The Q&A format at live events is a valuable opportunity for attendees to connect with speakers and get answers to important questions. However, some individuals can abuse the format, lowering the quality of the experience for everyone. A recent Twitter thread by WordPress Core Committer Felix Arntz is gaining momentum, addressing this chronic problem following the conclusion of WordCamp Europe 2023.
Arntz suggests that those asking questions longer than a minute should forego the Q&A time and ask the speaker informally at a later opportunity if it is relevant. He also proposed a number of actionable ideas, including submitting questions to a central platform where they can be upvoted by community members, discarding lengthy questions, and providing mandatory training or documentation for emcees on how to handle problematic Q&A situations. Arntz also contends that Q&A should be optional, depending on the speaker’s preference.
Arntz’s thread has received positive feedback and support, and other WCEU attendees have joined in with suggestions for improving the Q&A format. Changes will likely originate from WordCamp organizers who can recognize the existing problems with the current Q&A format and depart from tradition with a better way of bringing quality questions to speakers who wish to entertain them. Based on the feedback on Arntz’s Twitter thread, it’s past time to update the Q&A format and WordCampers are eager to see it happen.
