Colloquium Etiquette
The purpose of this document is to codify the expectations and etiquette for attendees of in-person talks in the CS Colloquium series. Your cooperation in following these guidelines will help to ensure that everyone enjoys and benefits from the colloquium experience.
Background
Our speakers will typically have gone to a special effort to be with us. For us, colloquium is a 75 minute slot in our day, for our speakers, however, being with us may have entailed air travel and a night in a hotel away from home. They are giving us a significant gift of their time. We would like to repay that gift by leaving them feeling that the experience of engaging with us was a valuable use of that time.
So when we gather for in-person talks with an external invited speaker, we have some particular responsibilities.
Our Responsibilities as Audience Members
First and foremost, we need to be respectful of the speaker's time and attention. This means arriving on time and staying for the entire talk (including the audience questions at the end). It also means being attentive and engaged during the talk, rather than looking at our phones or laptops or doing other work. It also means not engaging in side conversations or other distracting behavior during the talk.
We also need to be respectful of each other. If we allow ourselves to be distracted by extraneous matters, it doesn’t just leave the speaker feeling that one audience member is uninterested in what they have to say, it also distracts the people around us, drawing their attention away from the subject matter. For example, if you check your phone for messages, those around you may start wondering about their own messages rather than being engaged in the talk. So even if you believe that you are uniquely skilled at multitasking, your own attempts to do so will have damaging effects on the ability of those around you to focus on the talk.
(See also the course's COVID-19 policy.)
Taking Notes
Taking occasional notes is one strategy to stay engaged and focused on the talk, and is particularly useful for noting down possible questions during the talk. But if you do take notes, it is best to do so unobtrusively—do not use a laptop for notes because the screen will be a distraction to those behind you.* Paper, such as a small notepad, is probably the best approach for note taking, but a tablet in an appropriate “focus” mode that disables notifications is another possibility, if you have the discipline to only use it for taking notes and nothing else.
Helping Others Follow these Guidelines
Finally, it’s good to realize that the quality of the colloquium experience is our collective responsibility. Some people are more socially aware than others, so if you see someone who seems to be unaware that they are visibly disrespecting the speaker, or distracting those around them, please feel emboldened enough to gently point out to them that their behavior is distracting. Even a nonverbal gesture (e.g., pointing at what they are doing and shaking your head) is often enough to clue someone in that their behavior is not appropriate to the setting.
* Students with special needs may require a laptop to take notes. But if you are such a student, please choose your seat in the room and the placement of your laptop to minimize the number of people for whom your screen will be visible and distracting.
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