Questions

Question culture-- Name. Organization. Brief(ish) organizational history.  Brief personal history.  Brief summary and praise of presentation. Challenge presentation. Present own best practices. Publicize own event. Maybe, just maybe.... actually ask a question.

My relationship with question asking has quickly evolved since being here at the CSW.  Initially, I was a bit taken aback by audience members flooding the auditorium aisles to "ask questions."  But then I said "hey, when in Rome":... Since Sunday, I've been really working on my question game.  It's all starting to make sense.  From the agreeable head nod, snaps, or even an applause, it does feel good to know that others support your ideas and inquiries.  Then, of course, question asking is an excellent stepping stone for networking.  You can make friends with those who ask the very question you were thinking and discussing said question is an awesome ice breaker.  

Perhaps most importantly, and what maybe threw me off at first, is that question asking is important because it is important to be heard.  Women have great expectations to be silent.  We are taught that our work and our opinion do not matter and therefore, question asking is a private thing- ask your friends, talk in tight circles, blog about it.  While these question asking spaces are valuable, there is also importance in standing up at a microphone demanding loud and clear to be heard and demanding a response to the issues crucial to our human rights.  The world would be a completely different place if the CSW was not the only place we asked these questions.  Here's to many more questions from me!