WTH Wednesday

What’s this about?

WTH with a staged conversation in a presentation. Paddle with me here:I am giving a presentation with Capn Canoe on the benefits of the JStroke vs the basic forward stroke when canoeing flat water. The following dialogue occurs:

Capn Canoe: “The JStroke seems to be somewhat technical, is it difficult to master?”

Me: “Great question, no it just requires ….”

Why are we presenting this like a conversation between us? It’s not a conversation, it’s a presentation. Stop pretending it is one. I rarely find myself confusing a presentation with a casual conversation between two predetermined individuals standing on a stage in front of a crowd of people.

I am hoping that this isn’t just a random question that Capn Canoe just thought of. What I am expecting is that this topic was prepared for prior to presenting and that the necessary info is presented. Any actual questions from the audience can be addressed in a Q&A if there is one.

Stop with the mock conversation. We’ve paddled this river before and it’s no better than the Muskingum. (Read my review of Muskingum here https://chupacabracanoe.com/2024/07/04/thats-rank-the-muskingum/)

And another thing, stop with the “Great question….” I hope it’s a great question because I would hate to travel all this way in the company of all these people to listen to a presentation with info provided to answer stupid questions. I hope you screened for that.

If you are asking “why does this bother me?”

Great question.

Thanks for listening

JStroke

Author: JStroke

Master Canoeist since 2012

Response

Capt’n Canoe

March 5, 2026

It’s like a poorly cast theater production, it doesn’t feel genuine, I get it. The smiles and happiness all seem contrived.

On top of that, I believe “great question” has become the default go to phrase, allowing the presenter a few seconds to prepare an answer to the question. If it was so great, why do you need time to answer? However, it is again, not genuine. There is such a thing as a stupid question. Maybe if people were called out for it, it would create some accountability.

In case anyone was curious about that hypothetical scenario and question above, no need for concern, those are words which would never leave my mouth. Just wanted to clear that up for the records. If you’re wondering why I’m worried about that, good question.

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