Hosting Virtual Roundtables

Organizing Effective Online Discussion Forums

A well-executed virtual roundtable is a powerful tool for fostering meaningful dialogue, building community, and generating valuable insights. Unlike a webinar or presentation, its success hinges on creating an environment where participants feel comfortable sharing and debating ideas. This requires meticulous planning across three core pillars: defining a clear purpose, designing an engaging format, and executing with strong moderation and technology.

Establish a Clear Objective and Compelling Topic

Every successful session begins with a sharp focus. A vague theme leads to a scattered discussion.

• Define Your Primary Goal: Be specific about what you want to achieve. Are you aiming for peer learning among practitioners, establishing thought leadership on an emerging trend, conducting customer research for product development, generating qualified leads, or accelerating a deal with key stakeholders? Your goal dictates everything from your invite list to your follow-up strategy.
• Select a Specific, Timely Topic: Choose a subject that is both relevant to your target audience and aligned with your organizational aims. Instead of "The Future of Marketing," opt for "Navigating First-Party Data Strategies in a Post-Cookie Landscape." A focused topic attracts the right participants and yields more actionable insights.
• Validate Interest: Before finalizing, gauge interest through a quick survey to your community or direct outreach to a few potential attendees. This ensures the topic resonates and feels co-created, increasing commitment.

A roundtable on "Budgeting Challenges for Mid-Market SaaS Companies" will attract a more engaged, specific group than one on "Finance Tips."

Design the Participant Experience and Agenda

The structure of your hosting virtual roundtables is what transforms a video call into a productive conversation.

• Optimal Duration and Size:
  • Length: Aim for 30–60 minutes to maintain energy and focus. Extend to 90 minutes only if you have a highly engaged group and a compelling reason.
  • Group Size: For a true discussion where everyone can contribute, limit core participants to 4–6. You can host a larger audience in listen-only mode, with structured Q&A periods.
• Create a Focused Agenda: Share this with participants in advance.
  1. Welcome (5-10 min): Host introduces the goal, topic, and ground rules. Each participant gives a brief introduction.
  2. Guided Discussion (30-45 min): Center the conversation around 2-3 pre-circulated key questions. The moderator facilitates, ensuring each segment is explored.
  3. Wrap-up (5-10 min): Summarize key takeaways, address audience questions, and outline clear next steps.
• Curate the Right Participants and Moderator:
  • Participants: Invite individuals with complementary roles and diverse perspectives, not just similar job titles. A mix of an engineer, a product manager, and a customer success lead will yield a richer discussion on a product challenge than three engineers.
  • Moderator: This is a critical role. Choose someone who is deeply familiar with the topic and possesses strong facilitation skills. They must balance airtime, ask probing follow-up questions, and manage the clock.

Pre-Event Checklist

• $render`✓` Primary goal and specific topic are defined.
• $render`✓` Participant list (4-6 core speakers) is finalized with diverse viewpoints.
• $render`✓` An experienced moderator is confirmed and briefed.
• $render`✓` A timed agenda with 2-3 discussion questions is created.
• $render`✓` Agenda and questions are sent to participants at least 48 hours in advance.

Execute with Flawless Technology and Engagement

The live event is where preparation meets performance. Your focus is on fostering inclusion and maintaining flow.

• Select and Test Your Platform: Use a tool that supports screen sharing, chat, live polls, and optionally, breakout rooms. Platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or specialized solutions like Circle or Butter are common choices.
  • Conduct a technical rehearsal with the moderator and all speakers to check audio, video, and any shared content.
  • Assign a dedicated tech host to manage participant admission, monitor the chat/Q&A, handle troubleshooting, and manage the recording. This frees the moderator to focus solely on facilitation.
• Drive Interaction from the Start:
  • Begin with a quick, low-stakes icebreaker question to get everyone speaking early.
  • Set clear ground rules: e.g., "Please keep contributions concise," "Use the 'raise hand' feature," "Cameras on when possible."
  • Use live polls at strategic points to instantly gather group sentiment and spark conversation.
  • The moderator should actively manage the conversation: "That's a great point, Jane. Mark, I'd love to hear your perspective on this as well."
• Manage Questions and Maintain Focus:
  • Explain at the outset how questions will be handled (e.g., "Please use the Q&A box for questions; we'll address them at the end.").
  • Have your tech host screen and prioritize questions, removing duplicates or off-topic ones.
  • If the discussion veers into a valuable but deep tangent, the moderator should acknowledge it and suggest parking it for a follow-up email or future session. "That's a critical technical detail. Let's note that for a separate deep-dive and return to our main question about implementation timelines."

Capitalize on the Conversation Afterward

The value of hosting virtual roundtables extends far beyond the live session.

• Send a Prompt Follow-Up: Within 24 hours, send a thank-you email to all attendees and participants. Include:
  • Key takeaways and insights synthesized from the discussion.
  • A link to the recording (if permission was granted) and any slides or resources shared.
  • A short feedback survey to improve future events.
  • Any promised next steps or resources.
• Repurpose the Content: With participants' permission, maximize the investment.
  • Edit the recording into short clips highlighting key quotes or insights for social media.
  • Use the notes and takeaways to write a blog post or article summarizing the discussion.
  • Turn the insights into internal training materials or sales enablement content.

Post-Event Checklist

• $render`✓` Thank-you email with takeaways and resources sent within 24 hours.
• $render`✓` Feedback survey distributed and results reviewed.
• $render`✓` Recording is edited and stored appropriately.
• $render`✓` Plan for repurposing content (blog, social clips, internal memo) is initiated.
• $render`✓` Invite list and topics are refined based on feedback for future sessions.

Tailoring Your Approach: Sample Scenarios

Your specific context will shape your planning. Here are two common scenarios:

Scenario 1: Customer Research Roundtable

• Goal: Understand challenges with a specific feature to inform the product roadmap.
• Participants: 5-6 customers from different company sizes, plus a product manager as moderator.
• Format: 45 minutes. Agenda: Quick intro, two main questions ("What is your biggest hurdle with X?" "What would an ideal solution look like?"), wrap-up.
• Key Action: The tech host meticulously notes all feedback. Follow-up includes a summary sent to the product team and a personal thank you to each participant.

Scenario 2: Thought Leadership Roundtable

• Goal: Position your company as a leader in a new industry trend.
• Participants: 1 internal expert, 3-4 external industry voices (analysts, partners).
• Format: 60 minutes, with a larger invited audience. Includes two live polls for the audience. Agenda: Moderated discussion on the trend, followed by a 10-minute live Q&A from the audience.
• Key Action: Recording is professionally edited. Key quotes and a full article are published on the company blog and promoted via LinkedIn.

By applying these structured steps—from goal-setting to follow-up—you can consistently host virtual roundtables that are valuable for participants and achieve your strategic objectives.