Re: Questions after talks at DebConf (idea)
On Sat, Sep 08, 2018 at 04:40:38PM +0100, Chris Lamb wrote:
> Hi Samuel,
>
> > > About embarrassing behaviour from the audience: First, this barely ever
> > > happens, [...]
> >
> > I completely agree this all of this, and that's what I explain to our
> > PhD students. But them actually believing it is another matter.
>
> There is a huge gap between "what I think speaking at a conference
> might be like" (ie. insane levels of nerves, you're picked apart on
> every word you say, you will be heckled, nobody will like you,
> questions will be hostile, professional reputations are easily ruined,
> totally not for me, etc) ... and what it /actually/ is like to speak
> (ie. nerve-inducing for sure, but actually not too awful at the end of
> the day).
I can't help but wonder whether "we don't allow Q&A" is *actually* going
to encourage first-time speakers. Although it's quite a while ago by
now, I believe the nerves I felt the first time I was going to speak in
front of an audience had nothing to do with the Q&A, but more with
things like "aren't they going to laugh at me?!?"
I'm all for encouraging first-time speakers, but Q&A at the end of a
session are valuable too; as such, to me, outlawing Q&A is a bit like
throwing the kid out with the bathwater.
--
Could you people please use IRC like normal people?!?
-- Amaya Rodrigo Sastre, trying to quiet down the buzz in the DebConf 2008
Hacklab
Reply to: