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