Room Set Up
TRANSCRIPT:
Avish: Let’s talk now about setting up the room. Especially when you are first starting out, maybe some people take for granted so let’s talk about some of the ways you can set your room up for your seminars in which situations you might want to use one over the other.
Fred: Now, let’s get through them individually. Obviously the most basic set up is theater style and that is chairs set up usually in rows, some areas for aisles where people can walk down, with no tables in front of them. You might want to use this if you want to maximize the amount of space that you need. And I would also use it if the seminar wasn’t too long and doesn’t involve too much writing. If the seminar involves some writing, you’ll need something in front of them, like a table to write on. So theater style is just a bunch of chairs set up in rows, and looks like in a movie theater but nothing bolted.
Avish: Okay, so it will look good if you are trying to maximize space and then it doesn’t have a lot of writing, or its not too long.
Fred: Yep.
Avish: Okay. So that’s theater style.
Fred: Next one would be classroom style. And classroom style is just the traditional -most seminars you see- set up. With tables in front of chairs and allowing people to walk between them and walk up front, between them, beside them, behind them, with certain isles set up because that allows you to-and that is usually used with a lot of didactic learning. Some seminar leaders speaking and their taking notes. It makes it easy for them and they could sit there for days, if necessary in that kind of a set up.
Avish: And when you say tables and chairs, it’s usually like rectangular tables and chairs on one side only.
Fred: Good point. Yeah, rectangular tables as opposed to our next topic- to set it up in what we call rounds or just round tables. Some can accommodate 6-8 people usually. And that is done when you want to have a lot of participation, in a group participation; people talking with themselves during an exercise, and trying to make it feel a little bit more casual, and more “worshop-y”, than “seminar-y”.
Avish:: U-huh.
Fred: So that the whole idea there would be you’re anticipating more interaction, a more casual environment, etc.
Avish: Okay, so that’s rounds…
Fred: And the last thing, the last major one I that can think of is U shape. And you shape is when you have smaller group of people and you set it up, so the top of the U if you are looking at it, if you are writing it-the speakers can already sand in there, and they have people on their left, in front of them and on their right- so that they are operating inside the U, inside the horseshoe, if you will. And usually that’s done in groups of-I usually find it no more than 20 people-to do a U shape. But it can be a very effective way to do a smaller group presentation which facilitates almost they are in classroom style, seeing each other and they are facing you. It’s good to consider in a small group when you are doing a lot of training, and they are not doing a whole lot of interaction.
Avish: So to recap the kind of different ones just to make sure I got them right, the listeners have them correct. You’re saying theater style is good if you are doing a shorter event, and you want to maximize space, with not a lot of writing. The classroom style with all these rectangular table and chairs facing one way is good. If participants will be taking down a lot of notes and doing a lot of writing, maybe they’re going to be there for a long time.
Fred: Yup.
Avish: Rounds is good if you want more interaction amongst the participants, or a little more casual environment.
Fred: Yup.
Avish: And the U shape is good if you are working with a smaller group and wanted to get everyone close.
Fred: Perfect. You got it. And thems all there is.
Avish: Super.
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