Inspect the physical and seating arrangements of the room

Physical arrangements are a “snap” for those who can use the same room all the time. But when a different room will be used, inspect it. Even if it’s in the next county, inspect it. See it before publicizing the meeting. You may want to change rooms. Perhaps you’ve used the room before. If you haven’t seen it in the past year, inspect it anyway. This especially applies to hotel rooms, which are remodeled continually. The Sierra Room may be half the size this year, or it may be three times as large. Names are changed, too. This year’s Sierra Room may be what you remember as the Keystone Room. “I learned my lesson the hard way,” said a Las Vegas business man. “They had remodeled an adjacent room for a dance studio. Had I inspected the facilities, I would have known that their music would interfere with our sales meeting.”

Pros and cons of seating arrangements

The 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 house. “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 keep cigarettes. 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. As speakers walk, the wire to the mike is twisted. Sooner or later, action must be stopped while the cord is unwound. Some “character” finally trips on the cord! And it’s difficult to use visuals. Films are out of the question. Generated charts and chalk 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.

Keywords: Sales, Marketing, Business, Sales Training

Tags: sales meeting

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