5/five

PROFESSOR: Come in and sit down, Louise...Stuart. I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve asked you both to come here today?
LOUISE: Well, we’ve heard rumors...
PROFESSOR: Forget the turnouts. I’ll get straight down to business. You know that I’m organising a conference on 17th Century English Literature...
STUART: Yes, but...
PROFESSOR: Well, I’ve arranged for three keynote speakers and I’ve invited 25 panellists so that we can have five panel discussions and I want you two to organize one of the panel discussions.
LOUISE: But we haven’t done that before. Is it like a team presentation?
PROFESSOR: No, the purpose is quite different. In a team presentation the group presents agreed-upon views--as you have both done at the end of a group project.
LOUISE: Yes...
PROFESSOR: Well, in a panel discussion the purpose is to put forward different views. We want to expose the audience to several different viewpoints at the same session. It can help the audience evaluate their own positions regarding specific issues. And, if it’s well conducted, it’s usually more interesting than a single-speaker forum.