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Stupid responses of the best kind

I hate it. I'm in another presentation. The presenter poses a question to us, something broad and easy to answer, something along the lines of "So what part of your business would mean a lot to your customer?" No one is quick to answer. No one is even making an attempt to look like their are considering a possible answer. So before this pregnant pause gets drawn out long enough for the presenter to half-threaten us with the standard "I know your names so don't make me call on you," I speak up and give a response. The presenter makes his own consideration on it, and the presentation moves along.

I have always found pride in my willingness to be the guy who will speak up. What amazes me is how I am turning out to be that guy even now in the business world. Surely, at this level of profession, audience members recognize the value of speaking up, and use every opportunity to voice a thought and add to a presentation. But such is not the case, people still just rather endure the unbearable silence then give a stupid response. Ridiculous.

So if you have ever waited out the rest of your peers for someone else to break the silence, then read on. There's no reason you shouldn't be the first one to join in the conversation.

It's not about you this time

Pessimism and narrowmindedness is at the root of the un-respondent. She only thinks of herself, and in doing so, thinks only of the negative outcomes of her potential response: I'll sound stupid. People will think I'm stupid. They'll say bad things about me and snicker. I'll get laughed at while they can sit back and judge me. I doubt most people are this pessimistic, but there's an element of this in everyone. When you give a response, you diret attention towards yourself, so you leave yourself open for attack. That's understandable. Perhaps un-respondents are just lazy. They don't see the benefit of speaking up. It takes too much effort and the personal risk is just not worth it.

You have got to see the big picture. You must step outside of thinking only about yourself and consider everyone else. Believe it or not, your response is probably the least important element in this whole communicative situation. What you say bears little relevance compared with other factors, most important of which is the presenter. Although you collect the eyes and ears of the audience, their attention will soon be turned over to the other party. The presenter bears the brunt of the burden. After all, it is she who is at the center of snap-universe. She is the one on trial. Whether you give a great, in-depth, well-formed response, or come back with completely inane and off-topic drivel, she has to take that message and form something worth while with it. After all, that is why the question was asked in the first place: to get the audience involved and to move along the presentation. Doesn't matter how good your response is, if the presenter returns with "um, yeah." or "Well, I don't know about that." her presentation fails. Doesn't matter if she is an instructor, your boss, a co-worker, someone doing a sales-pitch. You have power over them, not the other way around. If you insist on being a passive audience member you hurt your judgments of your own competence, in addition to hindering the flow of the presentation.

Say anything

Looking at the big scheme of things, you shouldn't even worry about what sort of response you give. Simpler responses are often more useful. You offer an opportunity for your peers to chime in and build upon what you've started. Discussion is a powerful mechanism. This difficulty lies in starting up the whole process. By igniting conversation, you will leave a positive impression on others. Take the lead, take the reins, and get the process going. No one enjoys boring reading-off-the-PowerPoint presentations. Break up the monotony by being a vocal member. Don't worry about making a good response or asking a good question. Instead, focus on making a quick response. Firing right back to the presenter often catches them off guard and exhibits just how well composed their presentation is. Plus, you'll exude some confidence. People will remember you. All you have to do is speak up every once and a while.

So there it is: Any response is better than none at all. The more people get this idea, they better we'll all be off. If you can transform more presentations into discussions, the world will be a better place and I won't have to bail you out anymore.