I agree that it’s not harmless, but neither are low quality presentations (I am saying this as someone whose oral presentations are very inconsistent in this sense; I consider myself lucky every time I perform well when speaking publicly; so I do feel the problem “from both ends” (as a speaker and as a listener)).
Making it easier for people to acquire good skills in this sense, and making it more likely that they would do so would be quite useful.
And yes, especially when the audience is sizable, one really ought to try not to waste people’s time when presenting, but to do a good job.
But the correct approach is a delicate matter. (I remember a rather horrible conflict, when one of my colleagues and good friends criticized another for not bothering to make an effort to make his talk good. It was quite unpleasant to be in the middle of that. So yes, all this is non-trivial, it’s not obvious what’s the correct approach here.)
I agree that it’s not harmless, but neither are low quality presentations (I am saying this as someone whose oral presentations are very inconsistent in this sense; I consider myself lucky every time I perform well when speaking publicly; so I do feel the problem “from both ends” (as a speaker and as a listener)).
Making it easier for people to acquire good skills in this sense, and making it more likely that they would do so would be quite useful.
And yes, especially when the audience is sizable, one really ought to try not to waste people’s time when presenting, but to do a good job.
But the correct approach is a delicate matter. (I remember a rather horrible conflict, when one of my colleagues and good friends criticized another for not bothering to make an effort to make his talk good. It was quite unpleasant to be in the middle of that. So yes, all this is non-trivial, it’s not obvious what’s the correct approach here.)