Types of public speaking

A forum seems to be the type of presentation that compliments community and small political discussions. A forum is a audience participatory meeting that gives individuals an opportunity to speak on an issue in front of the rest of the audience. It is structured and guided by a moderator that allows for all views/opinions to be expressed. This form of presentation seems like something that allows for the most amount of input, but least amount of depth or background from the speakers. It seems like the usual type of presentation found at a community or PTA type meeting.

A panel is when four to eight experts on an issue discuss problem solving of the issue in front of an audience. This format is guided by a moderator, who keeps time and summarizes the positions and aspects of the speakers to the audience. This seems like something similar to a talk show, and can provide some in-depth, well thought out discussion and problem solving. But could lack creativity, diversity or audience participation.

A colloquium is when three to six experts from diverse/divergent views on an issue, discuss the issue in front of an audience. This type of presentation is different in that the purpose is to identify and work through possible solutions with collaboration of the audience and experts. The moderator purposely encourages audience participation and questions, while keeping the discussion on track and moving along. I think this would be an interesting presentation, bring the mixture of deep knowledge and experience from the experts and the creativity and passion form the audience into the problem solving mixture. Although the inclusion of a type of 'open forum' could possible lead to disruption and getting of track.

A symposium is a series of speeches by experts on different areas of a complex problem. The purpose is to present technical information and complicated aspects of the problem. The speeches and speakers are well polished and experienced. There is no audience participation during speeches, but there may be a separate forum for questions after the speeches. This is the type of presentation style for very advanced, scientific, and technical issues. These can be tedious but very indepth.

If I were to use on of these presentation formats I would prefer to view and engage in a panel. I think this would offer the most exciting discussion on an issue, because it uses a focused group of experts, with good background knowledge on the issues.