Make the Room Work for You
By Dianna Booher

When my phone rings for a speaking or training engagement in Florida, two feelings flood my mind. One is euphoria. The other panic. I get euphoric when I recall all the excellent resort cities and attractions that often figure into working in Florida. Then I panic, because Florida also is home to some of the worst settings I 've ever been stuck in.

One was a client 's corporate headquarters on a day when all the "real" conference rooms were occupied. Our classroom was a piece of the company cafeteria, the only area large enough for 25 people to be seated together. In almost exactly the center of our space, a three-foot-diameter column extended floor to ceiling. A few unlucky participants had to lean around it to see the projector screen; I had to play peek-a-boo from up front. Got the picture? Now stir in the sounds, smells and sights as, over a period of three hours, 2,000 employees parade through to eat lunch at the surrounding tables. The training topic? Technical writing for engineers, a program that requires thoughtful concentration on writing exercises.

Then there was the client who scheduled 25 participants for a training session—around a conference table large enough to accommodate 10. Extra chairs occupied every nook and cranny of the room. The projection equipment had to be placed on the end of the lone table, approximately two feet from the wall that served as our screen. That meant the three people sitting at the end of the oval had to lean to the side each time I showed a slide so the image could hit the wall. As the facilitator, I spoke from the doorway—the only open spot to stand. The flipchart was strategically placed in the doorway ... on the opposite end of the room. To reach it, I had to walk out into the hallway and come back in through the other door.

Maybe you can top those. But why try? We know there 's a direct connection between the learning environment and the outcome. We know that appropriate facilities are a huge part of that environment. Now, I insist on them. You should, too. Here are 7 ways to make the room work for you.

Choose a Comfortable, Yet Stimulating Environment

If possible, select a site that 's so memorable attendees recall your training simply because of the setting. After all, people like to brag about where they 've been, who they 've met, and what they 've done. When they tell others about the great experience they had in your training session, they 'll also reinforce some of the learning for themselves.

Create a Setting, Don 't Just Occupy It

Whether your training requires a quiet place for concentrated learning, integrating big-screen visuals or building an intimate emotional connection among participants, your room setup will dramatically help or hinder your efforts. Don 't automatically accept the default. You can't expect the facility 's staff to accommodate your specialized needs unless you work with your site coordinator in advance to design the kind of setting that 's right for your group.

When It Comes to Rooms, Size Does Matter

Select a room large enough to accommodate your purpose, not just your head-count. When your furniture arrangement allows you to circulate among groups as they work on projects, you can practice creative eavesdropping. When you want to provide a few moments of privacy for reflection or other independent work, you'll have enough room to ask participants to turn their chairs toward an outside wall or pull away a little to "blank out" other distractions around them. Just avoid "super-sizing." Putting 30 people in a room that can seat 300 leaves participants feeling small and insignificant.

Cut Clutter Corners and Drop-Out Zones

Remember: Garbage in, garbage stays. People bring clutter with them—food, soft drink cans, paperwork from other projects, extra sweaters or jackets, coffee mugs from home. In short order, the place looks messy, disorganized, uninviting. Physical clutter often leads to mental clutter. Learners can feel "crowded," or worse, as if they are intruders. Monitor your room for eyesores: extra chairs stacked in a corner, overflowing trash cans, rickety easels or screens, piles of materials left over from a previous session. While you 're at it, remove empty chairs sitting around the edges or at the back of the room. They provide an open invitation for late-arrivers to sit passively and remain uninvolved in the session.

Force Focus and Concentration

It's axiomatic that people need to have something they can see to keep them engaged: a slide, a chart, a demonstration, a role player, a panel group. But it doesn't always follow that the line of fire has to be clear. Never worry that people must shuffle their chairs or turn their heads to see a whiteboard. Or you. Every time you cause them to move and look in a different direction, you have an opportunity to regain wandering eyes—and attention.

Match Your Presence to the Room

Be aware that your personal power to control group dynamics and, more importantly, to engage the audience has to change based on both the size of the group and the size of the room. As a general rule, the larger the room, the larger your gestures and movements must be to engage the audience. When you want to create intimacy with your group, move closer to them or move among them. When you want to re-establish authority, make sure you're standing center front—the time-honored position of authority.

Learn to Lead from All Directions

Crowd control comes from room control. Use the entire room, not just the front. In fact, one of the best ways to keep an audience engaged is to facilitate a discussion from different spots in the room. You can completely alter group dynamics by changing positions in the room and causing learners to follow your lead. You can also quiet a monopolizing participant seated right in front of you simply by moving to the opposite end of the room.

In short, work your room—not, as we 're accustomed to do at cocktail parties, for networking purposes, but to accomplish your learning objectives. And if someone asks you to lead a session in Florida, stay out of the cafeterias.

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ARTICLE TAGLINE FOR DIANNA BOOHER, CSP

Dianna Booher works with organizations to increase their productivity and effectiveness through better oral, written, interpersonal, and cross-functional communication. She is founder of Booher Consultants, a leading communication training firm, and author of more than 40 books, including The Voice of Authority: 10 Communication Strategies Every Leader Needs to Know (McGraw-Hill, June 2007), Communicate with Confidence, Speak with Confidence, E-Writing, and From Contact to Contract. Successful Meetings Magazine has named her to its list of "21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century."http://www.dianna-booher.com

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