Dear Miss Manners: Do you have any tips on how to handle questions from audience members after the talk?
The moderator clarifies that due to time constraints, questions must be concise. Inevitably, one or more men (always men, until now) ramble on about vaguely related topics before the moderator interrupts them and asks them their question. This interruption serves no deterrent, only a chance for the person to catch their breath before bringing up Aunt Matilda’s 1989 hip replacement, Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of State, etc. I ended up feeling like the event was hijacked by these disjointed audience members, and I don’t appreciate the fact that the program coordinators weren’t more effective in their roles.
