I’m not sure I agree. Consider the reaction of the audience to this talk- uncomfortable laughter, but also a pretty enthusiastic standing ovation. I’d guess that latter happened because the audience saw Eliezer as genuine- he displayed raw emotion, spoke bluntly, and at no point came across as someone making a play for status. He fit neatly into the “scientist warning of disaster” archetype, which isn’t a figure that’s expected to be particularly skilled at public communication.
A more experienced public speaker would certainly be able to present the ideas in a more high-status way- and I’m sure there would be a lot of value in that. But the goal of increasing the status of the ideas might to some degree trade off against communicating their seriousness- a person skillfully arguing a high-status idea has a potential ulterior motive that someone like Eliezer clearly doesn’t. To get the same sort of reception from an audience that Eliezer got in this talk, a more experienced speaker might need to intentionally present themselves as lacking polish, which wouldn’t necessarily be the best way to use their talents.
Better, maybe, to platform both talented PR people and unpolished experts.
This is an excellent point. This talk didn’t really sound condescending, as every other presentation I’ve seen from him did. Condescension and other signs of disrespect are what create polarization. So perhaps it’s that simple, and he doesn’t need to skill up further.
I suspect he does need to skill up to avoid sounding hostile and condescending in conversation, though. The short talk format with practice and coaching may have fixed the real problems.
I agree that sounding unpolished might be perfectly fine.
I’m not sure I agree. Consider the reaction of the audience to this talk- uncomfortable laughter, but also a pretty enthusiastic standing ovation. I’d guess that latter happened because the audience saw Eliezer as genuine- he displayed raw emotion, spoke bluntly, and at no point came across as someone making a play for status. He fit neatly into the “scientist warning of disaster” archetype, which isn’t a figure that’s expected to be particularly skilled at public communication.
A more experienced public speaker would certainly be able to present the ideas in a more high-status way- and I’m sure there would be a lot of value in that. But the goal of increasing the status of the ideas might to some degree trade off against communicating their seriousness- a person skillfully arguing a high-status idea has a potential ulterior motive that someone like Eliezer clearly doesn’t. To get the same sort of reception from an audience that Eliezer got in this talk, a more experienced speaker might need to intentionally present themselves as lacking polish, which wouldn’t necessarily be the best way to use their talents.
Better, maybe, to platform both talented PR people and unpolished experts.
This is an excellent point. This talk didn’t really sound condescending, as every other presentation I’ve seen from him did. Condescension and other signs of disrespect are what create polarization. So perhaps it’s that simple, and he doesn’t need to skill up further.
I suspect he does need to skill up to avoid sounding hostile and condescending in conversation, though. The short talk format with practice and coaching may have fixed the real problems.
I agree that sounding unpolished might be perfectly fine.