Seats around a meeting room table are not all of equal influence.
The smooth transfer of the conversation from one speaker to the next is as much about visual cues as it is about verbal ones. Body language gives us a sub-conscious indicator of where the next input is most likely to arise, and as a result, people’s attention will, in many cases, naturally shift to that person.
Of course someone else may ‘chip in’ or interrupt the flow with an immediately verbal input (as is often the case) but this can appear a little disruptive by comparison, and the need to do so can feel difficult or awkward to people who may be of a quieter disposition.
Not every seat around a table has the same visibility.
It is easier to catch the current speaker’s eye if you are sat in the red seats in the illustration on the right, than if you are sat in the grey seats, and so these seats tend to have more inherent influence about them.This is often recognised subconsciously, and so it is not unusual for these more prominent locations to attract the more vocal participants, and for the quieter participants to gravitate toward the corners. This can compound the dynamic since the main protagonists them have a clearer view of each other than they do of the rest of their colleagues, with the main traffic and focus of conversation (the dotted lines) tending to ‘cut-off’ the corners.
The green seats in the illustration have different levels of influence depending whether the main ‘authority’ within the room is around the table (and probably in one of the red positions) or whether it is facilitating (or presenting to) the meeting from the open end of the ‘U’. In the case of the former, these are quite weak positions, but in the case of the latter they have a better chance of catching the facilitator or presenter’s eye, although still not as easily as the red positions.
How might this information be useful to you?
In the first case, simply being aware of it can provide insight into the dynamics of your meeting, and the impact that where people choose to sit may have on the outcomes, and the ownership of those outcomes. Beyond that, you can use this insight to decide whether intervening in the seating arrangements could have any bearing on the outcomes, and whether there may be more productive configurations of who sits where.
Influencing the seating arrangements may involve using name-cards to move people about from meeting to meeting, and pulling those who have the most valuable insight for the topic at hand more toward the centre of of each side (particularly if they are quieter people by nature).
The illustration in this article is for a U-shape table arrangement, because that arrangement is the most useful for productive meetings of a larger group. However, the same principles can also be applied to board-room table layouts and other arrangements. The following links provide further insight into this.
Sitting around a meeting room table: https://www.richardwinters.com/seats
Conducting other sorts of meetings around a table: http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/book_of_body_language/chap17.html
Please subscribe to access clinic content
Subscription to the Inspirometer Information Service is free of charge and grants you instant access to a wealth of meeting effectiveness resources and guidance. It also provides you with regular updates direct to your mailbox at a frequency of your choosing.
I am happy to consent to the Inspirometer cookies and Terms and Conditions
Your use of the Inspirometer Information Service is subject to the following terms and conditions, and is subject to our privacy policy which can be reviewed here: https://inspirometer.com/privacy-policy
■ We will not use your information for any other purpose than to keep you informed of developments in meeting effectiveness and the Inspirometer system, and we will not share your information with others.
■ You are able to unsubscribe from this service at any time. Each email you receive from us will contain a link where you can reset your preferences for all future emails, or unsubscribe for the service entirely.
■ We will contact you on a minimum of a quarterly basis to ensure that our service is continuing to meet your needs, to give you a general update on key developments in our service, and to provide you with the option to change your contact preferences
■ We will hold your data on file to enable your access to the Information Service until such time as you unsubscribe from the service
■ If we hold your data outside of the information service as a result of you contacting us by email or purchasing our service, we will hold your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy (https://inspirometer.com/privacy-policy). We will delete such data, in situations where we are not legally required to retain it, on receipt of a verified request from you
■ All information provided by us is provided in good faith. All information submitted by you is to be provided in good faith.
■ In compliance with the GDPR 2018, you acknowledge that clicking the subscribe button grants us your consent to hold the data you have provided, and to contact you using that data, in the manner described above.
■ We will not use your information for any other purpose than to keep you informed of developments in meeting effectiveness and the Inspirometer system, and we will not share your information with others.
■ You are able to unsubscribe from this service at any time. Each email you receive from us will contain a link where you can reset your preferences for all future emails, or unsubscribe for the service entirely.
■ We will contact you on a minimum of a quarterly basis to ensure that our service is continuing to meet your needs, to give you a general update on key developments in our service, and to provide you with the option to change your contact preferences
■ We will hold your data on file to enable your access to the Information Service until such time as you unsubscribe from the service
■ If we hold your data outside of the information service as a result of you contacting us by email or purchasing our service, we will hold your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy (https://inspirometer.com/privacy-policy). We will delete such data, in situations where we are not legally required to retain it, on receipt of a verified request from you
■ All information provided by us is provided in good faith. All information submitted by you is to be provided in good faith.
■ In compliance with the GDPR 2018, you acknowledge that clicking the subscribe button grants us your consent to hold the data you have provided, and to contact you using that data, in the manner described above.
Track your progress to ensure the efficacy of this strategy.