Planning the Seminar Room Set-up - Part 2 Banquet, U-Shaped and Boardroom Style Seating

Yesterday, I blogged about different seating arrangements you can use at your seminar. Here are some additional ideas.

Banquet Style
The banquet set-up is used when a meal is served. It is a series of round or oval tables with room for seating 8 to 10 people per table. The arrangement takes a great deal of room but is an excellent style to use not only for meals but when you want to encourage the audience to network with each other. There is a disadvantage, if you seat people completely around each table, half of the audience will have to turn their chairs to see your presentation. You can arrange it so you only seat people around half of the table but this will mean adding tables and using even more space.

U-Shape
Long, narrow, usually 6-foot, tables are placed in a U-shape and chairs are put around the outside of the U. I’ve also seen seating on the inside of the U to double the amount available seats but this tends to make people feel cramped. You, as the speaker, would stand at the opening of the U but could also move about the room.

This style works for intimate seminars with less than 30 attendees and is best for interactive sessions. You might want to use it for a breakout session of a large seminar.

Boardroom
A large rectangular table with you at the head, establishing you as the authority. This is for a very small group, not more than 12 to 15 people. You may have problems making eye contact with the people sitting at the end of table.

In the next blog and tell you some of the things you need to have when you are setting up your seminar.