Can you introduce yourself and tell us how did you start your moderating journey?
“My name is Danny Flint. Welcome to Meet The Moderators. I work for KPMG, where I am a Partner in the Cyber Practice, and I enjoy working with the Ortus team. I think my journey began by attending some of the B2B event sessions at The Ortus Club. I gained a great deal from those sessions, and through my connection with Ortus, the transition into becoming a moderator happened quite naturally.
What was the first event you ever moderated?
“I come from the UK originally, and back there we got several banks together to work on a response to some of the legislation. I was driving that for the organisation I was working for, so I naturally moved into the moderator role.
Back then, it was very specific subject matter, so it was less free-form and more direct: what are we trying to get out of this as a group?
I put myself forward. I was driving the initiative, so it was natural that I would take the lead role. This was back in the 90s, probably in the UK.”
What do you find most exciting about moderating?
“We always get a diverse group of people, so we often gain new perspectives and new insights. Obviously, there’s a great deal of B2B networking involved. It’s good to meet like-minded professionals, and I’ve made some good friends through it.”
How do you typically prepare to moderate an Ortus Club event?
“I only ever moderate where I’ve got some subject knowledge. My area is around cyber, AI, quantum, and specifically identity and access management. I look out for those types of events or events sponsored by companies in that area. It’s through subject matter knowledge.” It’s also about understanding what the sponsoring organisation wants to get out of that session, perhaps working with them in advance around where they want the conversation to go. Although when we’re in the room, it pretty much has a life of its own. People take the conversation where they want to go, and you roll with it and see where it ends up.”
What tips would you give to those who want to become moderators?
What tips would you give to those who want to become moderators?“I would suggest doing some research. It’s always better to have a list of questions that you can prompt the audience with.
There are naturally some people in the room who will be able to take the conversation forward. I think it’s important to make sure that everyone is involved, so directing traffic to people who might not be as confident in the group. It’s important that everyone gets something out of it.”
What are you personally aiming to get out of a session?
“It’s good to network. There’s an element of that where I enjoy meeting people, especially people in the same sort of industries and the same skill sets as me, so growing my network.
But there’s always something that you learn in these sessions, different perspectives and views on it. I think that helps me grow as an individual and as a lifelong consultant. We gain knowledge, and that’s what our clients pay for.”
How has moderating contributed to your growth as a leader in your field?
“I’ve learned a lot at these sessions. I’m never the cleverest guy in the room, so understanding and learning from others and how they go about tasks and how they’re thinking about the industry has improved my own confidence and my own subject matter expertise.”
How has moderating contributed to your personal growth?
“It’s helped me through learning from others and being more confident in that group setting. It helps you to prepare and learn how to prepare.
The more you do it, the easier it gets. I’m now pretty confident in that setting and in that environment, and that confidence comes across. In those environments, you can sometimes fake the confidence, and that’s a skill that goes along with moderating.”
