If you want news coverage, either do something or say something interesting. A panel allows you to say something that could make headlines even if it’s just a headline in a LinkedIn post.

Panel events have exploded in popularity since things opened up after the pandemic. They offer huge benefits. Things participants say can be quite newsworthy and this garners attention. 

On any given day I have the opportunity to attend at least one panel. On some days, I can pick from five or more. Right now Open Compute OCP in San Jose is happening and I was offered a free pass. I’m thinking about it. A conference like that offers one panel after the next with the biggest name in B2B tech and the consumer industry. OCP focuses on sustainability.

Now panels are mostly in-person. By the way, if you want to be a speaker at an upcoming conference, take a look at the schedule six months in advance and look for the speaker forms online. Hire a PR pro to help keep track of it all and say something catchy and timely in the form. 

I once did a freelance gig that was literally all speaker opportunities and award nominations. 

My Panel at Northeastern U. 

I was a panelist at Northeastern University in San Jose recently and it was fun. You’re inviting me to talk with a microphone? Yes, please. Flashback to Mr. Microphone commercials, “I’m on the radio, I love it!”  The topic was the impact of generative AI on journalism and PR. I typically say, “No” to panel invitations which I’ve been getting regularly for more than a decade but the recent one was on a Saturday, so I finally said, “Yes.” When you do PR you have to drop everything when news needs to go out. Saturday works better for me.

Here are tips that worked for me that will help you slay your next panel:

1. Be Yourself – I was nervous early on preparing with a bit of imposter syndrome. They would ask me about artificial intelligence, a technical topic. Shouldn’t a scientist or engineer do this? But then I thought, they are asking about my area of expertise. AI in public relations specifically. Once I had that epiphany I felt better moving forward. AI is used widely in public relations, e.g. by companies like Meltwater, MuckRack and Cision. Startups are using it to write press releases. That and I attend a lot of talks and lectures by STEM PhDs, ask a lot of questions and take copious notes. Go ahead and ask me when machines will be as smart as humans. I can answer that based on something a neural network scientist said to me. I can also drone on about the topic. I said “drone’” That’s AI humor.
2. Do Your Homework on the Other Panelists – Look at the panelists LinkedIn profiles or university scholar pages. Read one story or online comment by each of them. Study their organizations a bit and learn their biases. This will help you better converse with them and not say something you regret later. Realize that one will be swapped out a day prior due to illness or whatever. Arrive at the event early and research the newly added folks. Introduce yourself. My newly added panelist moderator had three degrees from MIT. I asked him a bunch of questions and learned we both worked at IBM. 
3. Add Value – I needed an interesting point to make, one that I invented. I came up with a zinger while researching the other panelists which included Fast Company’s Harry McKracken and the founder of the Redwood City Pulse, Michelle Iracheta. I mentioned to her that ChatGPT doesn’t recognize information newer than Sept. 2021. And this is a huge shortcoming! I confirmed that her news site was founded in October 2021. We had an epiphany that ChatGPT’s huge limitation wouldn’t even recognize her media outlet that was a full two years old. We said that during the panel. That added value.

Here’s a tip for women. Say, “yes” to a panel invitation even if you think you are too junior or shy. The trend is that more men are readily saying, “Yes.” And yes, I regret saying, no, all of these years. We need more women panels. Better yet, how about an all-women panel? I heard only women speakers the other day at Hacker Dojo. They were all female roboticists. 

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Michelle McIntyre is an award-winning Silicon Valley tech PR consultant. She is the head of editorial content for PRSA Silicon Valley. Sign up for the PRSA SV 2023 Media Predicts panel event on Dec. 6, 2023, at this link. Photos: Me and Northeastern GenAI panel audience members and event coordinators in photo 1. Me and Harry McCracken in photo 2.