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Why do people ask questions at public events?
Ian Leslie, a loyal MR reader, asks a perceptive question:
Does anybody have a theory about the length of questions during the Q&A sessions that follow lectures/talks? Is there a relationship between length of question and age, gender, status, place in queue? Why do some people make rambling statements disguised as "questions"? How can moderators avoid such abuse of the process (pleas to keep questions short don't seem to have any effect)?
I see a few uses for public questions:
1. The "make a public statement and show them" motive.
2. The "somehow feel a need to void" motive.
3. The "signal intelligence" motive.
The "really want to know" motive is not absent altogether but I doubt if it is primary.
Anecdotally, I have found that men wearing suspenders are most likely to ask longish, rambling questions.
I am not sure moderators wish to avoid "abuse" of the question and answer process. Perhaps the process is part of what draws people to the talk.
It matters a great deal if people have to write out questions in advance, or during the talk, and a moderator then reads out the question. That mechanism improves question quality and cuts down on the first three motives cited. Yet it is rarely used. In part we wish to experience the contrast between the speaker and the erratic questioners and the resulting drama.
My favorite method for giving "talks" is to offer no formal material but to respond to pre-written questions, which are presented and read off as the "talk" proceeds.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on March 10, 2010 at 03:15 PM in Education | Permalink
Comments
[i]It matters a great deal if people have to write out questions in advance, or during the talk, and a moderator then reads out the question.[/i]
This would require that people are already completely familiar with what the person there is talking about. Why bother having the talk if you're presuming everyone knows enough to ask questions about it? Wouldn't it be more efficient just to skip to the questions?
Posted by: Chris at Mar 10, 2010 3:23:05 PM
A great way to defuse the possibility of rambling rants disguised as "questions" is for the moderator to take multiple questions at once. The moderator will take say three questions from three audience members before giving the presenter a chance to answer them one-by-one.
I don't know why this works, but it sure seems to do so, based on the time or two I've seen it used. Maybe people realize that they will have to keep their questions short enough for the moderator or presenter to remember for up to five minutes. Maybe people are less likely to rant when they know the next person after them to grab the mike will be another questioner, and that they won't necessarily be gratified by an immediate response from the presenter.
Posted by: Curt Fischer at Mar 10, 2010 3:30:09 PM
I was recently at an event where a phone number was displayed, and people had to text questions to the moderator at that number.
It worked great--it kept the questions (very) short and let the moderator do a bit of screening.
I don't use SMS, but I suspect I am an anomaly in that regard.
Posted by: anon at Mar 10, 2010 3:50:02 PM
I wonder which of 1,2,3 above applies to Ian's question.
Posted by: Bock at Mar 10, 2010 3:56:51 PM
If I commit to asking a question at the end, I find I concentrate better during the talk. This doesn't work for very good talks (which are already easy to concentrate on), but for all but the worst talks I find it helps. It is sometimes difficult to reconcile the desire to do this with the desire to have the best possible Q&A period.
In a seminar series I used to run I gave out bottles of wine to those audience members who asked the most questions. The number of questions grew steadily each week, topping out at 65 questions (in a 90-minute slot) before I stopped using the wine as an inducement. Numbers then held steady at around 20 questions per talk, enough for a lively conversation, and to ensure talks were exceptionally clear.
Posted by: Michael Nielsen at Mar 10, 2010 3:58:55 PM
The same holds true for blog comments (including this one).
Posted by: Ted Craig at Mar 10, 2010 4:04:41 PM
When I saw Joseph Stiglitz speak in Seattle last month, the moderator was sure to ask everyone to ask their questions "in the form of a question". This advice was promptly ignored by the first person to the microphone, and the second person started with "I have three questions..." So much for that idea.
My own anecdotal experience: the quality of the questions is inversely proportional to the size of the crowd.
Posted by: Sean P. at Mar 10, 2010 4:06:29 PM
You might want to change your blog's comment policy to require the comments to be made before the post as well....
Posted by: Jens Fiederer at Mar 10, 2010 4:07:35 PM
Status seems to have an impact. My observations:
Lower-status-OUT-group members tend toward rambling 'statement-questions'. Around half of these lower-status-OUT-groupers seem to make position statements that the LSOG wishes to signal, usually to other similarly aligned out-group members. The other half of the LSOG's seem to want to become part of the discussion, and will often try to ask too many (often obscure or highly specialized) followup questions before being asked to sit down.
Lower-status-IN-group members who ask rambling questions are often seeking approval and are attempting signal fitness with the higher-status dais member to engage in some form of later transaction with that dais member. This lower-status-IN-group member is auditioning. Many over-audition...obsequiously and ramblingly.
While a good percentage of ALL speakers people are simply unskilled at public speaking or controlling their emotions and fear, grief, or anger can induce rambling, it has seemed to me that status very often signals to me the brevity of the questioner's query with great accuracy.
Posted by: Vic Sarjoo at Mar 10, 2010 4:10:18 PM
I like Michael's self-observation. I often try to listen to a talk with the goal of discovering "my question". I might be motivated by 1, 2 and/or 3 above, but it does help glue the talk together for me by the time I stick my thumbs in my suspenders and start my incoherent rambling.
Posted by: Bock at Mar 10, 2010 4:10:57 PM
So what is the guy trying to signal by wearing suspenders?
Posted by: Alex at Mar 10, 2010 4:15:12 PM
One of the more interesting reasons I've seen for asking a question: http://aliasaria.ca/blog/2007/06/26/but-i-dont-know-any-vcs-solution-become-part-of-the-community/ The linked article describes --- in concrete terms, not the wishy-washy abstract terms I'm about to use --- how questions can be used to build valuable social capital within a community.
Posted by: Michael Nielsen at Mar 10, 2010 4:19:47 PM
I like Vic's observation about status groups. On a side note, I've often wondered the same about people who call into to NPR or C-SPAN.
Posted by: Biomed Tim at Mar 10, 2010 4:23:35 PM
The Q&A is why I prefer to listen to "public events" via podcast.
Posted by: Mommsen at Mar 10, 2010 4:44:37 PM
I've read that the speaker loses a lot of goodwill if he uses his power as moderator cut short or dismiss questions, even where the audience is not inclined to agree with the questioner.
Posted by: JRP at Mar 10, 2010 4:46:55 PM
Well, so far, there are no long rambling rants in the comment section.
Now, where are my suspenders?
Posted by: Yancey Ward at Mar 10, 2010 5:03:23 PM
Some of the mindless rambling gets cut down at events where the moderator exhorts (and sometimes later reminds) questioners to "Please phrase your question in the form of a short question." It gets a laugh, but it also lets people know that long speeches are frowned upon.
Posted by: Amy at Mar 10, 2010 5:12:14 PM
4. The questioner wants a bit of personal interaction with the speaker, particularly if they are famous or admired. I have done this at author readings.
Posted by: Clay B at Mar 10, 2010 5:21:31 PM
It takes skill to be succinct. Few have this ability, usually it is achieved via editing. How many people edit their question in their head? Plus, some people probably get to the mike and still haven't formed a complete thought.
Posted by: 8 at Mar 10, 2010 5:33:24 PM
Holy crap! Clay_B just admitted to being one of these assholes!
Posted by: Silas Barta at Mar 10, 2010 6:03:04 PM
Twitter, SMS, or email seems like a fantastic way to handle audience questions these days. I was at an ARPA-E even in DC last week where folks were asked to keep their questions short and numerically singular, and the majority did. However, several folks would ramble on or ask multiple questions. Making them write them down and send them in to the moderator would have made a huge difference.
Posted by: billb at Mar 10, 2010 6:15:55 PM
Everybody know you and they are expecting you to ask a question and tyou dont want to disappoint them
Posted by: k at Mar 10, 2010 6:49:08 PM
Silas, I'll admit to being one of those assholes too! Coming up and saying "hi, I'm a huge fan" is awkward and boring; asking a question, geting a partial answer, and then coming up to the speaker afterward to chat about the topic feels less so. Especially in places where I am one of the out-group and will get crowded out otherwise. Also, yes, if a speaker doesn't touch on an issue that I think s/he should have mentioned, I will probably ask a question just to bring it up, particularly if it's one some organization I'm part of cares about, and not just me personally. (I'm getting banned from all the decent lecture halls now, I know it.)
When I am a speaker I really like getting questions, even though I expect the above motivations. I'd be happy to just answer questions the whole time instead of preparing a structured talk! Riffing on questions is a lot less work, it's fun to have the session go in directions I don't expect, and giving good impromptu answers looks impressive to boot. (As long as I am admitting to being an asshole, I may as well go all the way...) It makes me break out in a cold sweat when no one asks anything; I'm afraid the audience didn't even think I was worth paying attention to. But I really appreciate skilled moderators who are able to gracefully cut people off.
Posted by: Kat at Mar 10, 2010 6:54:59 PM
How does this apply to Q&A periods at the end of lecture classes at a college?
Posted by: Anthony at Mar 10, 2010 8:10:29 PM
Posted by: Rob at Mar 10, 2010 8:52:04 PM
Posted by: Rob at Mar 10, 2010 8:52:42 PM
I think a better question might be why people attend public events at all.
Posted by: Ryan Vann at Mar 10, 2010 9:27:15 PM
This is why I really hate asking questions at seminar. And also why I find it really annoying that people evaluate you on the questions you ask.
The only time I ask questions is if I know something to ask that will make the presenter look smart (if I like the presenter).
Posted by: Andrew at Mar 10, 2010 10:01:36 PM
When people at “Google Talks” ask questions, they are usually short and to the point. They also sound as if they’re scripted. Maybe that’s because the IQ of Google employees resemble telephone area codes.
Posted by: Ron at Mar 10, 2010 10:02:48 PM
And women with crazy hair! They always ask confusing ideological questions!!
Posted by: GGG at Mar 10, 2010 10:19:41 PM
You do realize that, from this point forward, men wearing suspenders are going to be assiduously avoided by speakers during the Q & A session. Can you live with that result?
Posted by: Don the libertarian Democrat at Mar 10, 2010 10:25:16 PM
In high school I always asked questions of guest speakers because I felt bad for them when there was a call for questions and no one raised their hand.
Posted by: Tim at Mar 10, 2010 10:45:47 PM
While I agree with all the reasons given here, I think there may be an innocent reason why low status or outsider attendees tend to ramble or make statements. It may be their only access to the speaker. The higher the status of the attendee, the more likely they are to be able to address tangential issues with the speaker in private.
Posted by: kebko at Mar 10, 2010 11:22:28 PM
Many people at trade shows and industry conferences ask questions to be noticed. It is a very efficient way to introduce yourself to a large group of people, so those who are interested in what you do (or what you have to sell) can find you at a later networking session.
Posted by: LikeThatOnly at Mar 10, 2010 11:29:05 PM
Hi. This is only a minor observation but I couldnt help but comment on this one. I have noticed in international fora American students and people in general tend to ask longer questions. I am told there are graded for classroom participation and this seems to stay with them for long years after.
Now i think this would fall under the 'signal intelligence' motive, but in an extremely narrow system.
Posted by: Shyam at Mar 10, 2010 11:31:57 PM
for some reason i always pictured Don the Libertarian Democrat as one who wears suspenders. but i just now became aware of this acutely.
Posted by: Bock at Mar 10, 2010 11:34:02 PM
I do not and never have worn suspenders. I dress like Jerry Garcia. I guess you're insulting me, but I did laugh.
Posted by: Don the libertarian Democrat at Mar 11, 2010 12:29:40 AM
This is such a timely discussion as I have attended four public events this week as part of a local festival. Two were for teenagers and two for adults. The adults tended to "long and rambly" getting stuff of their chest type questions which would have benefited from some advance editing while teens questions were generally brief, superficial and re-phrasings of a previous question (when they weren't hijacked by the adults). In both case questions written in advance would have been helpful although in my own case my prewritten question didn't fit with the way the on-stage discussion had flowed so was ditched as I thought it would appear too much out of left field in the context of what had gone before.
Posted by: Julie at Mar 11, 2010 1:04:42 AM
It seems like ideologues of any age and the elderly in general are more likely to make long statements instead of to ask questions.
In the latter case, perhaps a bit of embarrassment--"Please keep your questions direct"--will be a deterrent. Who knows about the former.
At an APS (American Physical Society) Section meeting I once "got into it" with another audience member about such a "question". The speaker was a representative from industry talking about careers for physicists in industry and the "questioner" was faculty from a university. I interrupted: "Where's the question?", to which the reply was "I'm getting to it", to which I said "I'm here for a talk by ____(speaker)_____, not you." I can't speak to whether or not this had any lasting effect on the man's behavior, as I haven't seen him since--has anyone else done something similar and noticed a change?
Posted by: Ben Kalafut at Mar 11, 2010 1:14:01 AM
I have a bad case of social anxiety disorder so I often have trouble asking questions to the speaker. One thing that helps me sometimes is to mentally prepare myself beforehand and remind myself that in reality people most of the time just think of themselves and are not paying attention to you as much as you may think.
Posted by: mixed martial arts at Mar 11, 2010 1:17:04 AM
Five types of bad question askers
I wrote about this about two months ago and saved it in Drafts - better late than never I guess...
Posted by: Kevin Burke at Mar 11, 2010 1:49:58 AM
There are also cultural norms regarding this. In the Middle East, I have noticed that audience members feel that they have equal status with the speakers, and will often go on 10 minute soliloquies with their view of the topic the lecturer spoke about. This is to be expected, and hence there is often a 1-2 hour Q and A period. This has held true for events in Cairo, and events in Washington, DC in Arabic attended mostly by Arabs. However, these are generally smaller audiences, about 30-50 people, and somewhat academic topics.
Posted by: Rashad at Mar 11, 2010 3:12:52 AM
There are also cultural norms regarding this. In the Middle East, I have noticed that audience members feel that they have equal status with the speakers, and will often go on 10 minute soliloquies with their view of the topic the lecturer spoke about. This is to be expected, and hence there is often a 1-2 hour Q and A period. This has held true for events in Cairo, and events in Washington, DC in Arabic attended mostly by Arabs. However, these are generally smaller audiences, about 30-50 people, and somewhat academic topics.
That sounds like any academic seminar, at least in economics. Since you say these events are mostly academic and smaller in nature, what happens at the larger and less academic events? I would have guessed that Arabs are more rather than less deferential to high-status people than Americans (it's certainly true of most East Asian cultures, but I have no first-hand experience of Arab culture).
Posted by: Ricardo at Mar 11, 2010 4:26:43 AM
So what's the motive for questioning? May be to have the presenter's statements clarified. Or have the content expounded on for more elucidation. And such further probing can indeed be a device toward steering the discussion - and especially its conclusions - toward an alternate viewpoint and contrary conclusions (these are the toughies). Finally there's those with rambling, non-germane inquiry - perhaps hung up on pet theories or simply yearning attention (whose interrogatives are easy to pacify/deflect away by affirming and then redirecting responses). Cheers.
Posted by: TomG at Mar 11, 2010 5:52:59 AM
I was at a talk by a law prof last night
the organizers demanded that questions be put in writing. the result trivial questions and a boring q and a session
I put a question that probed the professor's underlying philosophy. Wasn't put. (My friend reckons because the organizer didn't get the point)
my solution is to have a group of three or so people to grill the speaker - this means the questioners would know their stuff and could ask follow up questions. (But my friend reckoned this would be too difficult for most speakers)
Posted by: FelixM at Mar 11, 2010 6:46:16 AM
While I think most people who have questions are honestly curious, its aggravating to listen to prepared mini speeches. I always prefer the write a question, submit, and moderator summarizes format.
Posted by: SPEPost at Mar 11, 2010 8:10:13 AM
When Roger Ebert led sessions at the World Affairs Conference at the University of Colorado in Boulder for his "Cinema Interruptus" series (where he'd show a film and stop it for discussion whenever an audience member shouted out) there was a much more interesting discussion and a lot less rambling. Something about stopping a classic film and then posing a question inhibited the idiots, I presume.
In other lectures, I've found these factors increased the awful factor ("awful" meaning rambling, no question, incoherence, toadyism, confrontation, multisyllabic vomit):
- a large audience
- a famous person
- academic audience instead of business audience
- a microphone
Posted by: Deceptology at Mar 11, 2010 12:20:03 PM
taking three questioners in one go, then answering, is a good technique as
- the moderator will then normally repeat-and-summarise
- making it much easier to simply omit the non-questions, presenting only the other two
- which in turn vastly improves the quality of the Qus. People instinctively realise that if they are one of three questioners their question is in competiton for attention.
Posted by: botogol at Mar 11, 2010 12:24:36 PM
I know my tendency is always to make the questioner look as good as possible, probably because I'm used to teaching, where one wants students to ask questions *especially* when they're confused. Maybe in public situations it would help if the speakers came down hard and said things like, "You've been speaking for three minutes and I still don't have any idea what you mean, and neither do you," or "That's a really stupid question."
Posted by: Eric Rasmusen at Mar 11, 2010 3:48:09 PM
Questioners are overwhelmingly male. I was at a talk once by Mary Daly where she only took questions from women. Effectively made her point.
Posted by: arbitrary aardvark at Mar 11, 2010 8:33:27 PM
