The Q&A tightrope

‘Q&A is the easiest thing to facilitate,’ said my co-facilitator.

‘We can relax.’

😦 No we can’t.

It might look easy. Until you try to do it.

A ‘question and answer’ is a delicate balancing act for facilitators and anyone chairing meetings with staff, communities, shareholders or members.

It’s tricky balancing things in a way that satisfies everyone. The questioners, those responding and those listening (with patience or through gritted teeth).

I found myself on such a tightrope the other week.

Blind-sided by an impromptu Q&A. It was a perfect opportunity to flex a little (fl)awesome-ness. It wasn’t my best moment, but I managed not to fall off the tightrope – just.

Traditional Q&As are something I usually design-to-avoid in workshop (read how here).

But I don’t stop questions, if they arise, which contrasts with what’s happening at this year’s Melbourne Writer’s Festival.

No live questions will be allowed.

🎤 No roving mics.

🎤 No awkward, ‘How do you turn this on?’

🎤 No “This isn’t really a question, but I have this idea that I would like you to validate.”

🎤 Or “This isn’t really a question, it’s my life story.” *

Now this could boost ticket sales!

We’ll hear more from the writer we paid to see. What’s not to love?

What’s that? Free speech? The healthy exchange of ideas?

Oh c’mon, don’t be so precious. The audience is not completely muzzled. They can submit questions in advance. The chair can choose to ask them - or not.

A wicked part of me is wistful.

Imagine how easy things would be if workshop participants had to submit their questions in advance.

👍🏼 Smooth as.

🗣 Not a soap box in site.

🐰 Fewer rabbit holes.

💪🏻 Total control.

(Ahem) is it just me or are you feeling uncomfortable too?

(Sigh) no live questions are easier, but not better.

Jane Sullivan, literary columnist for The Age, nailed it with:

‘It’s difficult to strike a balance between allowing free speech and curtailing mini-speeches, but it needs to be done.’

She underlined the ‘vital’ role of chair in Q&As at a writer’s festival:

‘They should have the intuitive skill to read the room, to tell the audience when Q&A is coming up, to remind them not to deliver anything apart from a brief question, and to politely intervene when somebody appears not to have heeded that warning.’

Replace ‘chair’ with ‘facilitator’ if you need any help making the link.

Q&As are not easy to facilitate but sometimes they have to be done.

People have questions. They have the right to ask them. And expect them to be answered.

It’s the facilitator’s job to read the room, provide a structure and keep it in place gently, but firmly.

And keep your balance on that tightrope.

How about you?

Would you buy a ticket to a writer’s festival with no live questions from the audience?

What do you think would be gained?

What would be missed?

Hit ‘reply’ and let me know.

Links:

Jane Sullivan, Why won’t Melbourne Writers Festival allow live questions any more? The Age, 23 April, 2024