This post is for anyone who doesn’t believe room sets matter
Is there anyone who doesn’t believe room sets matter, that as long as people can sit, they can learn? My friend, you need to read What’s Wrong with this Room Set by Kristi Casey Sanders. Actually, you don’t even have to read it—just look at the pictures and you’ll, well, get the picture.
I’ve been to a lot of meetings in the past few months, and all too many of the session rooms looked like the first in her post: A sterile, ugly room with rows and rows of chairs locked together like some sort of furniture chain-gang, though at least in most cases we could actually see the speakers at the front of the room. Oh how my heart yearns for the second example, with comfy couches and room to breathe.
I know meetings consultant/guru Joan Eisenstodt has been singing this song for years on end, but please, please, can’t we do something to at least make our meeting spaces minimally habitable, if not hospitable, if not true learning environments? Kristi mentions this excellent white paper Tahira Endean wrote about designing EventCamp Vancouver in her post, which I would also like to point to as a great resource and/or source of inspiration. We can do better.
February 17th, 2012 at 10:28 am
Thanks for sharing this Sue! If you do end up in a long narrow room like the one in the first picture, you may do better going shallow rather than deep. It’s a little-known fact, but something any 16th century Commedia del’Arte performer can tell you: You have better luck engaging the audience when they’re closer to you, so it’s OK to have a wide set as long as it’s shallow. If screen sightlines are an issue, may invest in having 2 screens and create some extra passageways for traffic.
February 17th, 2012 at 2:39 pm
Thank you, Sue! Paul Radde (www.thrival.com) has also been at this for years. His book, “Seating Matters” (available from amazon.com or his web site) should be used by all. (Disclaimer: I wrote the foreword for which I received no fee. I BELIEVE in what he’s done.)
Hotels and other venues are reluctant to book and use space differently. They use the number of people and the estimated sq. footage (set traditionally) — regardless of the G&O or delivery or anything else for the meeting.
It makes me NUTS!
I did just talk about this at the Greater Orlando MPI meeting and will again at Exhibitor in March.
I have pictures of some of the worst .. even some new builds.
HOTELIERS: if you want to make a change, talk w/ Paul Radde! Bring him in (you know .. pay him a fee!) to show you what can be done .. to train the sales, CS, and set up staff. It’s all so simple! He doesn’t even do the more interesting sets I would do — he simply makes them audience-centric.
Sue - I have great photos of bad rooms. I really don’t want to be a 90 y.o. meeting goer and still see this stuff!
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