We've now run four Tour dates and the response has been wonderful. Los Angeles last night had the best Q&A session yet -- we've been getting feedback and tweaking it. Here's the rules we put in place in LA based on feedback from Vancouver, Seattle, and San Francisco (which all ranged from okay to excellent, and LA was both exceptional and the best yet).
We set a few rules that made for good Q&A, and here's the reasoning of why --
1. No theoretical questions -- we found, from past talks, that general and abstract questions about philosophy, negotiation, work, or productivity tend to produce less valuable discussion than actual personal, real scenarios. So the rule became -- make it personal, make it be about you.
2. Get many people involved at a reasonably good pace -- you want to field a lot of questions, not expressly long narratives. Keep a snappy pace up so lots of people can ask questions.
3. Call people 'on deck' -- pick who is going to ask a question, but also look for hands of who will go next so they can prepare what they want to ask. It means no delay and better phrasing.
4. Two speakers answer, max -- we had eight speakers total in each of San Francisco and Los Angeles. That means, on an exciting question, sometimes three or four people would each want to give their thoughts. It's too many -- one is best, two max for a second opinion.
5. Moderate and keep things moving -- following from all of the above, things need to be kept moving. Have a moderator.
6. Ensure all speakers actually watch the person asking the question to see if they 'get it' -- when Q&A goes bad, it's almost always because the speaker gets in their own head instead of watching to make sure the person asking is comprehending what's being said. If whoever asked the question gets a great answer, it usually translates into everyone in the audience getting it.
(Sidenote: Paying more attention to what you're saying instead of what someone else is hearing seems to be a cause of failure in almost everything people-related: sales, negotiation, speaking, answering questions, and probably just about everything else.)
7. Have the right transitions and mix in speaking before the Q&A -- some talks are more emotionally exhausting than others, even if great. You want to line up your speakers so they first half of an event is excellent -- but also that it's not incredibly overwhelming. Make sure you start with a great speaker who is on-message, and likewise have the last two be very good to end on a strong note.
Overall, it's been a blast and we've gotten amazing feedback -- the most counterintuitive point for me was just how much pace matters. Speakers need to go in an order that makes sense and alternates between different styles, and Q&A has to be moved fast... but it's very cool to watch how some people getting together in a room can create such an amazing experience together.