Kate (kate_nepveu) wrote,
Kate
kate_nepveu

suggestion to con panel moderators

I still intend to do posts about my other Readercon panels; I have some notes. But I have no time tonight for more than a quick suggestion to people moderating panels:

When you call on audience members, don't attempt to identify them by gender ("the woman on the aisle in the green shirt"). It's embarrassing if you get it wrong and it's potentially hurtful to people whose identities don't match people's expectations for their appearance. I suggest either "the person" or simply "you" — since you should be making eye contact anyway [ETA: where feasible; see comments] to make sure people know they're being called on — plus identifiers such as location in the room, hair color, glasses, shirt color, and/or presence of knitting. (Skin color is an advanced topic; if you're unsure about using it, it's probably best left alone.)

Morning ETA: this goes for the audience too! If you can't see panelists' name signs, say "Sorry, I can't see the sign for your name, but for the panelist on my far right who said X . . . " For the same reasons as above, and also because it keeps me from fuming about having been called "young lady" for a week. =>

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Tags: cons: readercon: 2012
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