Virtual Roundtables: Meaning, Examples and How to Moderate One

The informal, relaxed introduction

This is an art. The first ten minutes set the tone for the next eighty. If introductions feel like a formal roll call, people stay guarded. If they feel like the start of a good conversation, people open up.

The goal is to get every attendee speaking early, about something easy, in a way that makes them feel welcome rather than tested. Once someone has spoken once, they are far more likely to speak again.

As a moderator, I see my role as creating an environment where people feel comfortable having an open and honest conversation. A good virtual round table shouldn't feel like a webinar or a sales pitch. It should feel like a group of peers sitting around a table, sharing the challenges they're facing and learning from each other.

Keven Richards, Chief Customer Officer, ConvergeX Connections

Topic moderation

The moderator's job is to keep the discussion useful, not to fill it with their own views. In Keven's words: "My job is to keep that conversation flowing, make sure everyone has the opportunity to contribute, ask the follow-up questions that take the discussion a little deeper, and sometimes challenge the group to look at something from a different perspective."

In practice, that means:

• Keeping the conversation anchored to the agreed theme, and steering gently back when it drifts.
• Balancing airtime, so the most senior or most talkative voice does not dominate.
• Inviting quieter attendees in by name, with a question they can answer well.
• Challenging the group with a different angle when everyone starts to agree too easily.
• Keeping the sponsor's contribution helpful, never salesy.

The prospective question list

Before the session, the moderator prepares a list of prospective questions with the sponsor. They form the backbone of the discussion, but they are a guide, not a script. Good questions are open, specific and easy for a senior leader to answer from experience. Here are examples in the style we use:

1. What is the one problem in this area taking up most of your time right now?
2. Where have you seen this go well, and what made the difference?
3. What has not worked, and what would you do differently?
4. Who else in the business needs to be on board, and how do you win them over?
5. How are you measuring success, and how do you report it to the board?
6. What is AI actually changing in your team today, beyond the hype?
7. If you were starting again, what would you prioritise first?
8. What would you want to ask the others at this table?

Personalised, on-topic ad-hoc questions

The best moments in a roundtable are rarely on the question list. They come when the moderator picks up on something an attendee said and asks them to go further, or connects two attendees' experiences.

This works best when the moderator has done their homework on every attendee's role and organisation beforehand. For example: "You mentioned you are three months into moving the finance team off spreadsheets. What surprised you most?" Or: "That sounds close to what you described earlier. Did you run into the same resistance from IT?"

Personalised follow-ups show attendees they are being listened to. That is what keeps a senior leader engaged for 90 minutes, and what makes them happy to talk again afterwards.