I’m a new faculty member setting up a new seminar series in my small-ish department. Visiting speakers will come and present some of their work. The audience will ask questions during the talk and during a post-talk Q&A.
I’d like the seminar to be a space for thoughtful critique and commentary, while being respectful and constructive. I’d hope that attendance is reasonably high and most people in the room are engaged. In the end I hope that the sessions provide useful feedback for the presenter, and are Intellectually engaging and informative for audience members.
The two big things I see that I can do to support these goals:
- Get funding for some food to increase attendance.
- Model good participation myself, arriving prepared and asking constructive thoughtful questions.
How have others effectively run a seminar series? I’m interested in others’ experiences and constructive advice.
