It is sad but true. The good old 'U' shape that we have come to
know so well has had it's day. Like the horse and cart, the U is
an old fashioned structure that can't support new meeting technologies.
Innovations in meeting processes are driving faster, deeper knowledge
sharing, higher levels of participation, engagement and relationship
building and delivering more energised, aligned and focussed
participants. Putting life into a dead meeting
Fortunately, unlike the cart, we don't need to throw out the old
meeting furniture. Instead, by utilising the space inside and outside
meeting rooms and venues more creatively, it is possible to support
more productive communication and energise your meetings.
All people work better when they experience movement and variety
in space and place. This creates new energy, new perspectives and
new people to interact with.
Of course, nothing's stopping the delegates in your meetings from
doing this. But in a tightly organised, theatre style or U shaped
environment, the structure and layout of the room create pretty
defined boundaries as to what people feel comfortable doing.
So how do we make a U turn in a dead end unproductive meeting?
That depends a bit on the space you have, the degree to which
you can shape it, and the ability of your speakers, or leaders
to encourage people to relax.
Here's a few tips..
Fix tables, but don't fix chairs
Use configurations that are light on with tables, and use movable
chairs to create different space. This enables more flexibility
to shift things around.
How many times have you seen a U shaped room ever get dismantled.?
It just doesn't seem to happen! Once a U, always a U. Try starting
with a U of chairs only, and you'll end up with a lot more variation
through the workshop or meeting.
Alternatives to having no tables
are cabaret style, where tables are in islands. Or, try tables
at the side of the room, with chairs in the middle. With this
set up, when tables are needed for group discussion or workshopping,
they can easily be dragged in from the sides.
Sit and stand,
or Stand and sit
Try the reverse to normal scenarios. Instead
of people sitting during session and standing at coffee, try
asking people in a business session to move to a space where there
is no chairs, and have them discuss a topic or question for 15
or 20 minutes. Standing can be a great energiser and when used
in balance with sitting, can provide an excellent variation to
people's experience of a long meeting. When done at your in-house
meetings, it will also encourage quicker meetings!
Bean bags and carpet
Some venues are designing creative think tank rooms, complete with
colourful furniture, more varied sitting arrangements, and plenty
of carpet and bean bags for people to lounge on. You might choose
a venue based on this kind of criteria as well as other more
5 star requirements.
Give permission
Encourage your facilitators or speakers to make it OK for people
to move around and get comfy. If you have set up the room so
it is possible, all it need take is an invitation, perhaps triggered
initially by a stand up session, or other break out format. Without
this invitation, the tone is never set that it's OK to move.
Use foyers, corridors and lift wells
Look around most buildings and conference venues, and you'll find
that meeting rooms are only one of many spaces you can use.
Great ideas have been hatched in corridors and lift wells! And
conversely, U-shape's and meeting rooms are no guarantee of break
through innovation?
So don't be afraid to use unconventional space for a break out,
or small group discussion. Break out of the confines of traditional
meeting rooms, and you will encourage your group to break out of
traditional ways of thinking or solving problems.
Make a U turn
Finally, if you do find yourself in a U shaped room, and you notice
the meeting is dead, then take a risk and turn the U into something
else.
Using space is only one aspect of creating more interactive, engaging
meetings; However the creative use of space, variety and movement
alone will encourage innovation and methods of interacting that
otherwise may not have been discovered, and the best ideas will
remain locked inside your participants.
It just takes some courage to make a U turn.
______________________________
by David Pointon - FAST Meetings
FAST Meetings provides 3 levels of service to support improved
effectiveness, energy and outcomes of meetings; ranging from Meeting
by Design to transferring skills to your leaders through FAST Facilitation
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