Everyone loves the panelist

We’re already almost two weeks into 2026. Are you ready for the industry panels that will start coming fast and furious in February, March, and April?

How can you be the panelist that everyone remembers? How can you coach your CTO or CEO to be that panelist?

The answer is simple: A great panelist is gracious to fellow panelists and makes the whole conversation better!

The famous rule of improvisational comedy, “YES, AND”, is ideal for a panel.

For example, your fellow panelist Gretchen says something about weather patterns and supply chains. You can add, “Gretchen’s exactly right, weather can be so disruptive to any supply chain. That’s why weather data is the essential component of our models at WidgetCo. And those models have enabled us to change more than one industry.”

Or your fellow panelist Don says, “We don’t believe that most American manufacturing companies are ready for physical AI.” and you can say, “Don is correct that there’s resistance and misunderstanding. And yet, WidgetCo partners are achieving real gains with so many types of purpose-designed industrial robots.”

You need two skills to be a great panelist: Listening and pivoting.

You actively engage in listening as the moderator asks questions, whether they are directed to you or not. You listen to what your fellow panelists say. An idea sparks. Then you use your second skill, pivoting.

A pivot is a graceful transition from point A (what you are hearing) to point B (what you want to say). It’s vital that you have clarity on your point B - your message. You cannot build a bridge to nowhere. If you speak up and pivot, then don’t deliver anything worth saying, you’ve wasted the audience’s time!

In a way, a panel is a hybrid between a speech (you create and deliver compelling content) and a media interview (you actively listen and pivot).

Bring both skills to the table and you will be a great panelist! Good luck with your panels this year!