A place to call your own

Monday, 06 February 2012

Space has many aspects, from the pragmatic to the profound. In this case, it’s about choosing and/or setting up a place that respects the time, effort and experience of the participants as well as the needs of the event.

This is about making the most of your meeting space to help deliver good results. As such, it must help people focus on the task at hand.

STEPS-Kneebone

STEPS (which I have mentioned elsewhere) involves considering space, time, event-fulness, product and style as part of session design and staging.

The various aspects below are well known – I’m not re-inventing the wheel here. However. they do require work. Getting ‘place’ right is not a “tick and flick” exercise.

Getting to, and around, the venue

What location will best serve?
How accessible is the venue for people with a disability?
How easy (or otherwise) is it to find your way around the venue?

Culture

What kinship or gender constraints apply? Who may or may not use that place at the same time as others?
What match (or not) is needed with the social status of the participants?
What political constraints are there?

Ambiance

What kind of light (natural/artificial, direct/diffused...) will be best?
How is space defined or enclosed? What kind of doors and windows are there? Do they facilitate the flow and work of people and ideas?
What building character (materials, sounds etc), will best support the needs of the session?

Room layout

U-shape, boardroom, conference style, class-room...
What are the pros and cons of square vs rectangular vs round? What if the shape is irregular?
You must create focus through careful placement of furniture and decor.

Walls

How much room do you need to hang stuff after it's been written down?
Walls must be clear: no curtains, air-con controls, fancy finishes, pillars...
Glass walls can work as hanging space and/or as 'whiteboards'.

Furniture

What kind of chairs, tables and other furniture will help the most?
Some pundits advocate ‘standing' meetings… (Thereby mistaking speed for effectiveness!)

Technology

What technology (internet access, data projector/s etc) will best support the event? Even power socket locations can make a difference.
What OH&S considerations apply?

So, what “place-making” have you done? How has it worked?

And what about virtual rooms?

Please, share your thoughts below.

Go well!