody shook my hand and thanked me for spending my time and money (OK, my company’s money) to educate the audience.

Here’s the rub, and the reason for this article: I spoke on a panel, and never met the moderator. Other than introducing me (luckily my name is easy to pronounce), I haven’t carried on a conversation with this person in my life. Never shook their hand, never heard about their business, nothing. To me, that’s a sad state of affairs, and I can see the conferences taking on water. The quartet isn’t on the main deck, and the women and children aren’t being loaded into life-boats, but the hull is definitely not fixing itself.

So how did the panel perform? In my opinion, lousy. Most of the moderators covered the same industry statistics, all having different numbers from different sources, which had to be confusing for the audience. Since there wasn’t any collaboration ahead of time, how were they to know who was covering what?

In addition, one of the speakers decided to turn his presentation into a sales pitch. I’m guessing this was his first speaking engagement, because normally, it’s well known that that is frowned upon. I’d bet that he had no idea, and again, since there wasn’t any contact before-hand, why shouldn’t he plug his company?

The result? From the time he started plugging, to the time he was finished (and it was painfully long; at least 6-7 full conference minutes of plugging away), I’d estimate 1/5 to 1/6 of the audience left. It was unbelievable to watch. The speaker seated next to me kept looking at me in amazement: When will this end? Why isn’t the moderator stepping in? WTF? I felt bad for the next speaker. He was about to present to 20% fewer people.

Don’t let this happen on your panel. Here’s where a moderator can stand out. Not only should you select good moderators, but keep them on the same page, for conference consistency. Here are a few ideas:

• Plugging your company in such a painfully blatant way is not acceptable. Viewing presentations before-hand would fix this problem. (Jim Sterne of the Emetrics Summit starts his conferences off by telling the audience that when a speaker starts pitching his own product, start booing, and has the audience practice their booing, so they’re ready. The message is pretty clear, and it works well.)
• Set up a conference call at least a month in advance (two months is better, if possible) with all the speakers. Discuss who covers what, to avoid overlap.
• Two to three weeks prior to the show, collect the presentations from the speakers, and ensure both of the above areas are covered. This will also assist in setting up the batting order of the speakers. Have the “stats and industry numbers” presenter go first.
• Set up a meeting with your panel in the speaker’s lounge prior to the session so everyone can meet in a relaxed setting. I’m nervous as heck prior to speaking. This is not the time to meet my fellow panelists. Plus my palms are sweaty, and nobody likes the guy who wipes his hand on his pants prior to shaking theirs. A short meeting in a more relaxed environment to exchange last minute ideas and business cards is a much better approach.
• Ask the speaker for a tidbit of info about them that nobody knows, and use it in their introduction. (For me: After getting discharged (honorably) from the Navy, I spent 2 ½ months in England, with time in London, Hull, York, Scarborough, and a long, interesting weekend in Amsterdam). The value? This gives audience members a lead-in to start a conversation with the speaker after the presentation. Very conducive to networking, and when done at the conference level, very valuable all around.
• Collect a question from each speaker to ask them after their presentation. (What’s the one big takeaway? What’s the most important lesson learned? … Something like that.) I spoke on a panel where the moderator liked “shooting from the hip.” I’m sure you can see where this is going. Nobody was prepared, and the answers were weak at best. Personally, I froze, and that’s not a pretty sight. In addition, this give the audience the ability to differentiate the most important point from each presenter’ great for note takers.
• By having this question before-hand, it can make the transition between speakers much more valuable. There’s nothing valuable about this: “Thank you very much; good presentation; very interesting. Our next presenter is…” Don’t be that guy. This is the perfect spot for a predetermined question, and also gives the moderator ample time to switch presentations.
• Afterwards, thank the speakers for presenting. Most, if not all of them paid their own way to come to the show. Some of them may be able to write it off, and others won’t. Regardless, remember that they have not only paid with money, but also time, and everyone in this industry knows how valuable that is.

By following a few of the above ideas, your next conference will be more fluid, your speakers will be better prepared and more relaxed, and your audience will walk away with a better overall conference experience: A win-win-win. I can see the people stepping from the lifeboats back onto the ship already.

What’s going to differentiate all these conferences going forward? In my opinion, the quality of the moderator will play a big part.

What do you think? Do you have any ideas to add to the list to make moderators consistently better? Are some of the points valid, or am I just a whiner?

UPDATE: I posted a follow-up to this with some additional thoughts on conference moderators.

I played in the first SEO Pubcon Poker Tournament at the Venetian last night and I won! It came down to Shoemoney and I, and I was fortunate enough to come out on top.

Just a quick note on how great of guy Jeremy is. Prior to the tournament, I had never met him. Sure, I’ve read his posts, and sure, I’ve seen the picture with the Google check (who hasn’t), but had no idea what kind of person he was. Now that I sat next to him, I can easily say that he is a class act. Smooth (and not just his haircut), polite, and down-right normal, in a good way. I couldn’t have been luckier.

As some of you may have read elsewhere, this was my first official poker event. I have played at my uncle’s (Hi Torrin), but that’s really more of an excuse for guys to get together and be stupid, which is awesome in its’ own right. This was clearly a case of beginners’ luck.

Finally, prior to the tournament, I read through the info on the charities, and was touched by the story of the wife who lost her husband in the California fires. My step-dad passed away a few years ago, and left my mother a widow, and I remember how tough a transition it was for her. I know that no amount of money will “fix” anything, but I also know that it doesn’t hurt, so I made an additional donation to the fund.

In the end, that’s really the foundation of our industry (at least to me); giving back. I’d like to kick-off what I hope becomes a tradition: That going forward, the winner of the Pubcon SEO Poker Tournament donate a percentage of the winnings to one of the great charities for which the event was conceived. In the ebb and flow of a poker tournament, it’s easy to forget why we were there in the first place; charity, and I’m honored to have the opportunity of starting what I hope is a long and beneficial tradition.

Thanks again for all the congratulations, atta-boys and photo-ops, and I can’t wait to defend my crown in 2008.

Lee Odden of TopRankBlog stopped me at SES San Jose this year and asked if I’d give him a quick 90 second interview on SES as a whole, and about a SEMPO-sponsored in-house event I was hosting the first night of the conference. Yeah, I know, I talk WAY too fast; I’m working on it, I swear.

I’m attending my first Pubcon next week, and I have to say I’m pretty excited. I’ve been to more conferences than I can remember (spoke at over a dozen in the past 4 years), but I’ve never been to a Pubcon.

I am participating in the Poker Tournament on Thursday night, and am really stoked about it. I also have a poker event in mid-December at my uncles, which basically amounts to 30 drunks getting together and making funny faces at each other until we all pass out. Can’t wait!

Here are some of the pics from the tourney.

I’ll be sure to give a full report when I get back.