3 ms·

There is a common thing people do in the Q&A after talks/lectures where instead of asking a question, they try to make a point, often using rhetoric and hyperbo

There is a common thing people do in the Q&A after talks/lectures where instead of asking a question, they try to make a point, often using rhetoric and hyperbole in their question to discredit the speaker. And rarely is the question boiled down to something simple, instead a long rambling goes on and (in some cases) baffles the speaker/lecturer who is left to distill the question down to more simple terms. Don't do this!

nivertech 4y ago
I encountered this behavior at many meetups and conferences. One good trick is to ask people to make their questions as short as possible. One speaker asked to use up to 8 words per question (and he actually counted the words and rejected the long questions;) Another speaker had a list of pre-submitted questions, and he deliberately ignored long questions, and only answered the short ones.
- pixl97 4y ago
  "the answer to life, the universe and everything" Just because it's short doesn't mean it's not exceptionally vague.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
    But it does raise the difficulty of grandstanding, which is the point.
    - maroonblazer 4y ago
      I've always preferred the format where the speaker or moderator asks for several questions in one round, then the speaker can pick off each question in one go. This approach puts the onus on the questioner to be as concise as possible, which is not too much to ask in consideration of the audience. It becomes more difficult to grandstand when the audience recognizes that the objective is to collect a set of questions as quickly as possible and you taking 5 minutes to set your question up is at best tedious and at worst insulting to everyone in attendance.
dcminter 4y ago
Often the point they wish to make is "I am very knowledgeable about this subject too" but the point they actually make is "I am jealous of the speaker's prestige." One of the reasons I usually try to sneak out before the Q&A regardless of how good the speaker was...
nathias 4y ago
ah you mean the famous "Not-Really-A-Question-More-Of-A-Comment-Guy"
mkoubaa 4y ago
The social expectation for speakers to tolerate these kinds of questions should be fought. Anyone putting together a lecture and invite a speaker should set the right kinds of expectations - even if it means cutting off the mic
doh 4y ago
It reminds me of this [0] video of Steve Jobs responding to a heckler. This is also very common on Twitter. Someone states a generic observation and people nail them with exceptions. [0] https://youtu.be/oeqPrUmVz-o https://youtu.be/oeqPrUmVz-o

nivertech 4y ago

I encountered this behavior at many meetups and conferences. One good trick is to ask people to make their questions as short as possible. One speaker asked to use up to 8 words per question (and he actually counted the words and rejected the long questions;) Another speaker had a list of pre-submitted questions, and he deliberately ignored long questions, and only answered the short ones.

pixl97 4y ago
"the answer to life, the universe and everything" Just because it's short doesn't mean it's not exceptionally vague.
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
  But it does raise the difficulty of grandstanding, which is the point.
  - maroonblazer 4y ago
    I've always preferred the format where the speaker or moderator asks for several questions in one round, then the speaker can pick off each question in one go. This approach puts the onus on the questioner to be as concise as possible, which is not too much to ask in consideration of the audience. It becomes more difficult to grandstand when the audience recognizes that the objective is to collect a set of questions as quickly as possible and you taking 5 minutes to set your question up is at best tedious and at worst insulting to everyone in attendance.

dcminter 4y ago

Often the point they wish to make is "I am very knowledgeable about this subject too" but the point they actually make is "I am jealous of the speaker's prestige." One of the reasons I usually try to sneak out before the Q&A regardless of how good the speaker was...

nathias 4y ago

ah you mean the famous "Not-Really-A-Question-More-Of-A-Comment-Guy"

mkoubaa 4y ago

The social expectation for speakers to tolerate these kinds of questions should be fought. Anyone putting together a lecture and invite a speaker should set the right kinds of expectations - even if it means cutting off the mic

doh 4y ago

It reminds me of this [0] video of Steve Jobs responding to a heckler. This is also very common on Twitter. Someone states a generic observation and people nail them with exceptions. [0] https://youtu.be/oeqPrUmVz-o https://youtu.be/oeqPrUmVz-o