Can Your Meeting Room Make Or Break Your Meeting!

You want your meeting to be really special. It's amazing of how much planning and dealing with so many details goes into this effort. The programs and content are set to meet the requirements of the attendees. But what about the learning environment the meeting takes place in?

Setting the room correctly can make a huge difference between a good meeting and a GREAT meeting.

What's the big difference of how you set up the tables? Accelerated adult learning techniques have taught us that we learn more when we can see other attendees and interact with them. The traditional parallel classroom seating doesn't allow this interaction, which actually limits the learning experience.

Here are some General rules and suggested room layouts as examples for setting up your meeting rooms.

1. Angle the tables to curve (also know as herringbone) towards the center of the room and which allows the attendees to easily see each other.
2. Require that there is an aisle between every table. Angling the table opens more space in the room, which can be used for the aisle space.
3. Never place any tables against any wall. Sitting against the wall is very uncomfortable.
4. Place the screen in the corner, which is usually dead space and usually does not have direct lights shining down on the screen. If there are some lights, they are usually easy to turn off or unscrew. Overhead lights that shine on the screen can washout out any images you want the audience to see. It is better to have the screen in the dark instead of the audience.
5. Know what the hotel means by lighting control. A single on/off switch does not "control". Being able to adjust the lighting and lighten or darken independent sections of the room is true "lighting control".
6. You do not need a stage unless there are 80+ people attending. Seeing from the back can be very difficult if the group is very large.
7. Always to TRY to request to have a minimum ceiling of 12'. If you use an 8' screen, it rises to the height of 10', which allows the full use of the entire screen. If the ceiling is 10' high, or less, the screen viewing area becomes limited. The back of the room usually can only see the top 2/3's of the screen.
8. Have water pitchers and glasses on each table, with the exception of Theater Seating.
9. Hopefully you'll have some room at the back of the room for those who need to stand and stretch.
10. Know where the thermostat is and if you or the hotel controls it. Room temperature should be kept at 69 degrees. It sounds a little cool, but it's actually the perfect temperature for a great learning environment.
11. Know where the ceiling air returns are and be sure inform the audience that they might be sitting under a draft and to either move to a better seat or dress accordingly.

Let's look at four basic room setups: Small audience ; Medium audience ; Large audience ; and Theater Seating and compare them to the corresponding diagrams. Remember... the above general rules apply to each room. (You can also view and/or download the different room configurations and this article at the "Meeting Room" in "Room Setups")

Let's start with the "Small Audience" layout, a basic meeting style with 60 or less people.

1. Use either 6' or 8' schoolies (18" deep) and sit three people at the 6' table or four people at the 8' table. Schoolies take less room and allow the attendees to be closer and this allows easier and more intimate interaction. This also allows everyone to be just one person from an aisle. Arrange the tables according to the diagram.
2. Put the 12' wide and 16' deep stage in the corner and arrange the tables towards the stage as shown in the diagram. Again, the corner is dead space and this allows more room.
3. Put two 6' or 8' schoolies end to end in front of the screen to block off the screen legs and provide table space for various items at the same time.
4. The center row tables can be aligned to the front of the room and the stage can be left in the corner.

Now let's look at the Medium Audience setup. The majority of the above rules apply with a few major additions.

1. Put the 12' wide and 16' deep stage in the corner and arrange the tables towards the stage as shown in the diagram. Again, the corner is dead space and this allows more room.
2. Put two 6' or 8' schoolies end to end in front of the screen to block off the screen legs and provide table space for various items at the same time.
3. The center row tables can be aligned to the front of the room and the stage can be left in the corner.

Now let's look at the Large Audience setup.

        Again, the majority of the General rules apply with a few major differences as we're now dealing with round tables (rounds), which means that aisles and table placement are totally different. Put the 16' wide and 12' deep stage in the center of the long side of the room and arrange the tables towards the stage as shown in the diagram. It is important to note that if the room is longer than it is deep, it is better the place the stage at the end of the room. While this might make it more difficult for those in the rear of the room to see the speaker, it will give everyone a clear view of the stage and screen. This is better than only seeing a side view of the screen and the speaker dealing with two halves of an audience. Additionally, the stage might have to be larger dimensions depending on the size of the room and the types of activities for a larger audience.

Now let's look at a limited space Theater seating . Most hotels cram as many chairs into a room as possible in parallel lines with only a center aisle. There is little to no room to sit and or for any materials the attendees might have and trying to take notes is also a huge challenge.

The Theater Setup offers the same accelerated environment as the small and medium setups and takes care of the other problems associated with the traditional theater setup.

1. Place the screen in the corner, which is usually dead space and usually does not have direct lights shining down on the screen. If there are some lights, they are usually easy to turn off or unscrew.
2. Again, check out the "lighting control. Being able to adjust the lighting and lighten or darken independent sections of the room is true "lighting control.
3. Place schoolies against the sides of the walls where they can hold water and glasses as well as miscellaneous materials the attendees might have. This eliminates clutter and allows more room.
4. The chair arrangement is critical as it virtually creates the environment for the meeting. Again, accelerated adult learning techniques have taught us that when we can see other attendees and interact with them, we learn more. Typical theater seating does not allow this. Please look at the diagram and see what a difference angling the chairs and creating aisles can make.
5. Additionally, make sure the chairs are at least 6" apart. This allows for more comfortable seating. The angled chairs should maintain this distance between the front legs.

One other important element of a successful meeting is the Audio Video (A/V) equipment. If the sound or visual elements are poor, the content of your meetings will also suffer. Many hotels have their "in-house" sound system that doubles as their Public Address (PA). These sound systems were designed primarily for background muzak and not quality voice presentation. Be sure to address what type of in-house PA system the venue offers and check it out and avoid getting an unwelcome surprise. Also, larger audiences require more powerful PA systems that most hotels do not have. If you're renting Visual equipment such as overhead or LCD projectors, make sure they are compatible with your needs and equipment. Double checking is great insurance.

Many hotels do not understand these requirements and seating arrangements, and will usually resist "changing" from what they usually do. Ensure that you provide your room diagram and written requirements to your hotel or meeting representative and make sure they become part of your performance agreement.

Remember that this is your meeting and you are paying the bill for the services you require to make your meeting a success.

I hope these small tips have helped in planning your meeting and making it as successful as you want it to be.