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Yes, absolutely. Asking questions is how you turn a lecture from a poor substitute for just reading about the subject into something far better. From the other
by almost 14y ago
Yes, absolutely. Asking questions is how you turn a lecture from a poor substitute for just reading about the subject into something far better.
From the other side I find it incredibly useful to get questions while speaking and I wish I was better at encouraging them. When writing a talk you have to write for some imaginary audience who won't ever quite match your actual one. But if you can get them to start asking questions then immediately you have the opportunity to tailor what you're doing for the audience in front of you. It's a very satisfying feeling :)
Any tips from anyone here for making people feel more inclined to ask questions? Often the ones who could most benefit (and create the most benefit for others) are the the ones least likely to have the confidence to do it.
- derleth 14y ago> Any tips from anyone here for making people feel more inclined to ask questions? Become more of an asshole. There are probably more eloquent ways of phrasing that, but I want something that will stick in your mind when you're actually on the spot, and that works. The idea here is to stop caring quite so much about what others want and what others will think of you. If you constantly worry that you're interrupting the flow and that you'll be bogging everyone else down, don't. Embrace the asshole side of you to ask the question and damn the consequences. If you worry that the people around you will think you're dense, fuck them. They don't have the first clue about you, and you're in that class for you, not for them.
- steferson 14y ago>and you're in that class for you, not for them. This! I believe this sums up the way people should behave when in a class.
- sophacles 14y agoYes, when I'm talking about something to a group of people, I like questions, they let me know where I need to be more in depth and where I an keep glossing. However, a good answer from a presenter is in fact "I will cover that in a bit (a few slides, or whatever)", and part of being a good questioner is temporarily accepting "I don't understand this one thing" and working around it. Sometimes it turns out that a bit of understanding falls out of understanding other, surrounding bits of knowledge first. Being a good questioner/learning isn't just about understanding everything instantly or when you first notice you don't understand, but rather noting the places where you need clarification, and paying attention for things that fill in that knowledge.