Class ends at 5. It is 4:59. The professor asks, "Any questions?" You're shutting down your laptop when some jackass raises their hand, "I have a question!"
Usually there is nothing wrong with questions. Sometimes questions are necessary, and sometimes they are useful for all. What I object to is people who ask questions when class is OVER. First of all, these last minute questions are rarely useful to everyone. And since there is rarely a question that can be answered in just a minute, we all end up getting stuck for 3-5 minutes (at least) after class has ended, and usually we didn't care about the question or the answer. If you have a question you really want to ask, then stay after class! Second, if it really IS a useful question, then there isn't going to be time to get to it with one minute left, anyway...so hold onto it until tomorrow!
This applies equally to meetings or presentations you are forced to attend. The presenter is wrapping up, and the only thing that stands between you and freedom is the obligatory five seconds of wait time after your boss asks, "Any questions?" You're about ready to bolt out the door when someone asks a non-pressing question, and the next thing you know you're stuck for another 20 minutes. Often you have to go to the bathroom, or you're starving, or you're running late for something else. But now you're stuck, because someone felt that their question was SOOOOO important it warranted taking up everyone else's time. The worst is when they wait until that fifth second before speaking up...so you think you're free, but it was a false sense of freedom. And when you've had a taste of getting out early, the pain of staying stings all the more...
The absolute WORST of the worst is when someone does not have a question, but a comment. Do they really think their comment is worth keeping everyone late?? Or is their comment so important that it must ruin our precious opportunity to get out early?? I suppose once in a long while, the question or comment is actually valuable. But really...oh-so-rarely is that the case!!
So the next time a professor (or boss, or presenter) asks, "Any questions?" and you have a question or a comment, take a second to think before you raise your hand or open your mouth. Is what you have to say worth keeping EVERYONE there to hear it? Is it valuable to all, or just to you? And if it won't benefit everyone, then don't raise your hand! Let the five obligatory seconds pass, and let us all leave on time. Because if you are brazen enough to ask the question, we won't even be listening to the answer...we'll be fantasizing about your untimely demise...
Usually there is nothing wrong with questions. Sometimes questions are necessary, and sometimes they are useful for all. What I object to is people who ask questions when class is OVER. First of all, these last minute questions are rarely useful to everyone. And since there is rarely a question that can be answered in just a minute, we all end up getting stuck for 3-5 minutes (at least) after class has ended, and usually we didn't care about the question or the answer. If you have a question you really want to ask, then stay after class! Second, if it really IS a useful question, then there isn't going to be time to get to it with one minute left, anyway...so hold onto it until tomorrow!
This applies equally to meetings or presentations you are forced to attend. The presenter is wrapping up, and the only thing that stands between you and freedom is the obligatory five seconds of wait time after your boss asks, "Any questions?" You're about ready to bolt out the door when someone asks a non-pressing question, and the next thing you know you're stuck for another 20 minutes. Often you have to go to the bathroom, or you're starving, or you're running late for something else. But now you're stuck, because someone felt that their question was SOOOOO important it warranted taking up everyone else's time. The worst is when they wait until that fifth second before speaking up...so you think you're free, but it was a false sense of freedom. And when you've had a taste of getting out early, the pain of staying stings all the more...
The absolute WORST of the worst is when someone does not have a question, but a comment. Do they really think their comment is worth keeping everyone late?? Or is their comment so important that it must ruin our precious opportunity to get out early?? I suppose once in a long while, the question or comment is actually valuable. But really...oh-so-rarely is that the case!!
So the next time a professor (or boss, or presenter) asks, "Any questions?" and you have a question or a comment, take a second to think before you raise your hand or open your mouth. Is what you have to say worth keeping EVERYONE there to hear it? Is it valuable to all, or just to you? And if it won't benefit everyone, then don't raise your hand! Let the five obligatory seconds pass, and let us all leave on time. Because if you are brazen enough to ask the question, we won't even be listening to the answer...we'll be fantasizing about your untimely demise...
1 comment:
Madly in love with the Horshack image. OOH!OOH!OOH!
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