Preso Feng Shui: Prepping the Room

Has this ever happened to you???

You walk into a training or meeting room and immediately, without second-guessing yourself, you think, “This room isn’t set up correctly for the content I’m going to present.?The vibe is off!”

Well, it happened to me this past Monday.?I walked into the room and thought, “Oh no, this isn’t going to work.”

Now usually I go review the room the day before I present or get there super early to make any adjustments.?Unfortunately, I wasn't in a position to do either.

In the end, the 90-minute presentation went well but I still wasn't happy with the setup; it subtracted rather than added.

What was the setup?

There were round tables with about 8 chairs and the tables, in my opinion, were uncomfortably close.?That was Problem #1.

Problem #2??Round tables are great when you are facilitating or delivering a workshop where people have to work together and complete activities.?In my case, I was delivering a keynote; some people had to crane their necks to look at me while others were half-turned.?

When delivering a keynote or lecture, the best setup is always classroom-style, with an optional table and enough room between participants for comfort.? In a classroom-style setup, all the participants are looking at the speaker as opposed to ‘each other’ in a circle; which leads to the next problem.

Problem #3?? I’ve learned over the years that if someone at the table is ‘reserved’, others will mimic the behavior (i.e., censor themselves to fit in).?Group dynamics is a prickly business.? If one person isn’t into the presentation, it spreads like a mental contagion at a round table.?

Good News!

Since I had to present on Tuesday, Day 2 as well, I asked the organizers if they could rearrange the room and get rid of the round tables.?They did!??In fact, they create a giant U configuration with tables, and better still, the participants had enough room to sit and write comfortably.

The result was a palpable energy boost in the room.?What a difference a configuration makes!?

The group was interacting, participating, and enjoying the experience of learning! Even the organizers saw and felt the difference; a learning moment for them.

Being a great speaker, facilitator or presenter requires that you understand, for lack of a better phrase, the ‘feng shui’ of a room.?

By definition, feng shui is the practice of arranging pieces in space to create balance and harmony.?The goal is to harness that invisible energy (i.e., the vibe) and establish harmony between an individual and their environment.

Your presentation is the content.?The room is context.?Only when the context and content are in harmony, can you pull off a great presentation!

Question: Would you share 1 tip on setting up a room?