A forum consists with “a public discussion in which the full audience participates, examining a topic or problem after a short presentation by the group” (p. 219). A panel is “a public format with group of four to eight experts discusses a problem or decision in front of an audience. This discussion often follows the problem-solving format but uses an informal, sometimes humorous, style of interaction to keep the audience’s attention and to effetely share information that may be technical in nature” (p. 220). However, a panel has no direct interaction between audience and panel of expert. A colloquium usually “open with short position or opinion statements by the experts and then shifts to a more interactive public discussion of the issues with audience participation, shifting back to comments by one or more of the experts, and returning again to audience comments, so that the discussion is carried on both in front of and with the participation of audience members” (p. 221). A symposium is “to present complex technical information to the audience about the problem. The speeches are well prepared, practiced, and polished presentations that are uninterrupted by the audience and presented by skilled public speakers” (p. 221). I would prefer the colloquium because I think the constant interaction between audience and speaker is very helpful. Feedbacks from the speaker is very direct and the shifting back and forth of comments would encourage audience to participate more because they would know they would get more feedback.
Hi Sogo, after reading your entry it made me rethink my answer on the same question. I chose the symposium because I thought that it made the most sense and was organized the best. But your right, it would be beneficial to have more feedback from people in an audience, maybe they have a solution that would ease the conflict. Colloquium has experts in the field and the general public, a good mix, I just thought it would be too overwhelming dealing with all sorts of opinions.
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