INFOGRAPHIC: What does your seating position say about you in a meeting?
Where you sit in a meeting speaks a lot about your attitude towards other attendees and vice versa.
Knowing the best ‘seat’ to take can help you to become more effective in terms of attaining team cooperation.
So, where should you sit?
The other end
Considered as the second-in-power position, sitting opposite the Chair allows you to be entirely visible to everyone – making it ideal if you need to present some important information.
At either corner of the table
This is usually where the unprepared guys go into hiding. The Chair and other attendees may even single you out and rain down on you with difficult questions when you sit here… Yikes!
At either side of your boss
Being at either side of the Chair gives you the benefit of influencing the meeting as you serve as an ‘assistant’. As the second-in-command of the meeting, you can:
• Draw the attention towards or away from topics; and
• Speed up or slow down the meeting’s agenda
The middle few
Attendees who belong to the middle few are typically out of sight to many – they are either being talked over or being talked around. This is the best seating position if you want to:
• Become a mediator in the middle of two opposing opinions;
• Sit closer to the Chair for your opposition to talk over or through you first; or
• Go unseen or unheard as you size up the situation
Bonus: Circular tables
Commonly known as the King Arthur’s Concept; round table discussions encourage relaxed informality – suitable if you are aiming for meetings with equal rights.
Where you sit should be no accident! Believe it or not, understanding this simple seating protocol can afford many benefits to you, to the Chair and to everyone in the meeting – making it a happy and productive event for one and all! For functional meeting rooms in London that promote meaningful discussions, contact us on 0800 073 0499.
Posted by Sara Cano
