Gooooooooood morning, afternoon, or evening, wherever you happen to be!
Hooray, it’s May! That means we’re coming up on conference season in the Northern Hemisphere—or at least what I always think of as our conference season. If you’re heading off to a conference yourself, you might like to check out this old post on my ‘conference survival kit’ (which I think would now include a jump rope—but more about that another time).
Because it’s conference season, Page by Page will be on a tiny break between 8 and 18 May as I make my annual pilgrimage to Kalamazoo, MI, for the International Congress on Medieval Studies, which is usually just called ‘Kalamazoo’ by us medievalists. And in preparation for that pilgrimage, I thought I’d post a little something about Q-&-A-session etiquette today.
Firstly: ‘Kalamazoo’ is what I imagine summer camp is like. It’s fun and busy and basically involves learning/discussing stuff while hanging out with much-missed colleagues from other countries. One of my most treasured mugs reads, ‘Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo!’
If Medieval Times were a conference, it’d be ‘Kalamazoo’.
I’ll stop talking about ‘Kalamazoo’ before you get too jealous. But one thing it has in common with probably every other conference in the world is the fact that, at some point, attendees will inevitably bear witness to what is perhaps the most common form of Bad Conference Behaviour: the moment when an audience member raises their hand during the Q&A session after a presentation and begins by saying, ‘This is more of a comment than a question.’
Maybe calling this Bad Conference Behaviour is a little harsh. Much of the time, that sort of opening remark draws amused groans from other audience members, or perhaps an embarrassed chuckle from the questioner commenter. But it’s always at least a little annoying because, most of the time, it’s coming from a place of ‘let-me-tell-you-what-I-think’ rather than a place of curiosity. It’s a speech, not a conversation.
But don’t you worry, Nerd World. I, Mary Flannery, am about to end this Bad Conference Behaviour right here. Right now. And I’m going to do it with one simple sentence:
Any comment can be a question.
Let’s say you’re an audience member who has Opinions, and who wants to share them. That’s fine! All you have to do is raise your hand, state your opinion when you’re called on, and then conclude by saying something like, ‘What do YOU think?’
That’s it. That’s all it takes to turn a declaration (or, in extreme cases, a manifesto) into an expression of curiosity about someone else’s work.
Here are a few other magical phrases that can transform a comment into a question:
‘Would you agree?’
‘Do you have any thoughts about that?’
‘Would that change anything for you?’
‘Have you come across anything like that?’
‘Is that typical?’
‘Is that unusual?’
So next time you’re at a conference (or a lecture, or a presentation) and a comment occurs to you, try using one of these simple tools to turn your mini-speech into the start of a really good conversation.
After all, that’s usually why we’re there to begin with!
To celebrate reaching 500 subscribers I’m offering a 40% discount on annual Page by Page subscriptions until 15 May!!
If you’re a free subscriber who’d like access to everything in the PBP archive (plus all paid subscriber posts), or if you’re someone who’s been waiting for an even more affordable way to support my work, this is your chance!
If you’re already a paid subscriber, I have a special thank-you offer for you: DM me to set up a 30-minute online meeting before 15 May to talk about a project you’re working on!
If you’re really feeling generous, and you’d like access to everything on PBP andregular feedback on your own writing whenever you need it, you can become a Founding Member ($150).
VB,
M
This is great, Mary and your advice should be handed out at all conferences, first thing, along with the delegate's badge. Zero Tolerance for Bad Conference Behaviour.