A roundtable discussion is a small, structured conversation where a group of peers discusses one topic as equals. There is no main speaker and no audience. A moderator opens with a question, every participant gets a turn to speak, and the group builds on each other's views until it reaches shared conclusions, open questions or next steps.
The name comes from the round table itself: nobody sits at the head. That is what makes a roundtable different from a panel or a presentation. It works best with 6 to 12 people who each bring real experience of the topic, a clear question, and a moderator who keeps the conversation moving and makes sure every voice is heard. This guide gives you a format you can copy, the roles, a question bank, and how to run one in person, online or across both.
What is a roundtable discussion?
A roundtable is a facilitated group discussion with three features:
- Equal participation. Everyone is a participant. The moderator guides the conversation but doesn't lecture.
- One focused topic. A single question or problem, narrow enough to discuss properly in an hour or two.
- A shared outcome. The group ends with something written down: insights, recommendations, decisions or questions to take further.
Companies use roundtables to hear from customers, align leaders across departments, gather expert input before a decision, or let peers from different teams compare how they handle the same problem. Conferences use them as small breakout tables, where each table discusses a theme and reports back.
Roundtable vs panel discussion vs meeting
| Format | Who talks | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Roundtable discussion | Every participant, in turns, with a moderator | Collecting experience and views from peers, and finding common ground |
| Panel discussion | A few panelists, in front of an audience | Sharing expert opinion with a larger group that mostly listens |
| Team meeting | Whoever owns each agenda item | Updates, coordination and decisions inside one team |
| Workshop | Everyone, through exercises | Producing a specific output, such as a plan or a set of ideas |
If most people would only listen, run a panel or a presentation instead. A roundtable only works when every person at the table has something to add.
Roundtable discussion format: a template you can copy
This format fits a 90-minute roundtable with 8 to 10 people. Shorten each block for a 60-minute version, or add a second discussion round for a half day.
| Block | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome and purpose | 5 min | The moderator states the question, the outcome the group is aiming for, and the ground rules. |
| Introductions | 10 min | Each person gives their name, role and one sentence on their experience of the topic. |
| Opening round | 15 min | Everyone answers the opening question in turn, about a minute each, with no replies yet. |
| Open discussion | 35 min | The moderator picks the themes that came up and opens them for discussion, one at a time. |
| Priorities | 10 min | The group names the two or three points that matter most, by a quick vote or a show of hands. |
| Closing round | 10 min | Each person shares one takeaway or one recommendation. |
| Wrap-up | 5 min | The moderator summarizes, confirms next steps and says when the summary will be shared. |
The opening and closing rounds are what make it a roundtable. Going around the table means the quietest person speaks as often as the loudest, and the moderator hears the full range of views before the discussion narrows.
Run this as a session in Nova
Open the opinion meeting template to collect everyone's view on a question, or the topic wall template to gather themes before you meet. Both are free to start from in the process library.
Roundtable roles
- Host. Owns the purpose and the invitation list, and acts on the outcome afterwards. Often the person who needs the input.
- Moderator. Runs the conversation: asks the questions, keeps time, invites quieter people in and stops anyone from taking over. The moderator should stay neutral on the topic. If the host has a strong stake in the answer, ask someone else to moderate.
- Participants. Bring their experience, listen, and build on what others say. Six to twelve is the useful range. Fewer and you lack variety; more and people stop getting turns.
- Note-taker. Captures themes, quotes, disagreements and decisions, not a transcript. Agree on this role before you start, so the moderator can focus on the room.
How to prepare for a roundtable
- Write the question and the outcome. "What slows down onboarding for new customers, and what should we fix first?" is a roundtable question. "Onboarding" is a topic, not a question.
- Choose participants for their experience. Mix roles, seniority or companies so the views differ, but make sure each person knows the topic first-hand.
- Send a short pre-read. One page with the question, the outcome, the agenda and any context people need. Ask each person to note their answer to the opening question before the session.
- Collect input in advance. If you gather the opening answers before the day, the moderator can group them into themes and spend the live time discussing, not listing.
- Set ground rules. Keep them short: one person speaks at a time, speak from your own experience, and what is said stays in the room unless agreed otherwise.
- Plan the room or the call. In person, seat people in a circle or around one table so everyone can see each other. Online, ask cameras on and decide how people will signal that they want to speak.
How to facilitate a roundtable discussion
A good moderator talks less than anyone else at the table. These techniques keep the conversation balanced and moving:
- Go around first, discuss second. Give everyone a turn on the opening question before you allow replies. It prevents the first strong opinion from setting the direction.
- Name the themes you hear. "Three of you mentioned handover between teams. Let's start there." This turns individual answers into a group conversation.
- Invite people in by name. "Maya, you work with this every day. What's your view?" Do it early, before someone has been silent for an hour.
- Redirect gently. When someone dominates, thank them and pass the question on: "That's helpful. I'd like to hear how others see it."
- Ask for examples. "Can you tell us about a time that happened?" Stories are more useful than opinions, and easier to compare.
- Keep visible time. Tell the group how long each block has and give a two-minute warning before you move on.
- Hold disagreement open. You don't need consensus. Record where people disagree and why. It is often the most useful part of the summary.
How to participate in a roundtable discussion
If you're invited as a participant, you add the most value when you:
- Prepare your answer to the opening question and one concrete example.
- Keep each contribution short, a minute or two, so others get their turn.
- Build on what someone else said before adding a new point: "Following on from Sam's point…"
- Speak from your own experience rather than general claims.
- Ask questions of other participants, not only the moderator.
Roundtable discussion questions
Pick one opening question and three or four follow-ups. Here is a question bank by purpose.
Opening questions
- What is the biggest challenge you face with this right now?
- What has worked well for you, and what hasn't?
- If you could change one thing about how this works today, what would it be?
Questions to go deeper
- Can you give us an example of when that happened?
- What did you try, and what happened next?
- Who else does this affect, and how?
- What would have to be true for that to work here?
Questions for customer or user roundtables
- Walk us through the last time you used the product for this.
- Where did you get stuck, and what did you do?
- What do you use alongside it, and why?
Questions for leadership and cross-team roundtables
- Where does work slow down between your team and the next?
- Which decisions take longer than they should, and why?
- What would you stop doing if you could?
Closing questions
- What is your one takeaway from today?
- What should we do first?
- What question should we come back to next time?
Roundtable discussion topic ideas
A good topic is one where every participant has first-hand experience and the answer isn't obvious. Some examples for business roundtables:
- How teams decide what to work on next quarter.
- What customers expect in their first 30 days.
- How managers run one-on-ones and team check-ins.
- Using AI in daily work: what helps and what doesn't.
- Hiring and onboarding across remote and office teams.
- Cutting meeting time without losing alignment.
Running a roundtable online or hybrid
Online roundtables work well if you keep the group smaller, around six to eight people, and the structure tighter.
- Collect opening answers before the call. People read each other's answers in advance, and the call starts with discussion.
- Use a speaking order. Post the order for each round so nobody has to fight for a gap in the conversation.
- Give remote people the first turn in hybrid groups. People in the room tend to talk to each other. Starting each round with someone remote keeps everyone included.
- Keep notes visible to everyone. A shared page where the note-taker writes themes as they come up lets people correct and add to them in the moment.
How to capture the outcomes
A roundtable is only as useful as the summary afterwards. Within a day, share a short write-up:
- The question and who took part.
- The main themes, with one or two quotes or examples each.
- Where the group agreed and where it disagreed.
- The priorities or recommendations the group chose.
- Next steps, with an owner and a date for each.
Send it to the participants first and give them a day to correct it. People who see their input reflected accurately come back the next time you ask.
How to run a roundtable in Nova
In Nova, a roundtable is a session: a live meeting with goals and instructions, a start and due date, and a list of steps. Each step asks for one kind of input. You can collect the opening answers before the day, run the discussion live, and keep the conclusions with the project they belong to.
Goals and instructions
Visible to allWhat slows down onboarding for new customers, and what should we fix first? Add your answer to step 1 before Thursday.
Conclusions
A few settings help a roundtable run smoothly:
- Opening answers in advance. Make step 1 an Individual note and give it a due date before the meeting. Set it to Collaborator responses private if you want each person to answer before seeing the others.
- Guests from outside your team. Invite customers, partners or peers from other companies as collaborators. They see only this session and nothing else in your workspace.
- The call link in the session. Paste your Meet, Teams or other video link into Video Call Link, and people join with Join call.
- Focus during the meeting. Use All Follow Me so everyone's screen follows the moderator's, and a Session Timer for each round.
- Private moderator notes. Keep your running order and prompts in Leadership Notes, which only session leaders see.
- A summary in minutes. Select Generate AI Conclusions to have Nova AI draft the summary from the notes, then edit it. Conclusions appear in the project's decision log, so the outcome is easy to find later.
For a recurring series, such as a quarterly customer roundtable, save your session as a process and start each new one from it. See Save and share your own processes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- A topic, not a question. Without a clear question, the discussion drifts and the summary has nothing to say.
- Too many people. Past twelve, people stop getting turns and it becomes a panel with a quiet audience.
- A moderator with an agenda. If the moderator argues for an answer, participants stop sharing views that differ.
- No follow-up. If participants never hear what happened with their input, they won't come to the next one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the purpose of a roundtable discussion?
To hear from a group of peers on one question and reach shared insights, recommendations or decisions. Everyone takes part as an equal, so the group hears views it would miss in a presentation or a panel.
How many people should be in a roundtable discussion?
Six to twelve people works best in person, and six to eight online. With fewer, you lose variety. With more, people stop getting turns to speak.
How long should a roundtable discussion last?
Sixty to ninety minutes for a single question. Longer roundtables need breaks and a second question, or people tire and the discussion repeats itself.
What is the difference between a roundtable and a panel discussion?
In a panel, a few experts speak and an audience listens. In a roundtable, everyone at the table is a participant and speaks in turn, with a moderator guiding the conversation.
Who should moderate a roundtable?
Someone neutral on the topic who can keep time, invite quieter people in and stop anyone from dominating. If the host has a strong stake in the answer, ask a colleague or an outside facilitator to moderate.