Every Friday at 9:30am, 35 people from my lab (mobility.mit.edu) gathers at MIT’s 9-415 for a 1.5-hour research seminar.
Two people present their research; and 33 listen, comment, and ask questions.
Or so I thought.
I’ve long believed I ran the best lab seminars —brilliant students, important topics, engaging presentations. And yet, one day it struck me:
Lab seminars: great value to presenters, but likely waste to listeners
Some listen passively. Some multitask. Some tune out. Many drift toward their own homework, deadlines, exams,…
I was in fact wasting 33 people’s time.
Here is how I fix it.
