

Why to ask questions at conferences - akkartik
http://cecinestpasun.com/entries/i-can-haz-question-or-five

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nathanieljones
This courtesy was drilled into me over and over again by my mentor. Asking a
great question is shows respect for the speaker, who not only took time out of
his day to show up, but put a lot of time into putting his presentation
together and showed the nerve to stand in front of a crowd to air his ideas.

It's also an opportunity for you to challenge the speaker if there was
something you disagreed with. Phrased correctly, a question can make both the
speaker and the audience re-think something that was stated earlier.

One thing I see missed sometimes is proper form when asking questions.
Standing up, stating your name and where you're from, and thanking the speaker
for coming and for taking your question add just a few seconds to your
question, but they can go a long way to making the speaker feel welcome. From
the tech conference videos I've seen, I think this is something we can improve
on in the hacker culture. We know what it's like to offer up our work without
appreciation to people who don't understand what we do -- but I want to work
on being more appreciative of my fellow developers.

~~~
Ygor
"One thing I see missed sometimes is proper form when asking questions.
Standing up, stating your name and where you're from ..."

Is it okay to say where you work - the name of the company? Or is it better to
leave it out? Can it be considered rude and something like trying to get some
free marketing for the company? I am asking because I am not sure, and I heard
both opinions so far...

~~~
jacobian
It's fine to state where you work if:

\- It's relevant to the question (i.e. the question has to do with a
particular application at work).

\- You're at an industry/trade show (where "where you work" is more important
to fellow attendees than "who you are").

\- It provides information the speaker needs (i.e. so that she'll know you're
a colleague/partner/competitor).

It's not okay if:

\- You waste any more time on your employment than "I'm So and So, developer
at Initrode, and I'd like to know..."

\- You're going to hijack the time to talk about your company.

\- You're trying to "get some free marketing".

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swombat
Once upon a time, my dad told me that I should always make a point to ask at
least one intelligent question at every conference. I think it's great advice.

Worth adding that your question should be concise and clear. Far too many
times I see cretins asking so-called "questions" that are nothing more than an
excuse to ramble on about their own opinions on the topic.

Tip: If your "question" begins with "I believe that" and doesn't end with a
question mark within about 20-30 seconds, it's not a question. Keep it to
later or earn the hatred of everyone else in the room. I was at a singularity
conference (UK Humanity Plus) a few months ago which seemed filled with idiots
who didn't know how to ask concise questions - or thought that the question
time was their chance to ramble on about their views on the topic at hand. I
really honestly believe that those people should be forcefully kicked out of
the room and barred from later talks. Wankers.

~~~
dugmartin
Twenty years ago, when I was in college, I went to hear William F. Buckley
give a lecture. At the end of the lecture there was question time. The second
or third person at the microphone started their question and it turned into a
90 second monologue weaving obscure historical facts together with personal
conjectures. At the end of the "question" Buckley leaned into his podium
microphone and simply said, "My, aren't we educated." It was beautiful.

~~~
swombat
Awesome. I'll keep that one in mind for when I'm a world famous intellectual
giving a talk. _grin_

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wallflower
Also, asking questions in a public forum is a good hack for practicing public
speaking, if you need practice.

~~~
jbellis
No, it's not. It's the difference between lightning and a lightning bug (with
apologies to Mark Twain).

~~~
RK
I personally find asking questions more nerve racking than giving a talk. With
a talk I've probably practiced it 20 times and have pretty pictures to help
illustrate my points. For questions you have to think rather quickly to make
yourself not sound like an idiot in the 20 second window you have, possibly on
a topic of mere interest, but little expertise.

~~~
samatman
One of the reasons to have a notepad out during a presentation is to write
down questions as they occur.

Generally, I find interesting questions hit me in the middle of a talk. That's
usually where the presenter is rushing through a little, or sketching out main
points that may not all get followed up later.

------
robg
_During most talks, that means I'm actively sitting there trying to work out
what question I'm going to ask._

I am utterly fascinated by this self-editing process involved in question
asking. It has its roots early in child development and we learn that through
better questions, we'll often get better answers. The self-editing forces us
to reconsider our basic assumptions and in regards to the speaker's. What we
don't know becomes preeminent.

------
hcayless
A good moderator will have a question ready for each speaker, just in case
there are crickets.

I've certainly seen dumb and ideologically or politically motivated questions,
but I think almost any discussion is better than no discussion. And if you
can't publicly discuss your topic, you've no business presenting on it.

------
larsberg
At least in the PL conferences I've been to, the session chair is expected to
have a softball question for the speaker if there are no questions being
asked. That question usually serves the same purpose as the one that this
individual has.

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drblast
I'm opposed to this, because a lot of times the personalities who do this are
asking the question not because they want an answer, but because they want to
show off in front of a large room.

You're also putting the speaker on the spot; rarely does the public question
result in a meaningful conversation between the asker and the speaker.

If you want to show interest in the speaker's topic, talk to him after the
presentation. It's a lot more comfortable for all involved, particularly those
in the audience who genuinely aren't interested in anything either of you have
to say.

~~~
dotBen
I'm really conflicted on this topic: I do agree there is much value to be had
from asking at least one question per conference... but what would happen if
all attendees had the same attitude.

Aside from massive lines to the microphone, the main concern is that really
important/pressing questions might be lost because more eager beavers got up
to the mic to ask their token 'must as at least one' question first.

~~~
kscaldef
Note that that's not what the author of the article says.

"If it looks like nobody is going to ask a question, I get up and ask my
prepared question. If someone actually does run to the microphone, I won't try
and beat them (unless I have a question that I really want to ask). It's not
that I need to ask a question -- I'm happy as long as someone asks a
question."

------
Ygor
How about those guys that ask a question, and then another question, and
another after that, and then some more... And all of the questions are not so
much related to the topic as they are to something specific they are currently
doing and cannot solve at the moment. In the mean time, the rest of the room
is rolling their eyes and waiting for the whole thing to finally finish.

One should always be aware of the significance of the question, time
constraints of the talk and the rest of the people in the room.

~~~
rglovejoy
Or how about those guys who ask a question, then follow up with another
question without really listening to the answer. They're up at the microphone
not because they really want an answer, they simply want to ask 'gotcha'
questions.

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elaines
Question Etiquette #457 State your name [not titles] and affiliation - it
helps the speaker try to pitch her/his answer. Thank the speaker - without
flourish - for the talk. Ask one tightly framed question - one - of minimal
duration and wherever possible phrase it such that the speaker is able to
extend an undeveloped point or elaborate on an intriguing element of her/his
talk. Sit down, maintain eye contact, and say thank you again when the speaker
has finished.

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sh1mmer
I talk at conferences a lot (like 20 presentation in May/June much), and I
know I've done it right when I get a lot of questions.

If I don't get any questions, I go back and review my material because
questions means that people's brains are working and no questions means that
for some reason I switched everyone in the room off.

