I'm attaching an out-dated panel form from 2011. It'll give you a good idea of what to think of for your panel.
They've streamlined it now so they don't ask what department it's in now; all Panel forms go to Panels. You'll see on the new form
After that is thinking up the panel name and description. These should take you a bit to think up- descriptions are best kept at 250 words or less (aim for 100 or less imo). They're the things that are printed in the big fancy book people get at con. If you have your book from last year, peruse through it and read over what other people wrote down to further describe their panel. (IE My writing marathon panel, I wrote in the description that people won't need to bring paper or writing tools. A handy thing since 90% of people don't carry that kind of gear to a panel.)
Next up is what day and time. This is trickier to decide. First up decide how long you want your panel to be - 60min for you. Then decide what time of day is best. They now have blocks of time like 8am-12pm and 12pm-4pm, 4pm-8pm, 8pm-10pm, and 10pm-3am. Keep in mind that most people are sleepy or doing main events until at least noon or 2pm, some don't end until 4; this is important since you might be contested against other well-known panels that need large rooms. If you aren't too worried about getting a large room, keep in mind for attendance. (My writing panel overlapped into the cosplay contest's line-up time last year and the resulted in me getting people who would leave, or less people overall showing up.) Also in terms of day, day1 and day4 are usually the easiest days to book things on. They
always want panels for day4. (When you send in the form, you can also shoot them an email with the title of your panel and tell them you're flexible on days. Note this especially if you really have no care in the world as to what might contest your panel, like if you want to go to the AMV contest, Cosplay Chess or one of the late-night comedy panels. Also if your plans change, and say you want to enter the Costume Contest, shoot them an email to let them know that you're entering and obviously your panel cannot contest for time slots during certain times.)
After is room
type and
size. You're probably familiar since you've been going to cons with the set-ups. Theater type rooms are about 100 chair with a table upfront for the panelists to sit at. This is the most common and basic set-up. Theater with a stage, well that's usually the larger rooms for about 300 people, but I have seen it shrunk down to rooms for 100 people in years past, so they are flexible. Workshop is the other common panel type, and this one can have 2 forms- 1, where every chair is pushed against the wall and is cleared for physical activity, and 2, similar to a classroom with long tables and chairs with a front table for the panelists. Banquet (which might not be available this year) is uncommon, and usually is reserved for things like tea-parties- it's a lot of circular type tables arranged like a cafe with no real "front"; it's meant for mingling.
Deciding on a room style you'll want will be really important to what room you get into. Say you want a workshop or theater type room, but you want all of the chairs cleared at the front (like the Zelda gameshow last year), that requires staff to move the chairs for you. You should not and may never move chairs on your own. If you need a different set-up, make sure you check the room at least 1hr before so you can notify the Programming or staff offices on-site that a change needs to happen. You should look into that really at the start of day1. Important to note is that if you don't require a special set-up, they will be able to take care of everything for you on their own like a well-oiled machine; but still check the room to make sure it's the size and set-up you were hoping for on day1.
This form mentions if you'll need volunteers or yojimbo (line organizers). I forget if that's on more recent forms honestly, but if you need help setting up and taking down and you don't have friends to help, you can probably still ask for at least one extra body to help.
They'll also ask what kind of tech you need- a projector, # of mics, and stuff. They will not supply the computer for you, and generally not a hook-up for a mac to the projectors (they're mostly all set up for PCs), but you can ask and see what they say. As I said, the forms also will ask if you need set up and take down time. I always buffeted at least 10min into my panels so it's 50min of event and 60min of set-up or take-down, and if you need beyond that, then ask them. I'd suggest you ask for a 10-15min take down, since it might be so fun that chaos ensues when it's time to leave.
Also, keep in mind that you are welcome to allow anyone lining up outside the room to enter early. Once I'm done with my set-ups, I go out into the hall and tell the people lining up that they can come in and sit. I personally like to do that since it helps start the panel on time, and reduce chaos of those walking in the halls outside.
Uhm... I can't think of any other tips really. The other thing you can email about and ask when you're sending in the form is if the door should remain open or closed. Policy regarding that is kind of watery- all 18+ panels require the doors shut, where as most all-ages prefer the doors to stay open. I request the ability to close the doors for my panels since it helps cut down on noise and really brings the attendees focus to the panel. You might be able to request a water station in the back of your room too, not sure how well that'd go over, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
That got really long ... lol But that's just a basic idea of the form.
