This thread happened mid flight cause I was super irritated by the guy next to me and not being able to sleep as I usually do. Also due to some things that happened at Unplugged and at many, many panels I have been on before. Original twitter thread here, what follows is a slightly edited and cleaned up for typos version in blog format.

On being a good panelist

First off, let’s talk about how much space you take as a panelist. I was on a couple panels where people talked a lot, and took up a lot of space. As a panelist, you should be cognizant of how much you are talking. Know that you do not need to respond to everything posited to the panel, at exhaustive length. The point of a panel is to hear a variety of voices; not just yours.

This heinous panelist crime is usually committed by cis straight white dudes on panels, sometimes white women. Especially egregious when there is little color so to speak among the speakers. If I want to hear just one person on a given topic, I’ll attend a lecture or watch their content. Also talking over someone else or interjecting before anyone else has had a chance to speak on the current question/topic to “add one more thing!” Is irritating as fuck to deal with or witness.

I’ve also been on panels where I/other women/POC/non white queers were spoken over. In my case it cements not wanting to panel with those people ever again. If I want to be spoken over in front of an audience, I’ll just hop on twitter. (That was capital “S” snark, in case you needed clarification) It’s simply entitled and rude AF to think whatever you have to say is so goddamned important that you can’t hold your thought while someone else is speaking.

Special shoutout to the PAX East Panel where I was talked over in the interest of talking about my own works…to me. 😐🤔

On Being a Good Moderator

It’s our job to keep the conversation for the hour (or however much time we have) flowing and pending your topic, to allow for Q&A.  Make sure everyone has a chance to speak. You invited them to be up there with you after all, make sure your panelists get at least one moment to show why you did so.

Also, for the love of dog; manage your Q&A! How many panels have folks been at where someone rambles, or has more of a comment than a question? Nip that in the bud at the start of the panel & before starting the Q&A portion of your session. Don’t let folks interject from the audience. Unless you actually want call & response? Nip that in the bud too.

Don’t be afraid to ask where their question is or ask them to move along in the interest of time. *  * = being when you may want commentary or if your panel is on a sensitive topic; or you can tell someone is terrified of having gotten in front of a room full of people to talk. Be kind in those situations.

Lastly, be mindful of time even with convention volunteers time keeping in the session room. Learn how to skip around or cut off a chatty panelist that is taking too much space. That last bit is especially relevant when you are running a panel of mostly white panelists with one/few POC. As we’re too easily discounted and dismissed on panels, no matter our expertise.

Shoutout to for being great moderators in panels I’ve been on or watched.

 

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Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker.. She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr. She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press) Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.