If you’re ever planning on presenting to a large group of engineers, there’s something you should know… engineers mostly LOTI. It’s happened to me, I’ve seen it happen to so many speakers. Here’s how I learned about LOTIng. I was giving a talk on stage, I got around 3 minutes in and I said something funny. Well, I thought it was… Crickets. Not one “ha ha”, not even a “he”. Nothing. Did that deter me from trying something funny again a few minutes later. Nope. Did anyone laugh the second time… silence. It threw me off for a moment but after the split second identity crisis I kept going on with the session. Imagine my surprise when meeting the audience afterwards, almost every one of them said “you’re so funny, you should tell more jokes” What?!?! I’ve since seen this happen to many other speakers, some of them get really thrown off by the lack of response from their audience. Again, I’ve seen engineers tell them afterwards how much they enjoyed the humour. This is how I discovered engineers don’t actually LOL, they mostly Laugh On The Inside. I have actually managed to get a room full of engineers laughing (identity restored), so it is possible, just not common. So my advice is, if you say something funny and there’s no response - just keep moving. They’re probably all LOTIng. Have you seen this happen, or has it happened to you?
Lauren Darcey
1mo
Oh, this is very much a thing. I find basic slide decks boring and easy for people to tune out and am always looking for ways to spice up presentations for better engagement and absorption. Adding in some jokes or silliness is a go-to for me and yet it's rare for people to laugh or even smile in some settings and then later I get feedback it was memorable and the style is one they like a lot etc. Humor doesn't play well in every setting (and it's actually more difficult for women to be taken seriously when funny) but I feel like it should be more legitimate tool in most settings, especially if it's kind and at nobody's expense.
Aravind Chembeti
1mo
Andrew Boyagi If the topic is a serious one, I believe, people would behave like this. Partly because the audience didn't expect something funny to come/happen. By the time they realized the speaker would have moved. There is a synchronization issue. I have seen people acknowledging or showing reactions when the speaker prepared the audience for that: pause for a few moments, tell the joke again pause for a few moments ( I know this is not easy)
Amir Banet
1mo
Great observation Andrew Boyagi. I wonder, do you see a difference between Developers and DevOps in that regard?
Ashley Faus
1mo
Heh, I've had ROTI as well... Reacting On The Inside. Facing such a stoic audience is daunting. Like, do you even care about what I'm saying, let alone whether it resonates! Fortunately, a bunch of people came up to me afterwards or messaged me on LinkedIn to ask questions, said they enjoyed the session, etc. And I got good ratings and positive feedback in the session survey. But oof... the lack of head nodding, laughing, just something, was ROUGH!
What an interesting observation! Loving this new acronym! Normally I don’t hold my laugh on the inside and often when I do let my giggle out loud, I feel awkward because I was the only one that made a sound. Shows that some engineers still embody the well known LOL but I agree it’s on the rarer side. We absolutely love humour, and humour is definitely desirable, so to anyone reading this: keep it coming!
Khytsse Garcia
1mo
Love this Andrew Boyagi - I can verify that I’ve had many Engineers reach out to me after a presentation and provide positive feedback about the engagement tactics during a session. I swear my teenage son is an EOTI - Engineer On The Inside- he even does smile on the inside! Teens are a different kind of a ‘Tough crowd’.
ROFLMAO --> ROFLOTI
CEO and Chief Business Story Teller
1moDefinitely seen it happen to people on stage. I think there’s a fear of “I think it’s funny, but what if someone else doesn’t? Best I LOTI.” . I believe this syndrome is called FOLOL - fear of laughing out loud. Come on people, give the presenter a mini lol and get rid of your FOLOL. Noting, I have a feeling FOLOL will lol take off as much as LOTI …