> Recently a fellow developer was doing a demo of an automated UI testing suite and how it could apply to our product, and when it came time for questions or to show any sort of interest at all, its just crickets.
Get back to me in a day or two after I've had time to read the documentation, play with it for a while, and, most importantly, think about it, and I might have some questions or comments. In the moment watching someone else dick around? No chance. Even if I wanted to participate beyond your expectations, my mind will be blank. Guaranteed.
> For me its frustrating
I too am frustrated by these types of meetings. An email/Slack/whatever message containing "Hey! Check out this UI testing framework. Think it would work for us?" would provide just as much information as the presentation, while allowing more time to actually investigate to a necessary depth and come back with a constructive response.
A followup meeting to discuss the merits of the technology after everyone has had a chance to consider it aren't so bad. When these are hosted I find people are much more engaged and interesting discussion comes of it. I have no qualms about being challenged or "seeming dumb" in these meetings.
> I wish I were surrounded by people that are more willing to give their 2 cents
Whereas I wish I were surrounded by more people who were interested in software engineering, not being an actor in amateur live theatre. Not that there is anything wrong with the latter, but time and place. Nobody wants to see your presentation at work. Sorry.
Get back to me in a day or two after I've had time to read the documentation, play with it for a while, and, most importantly, think about it, and I might have some questions or comments. In the moment watching someone else dick around? No chance. Even if I wanted to participate beyond your expectations, my mind will be blank. Guaranteed.
> For me its frustrating
I too am frustrated by these types of meetings. An email/Slack/whatever message containing "Hey! Check out this UI testing framework. Think it would work for us?" would provide just as much information as the presentation, while allowing more time to actually investigate to a necessary depth and come back with a constructive response.
A followup meeting to discuss the merits of the technology after everyone has had a chance to consider it aren't so bad. When these are hosted I find people are much more engaged and interesting discussion comes of it. I have no qualms about being challenged or "seeming dumb" in these meetings.
> I wish I were surrounded by people that are more willing to give their 2 cents
Whereas I wish I were surrounded by more people who were interested in software engineering, not being an actor in amateur live theatre. Not that there is anything wrong with the latter, but time and place. Nobody wants to see your presentation at work. Sorry.