I am at a conference.
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@neil Normalize laughter at this-is-more-of-a-comment-than-a-question
I believe @pluralistic launched his Q&A section with that point!
At conferences I keep my rambling observations for the poster session and only after apologizing in advance AND only when I'm the only one there!
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"I have an opinion and everyone must hear it, right now" may well be a stereotype, but it is perhaps a stereotype for a reason.
@neil I can't remember which conference I read a rule for, which boiled down to:
* In end-of-session Q&A, questions should take no more than 30 seconds to a minute to ask.
* Anything longer is a discussion point and should be held back for a formal or informal BoF, or a relevant panel session.
* You may, of course, be invited by the speaker to expand upon or otherwise reinforce your question - don't do this unless asked!
* In a nutshell - you're here to listen to the speaker/presenters. -
@neil I can't remember which conference I read a rule for, which boiled down to:
* In end-of-session Q&A, questions should take no more than 30 seconds to a minute to ask.
* Anything longer is a discussion point and should be held back for a formal or informal BoF, or a relevant panel session.
* You may, of course, be invited by the speaker to expand upon or otherwise reinforce your question - don't do this unless asked!
* In a nutshell - you're here to listen to the speaker/presenters.@greem Nice!
I've sometimes heard "A question is a short request to seek further information or clarification from the speaker", and I liked that.
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@RogerBW It helps a lot if expectations are set at the opening of the conference or of each session.
While doing the usual, “This conference is sponsored by X; fire escapes are over there; please try to keep to the schedule,” spiel, one can easily add, “In the interests of the keeping to the schedule, please only ask concise clarifying questions during the sessions. We'll ensure time for more expansive comments and discussion at the coffee breaks.”
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"I have an opinion and everyone must hear it, right now" may well be a stereotype, but it is perhaps a stereotype for a reason.
Qp ce matin en réunion :
"Dans l'objectif de partager la parole, je propose qu'on limite le temps de chaque intervention à 1min et un total max de 10 min"
10 personnes : ok
2 hommes : ouin ouin, je ne peux pas développer ma pensée -
"I have an opinion and everyone must hear it, right now" may well be a stereotype, but it is perhaps a stereotype for a reason.
@neil I wish I could remember who it was but a speaker at a conference once responded to the "not a question more of a point" with "well this is a time for questions, next!" and the MC took the microphone off the guy
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@neil I can't remember which conference I read a rule for, which boiled down to:
* In end-of-session Q&A, questions should take no more than 30 seconds to a minute to ask.
* Anything longer is a discussion point and should be held back for a formal or informal BoF, or a relevant panel session.
* You may, of course, be invited by the speaker to expand upon or otherwise reinforce your question - don't do this unless asked!
* In a nutshell - you're here to listen to the speaker/presenters. -
I am at a conference.
Woman 1: Here's a question.
Woman 2: Here's a question.
Woman 3: Here's a question.
Man: I've got quite a lengthy observation... and here's a sub-point...
So predictable
@neil One of my favorite MC instructions prior to question time.
George Hrab with "Make sure your question's a question"
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@neil I wish I could remember who it was but a speaker at a conference once responded to the "not a question more of a point" with "well this is a time for questions, next!" and the MC took the microphone off the guy
@brunty Nice!
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@neil I wish I could remember who it was but a speaker at a conference once responded to the "not a question more of a point" with "well this is a time for questions, next!" and the MC took the microphone off the guy
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"I have an opinion and everyone must hear it, right now" may well be a stereotype, but it is perhaps a stereotype for a reason.
@neil The “fun” fact is that for some, you can often spot them if you have a facial view and read people.
Their face and body movement betrays it.
I’ve also noticed this behavior mostly in Gen X or Baby Boomer men. Not that they’re the only ones, but in my expierence, it was often the case.
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@mahryekuh @neil an alternative I've seen is the conference has people submit questions via the app or website and the MC / moderator vets and asks them. Bonus of that is shy people are able to ask things without being put on the spot!
But if the moderator themselves is the person doing it... oof! I'm sorry you had to deal with that!
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@mahryekuh @neil an alternative I've seen is the conference has people submit questions via the app or website and the MC / moderator vets and asks them. Bonus of that is shy people are able to ask things without being put on the spot!
But if the moderator themselves is the person doing it... oof! I'm sorry you had to deal with that!
@brunty @neil I love that system! I know we had that at DjangoCPH because the event was a mix of in-person and digital.
To be clear: I wasn’t the recipient of a rogue moderator (although I’ve had similar situations as a presenter).
Rather, I was all in the back of the room, center column, with a few people trying to keep me from bursting out in the middle of Q&A. Instead, I went to the speaker afterward to comfort her, but I always wonder what would have happened if I’d stood up and shouted “shut up” (aside from being called emotional and unprofessional).
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@brunty @neil I love that system! I know we had that at DjangoCPH because the event was a mix of in-person and digital.
To be clear: I wasn’t the recipient of a rogue moderator (although I’ve had similar situations as a presenter).
Rather, I was all in the back of the room, center column, with a few people trying to keep me from bursting out in the middle of Q&A. Instead, I went to the speaker afterward to comfort her, but I always wonder what would have happened if I’d stood up and shouted “shut up” (aside from being called emotional and unprofessional).
@mahryekuh @neil ahh! Understood! Kudos for comforting the speaker though, you're one of the good ones
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"I have an opinion and everyone must hear it, right now" may well be a stereotype, but it is perhaps a stereotype for a reason.
@neil It's a type, for sure, with the subtype of "let me just recite my CV first."
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@mahryekuh @neil ahh! Understood! Kudos for comforting the speaker though, you're one of the good ones
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@neil I can't remember which conference I read a rule for, which boiled down to:
* In end-of-session Q&A, questions should take no more than 30 seconds to a minute to ask.
* Anything longer is a discussion point and should be held back for a formal or informal BoF, or a relevant panel session.
* You may, of course, be invited by the speaker to expand upon or otherwise reinforce your question - don't do this unless asked!
* In a nutshell - you're here to listen to the speaker/presenters.@greem @neil I like this. I have a similar feeling about in-person scrums for development teams. Each person should have about 30 seconds to give your quick update, extend up to 2 minutes for answering clarifications/questions/feedback from others, or take it into another discussion.
I do feel it helps avoid overrunning scrums ...
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@neil I can't remember which conference I read a rule for, which boiled down to:
* In end-of-session Q&A, questions should take no more than 30 seconds to a minute to ask.
* Anything longer is a discussion point and should be held back for a formal or informal BoF, or a relevant panel session.
* You may, of course, be invited by the speaker to expand upon or otherwise reinforce your question - don't do this unless asked!
* In a nutshell - you're here to listen to the speaker/presenters.@greem @neil This is also quite a timely thread after I watched the "question" put to in the last couple of minutes of @marga's excellent FOSDEM talk (which I've shared with a few colleagues today) at https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/L3BK7S-free-as-in-burned-out/
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@greem @neil This is also quite a timely thread after I watched the "question" put to in the last couple of minutes of @marga's excellent FOSDEM talk (which I've shared with a few colleagues today) at https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/L3BK7S-free-as-in-burned-out/
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I am at a conference.
Woman 1: Here's a question.
Woman 2: Here's a question.
Woman 3: Here's a question.
Man: I've got quite a lengthy observation... and here's a sub-point...
So predictable
@neil I very much liked @pluralistic at last year's 39C3 who seamlessly blended the beginning of the Q&A with "… a good question has one part, not two parts, and is really /not/ more of a comment than a question."
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