I'm a big fan of Q&A, but I really hate conferences where Q&A is where people go and promote themselves or their project (or fake-influencers, as you say).
"I work on X (usually with a 10 min intro) and would really love hearing your thoughts on our project/product"
Discouraging self-promotion goes a long way (besides saying "I work at X")
We solved that problem by giving every intro a VERY tight time constraint, 2 min I think. I’d make ‘em stay inside those lines, but then I would also find an interesting point in their speil & ask a leading question to draw them out for another minute.
So nobody drones on and you maintain control of the format, but everybody still feels like they got to say their piece in front of an interested audience.
Oh also: there was often a previous attendee on the call with a similar or complementary story. So I would often make that intro right there and use the opportunity to get a quick update from that person.
It made for a really organic flow and the sound bites were short enough that nobody got to be boring for long. Not even me. :)
100% agreed. It's noticeable and wonderful when there's enforced "No Self Promotion" clauses with conferences or talks. Improves the quality of questions and discussions immensely by giving space for people with real questions.
"I work on X (usually with a 10 min intro) and would really love hearing your thoughts on our project/product"
Discouraging self-promotion goes a long way (besides saying "I work at X")