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April 22, 2010The best room is one in which you can arrange the best seating. Therefore, your selection of a room should be based, in part, on seating arrangements.
There are four basic types of seating:
1. Auditorium style. This arrangement is most widely used. It consists simply of one row of chairs behind another, as in a movie theater. “We’ve always favored the auditorium style,” said a Denver retailer. “It enables us to get the greatest number of people in the room. You see, tables take up space – more space than people.”
Auditorium style is okay for meetings lasting a couple of hours or less. For longer meetings, however, this arrangement is tiring. People want tables on which to lean and to take notes. Be
sure to stagger the chairs. The guy in front may not be thick¬headed, but . . .
2. Conference style. Each person is seated at a table. The table is shaped like an I, a T, or a U. This is ideal for note taking, water pouring, elbow resting, and the like. It’s comfortable. “Conference style is best for creating informality,” said a building supply executive. “To get group discussion, you can’t beat it.”
Tables consume so much space that conference style is used only for smaller meetings. However, it’s the smaller meeting that’s best for group discussion.
3. Spotted Tables. Small tables are spotted at certain places in the room. From two to eight people are seated at each table. This requires extra floor space. In fact, it’s a good means of trimming a large room to the size needed. It’s also practical when the audience is to be divided into small groups, as in buzz sessions.
An educational leader said, “In some of our meetings we assign different projects to different groups of people. Each group works on its project then and there – right in the meeting room. Spotted tables are ideal for this. A different project can be assigned to the people at each table. A natural division of the audience is provided.”
4. Theater in the round. You’ve seen this seating arrangement at boxing and wrestling matches. The stage is surrounded by seats. The average spectator is closer to the action. Some seats are a third nearer the stage. There’s more realism, too – a better 3-D effect. But it’s a poor arrangement for the average sales meeting.
A speaker’s stand cannot be used since it would face only a small part of the audience. Participants feel naked. Speakers must turn constantly to make eye contact with all the audience. If the crowd is so large that a p.a. system is used, a portable mike is necessary.
It’s difficult to use visuals. Videos are out of the question. Generated charts and boards, too. A visual must be used in such a way that everyone can see it. Either it has four faces, or it’s turned completely around by the speaker. Both are clumsy.
“I’ll never forget the first time I spoke at a meeting arranged like a theater in the round. It was very confusing. I couldn’t decide on which part of the audience to concentrate. I was never so uncomfortable before people. I felt that I was on public display.” Who told this sad story? A talented public speaker. So beware of theater in the round.
Be sure to select a room that permits the seating arrangement you consider best.
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