I recently started my first dev role. There's a lot to learn. To help me rampup, my team has been great in scheduling one-on-ones to explain tools our team uses. In addition to that, we also have a library of past tech talks, as well as bi-weekly knowledge shares, demos, and design reviews, all of which are recorded.

I've been rewatching the most relevant to absorb the information. However, I've noticed that people are following along during the actual talk and asking insightful questions during Q&A.

On the other hand, I can actively listen during the first 10-15 minutes, after which my brain does one of these:

There's a lot of information shared during each 1-hour presentation. It's hard to keep up and take notes during. But rewatching hours of video will be harder as I take on more responsibilities.

Question:

How do you engage and stay engaged during technical talks? What strategies do you recommend for getting the most from these dense, technical presentations?

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