In the first part of this contribution, the properties of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance in208Pb at zero temperature are studied in a self‐consistent model which employs a Skyrme‐type force and compared with experimental data. The coupling with the continuum is taken into account, as well as the coupling to two‐particle—two‐hole (2p‐2h) configurations containing a collective vibration. We extract the strength function of the mode and the branching ratios for the direct decay by neutron emission.In the second part, the experimental evidence testifying to the existence of a limiting temperature for the observation of gamma decay from the giant dipole resonance in hot nuclei is interpreted as indicating a remarkable constancy with temperature of the width with which the giant resonance couples to the compound nucleus.