Why does nobody talk about how awkward it is to ask questions in a big group setting?

I was at a community meetup in Portland last Tuesday, maybe 40 people there, and the host kept saying "ask me anything" after his presentation. But every time someone raised their hand, he'd kind of rush them or give a short answer and move on. It made me feel like my question had to be super clever or else I'd waste everyone's time. I ended up not asking the thing I actually wanted to know (about how he got started in the industry) because I got nervous. Has anyone else found that "ask anything" events are actually pretty intimidating, or was it just this one guy's bad vibe?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_chen814d ago

Totally agree, I felt the same way at a big conference last month and just sat there silent the whole time.

gracethomas3d ago

Oh man, I've been there too! What finally helped me was setting a tiny goal before each event. I tell myself I just have to ask one simple question during a session, even if it's just "Can you explain that part again?" It takes the pressure off because I'm not trying to be super smart or impress anyone. Plus I always feel way more connected to the talk after I speak up, even if it's a short question. You could try picking one person who looks friendly and just say hi during a break, that small step really opened things up for me.