Various types of facilitated sessions require different facilities (Chapter One). If you need one large room for a plenary session in a central location to accommodate a unilingual think tank of 100 people, then it’s not difficult to define your requirements when approaching facility managers. However, when your process is a consensus-building summit requiring a fully acces- sible site in a midsize city, with a room for a plenary session of 250 people, ten breakout rooms for small-group discussions, a hospitality suite, recre- ational facilities, day care, simultaneous interpretation, and a total electronic package for recording and for intercountry communications, then the venue challenge goes up several notches!
Once you know the type of process, have anticipated the total number of participants, and are clear about the number and type of rooms required to support agenda activities, then it’s time to consider what type of facility and location would best fit the session objectives. Don’t be seduced by lux- urious facilities—remarkably successful processes have emerged from basic venues where people are not distracted.
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and it was excellent in terms of relaxation and de-stressing. However, attendance was lower than usual at sessions and people commented on their feedback forms that there were a lot of distractions both during and after sessions that were too tempting to resist. People did not rate the meeting highly in terms of what was accomplished.”
Explore the pros and cons of various venue requirements with the plan- ning committee and any other organizers you are working with. For exam- ple, on the one hand, breakout rooms can provide quiet areas for participants to focus on activities without the distraction of other discus- sion groups. On the other hand, it takes time for people to move from one room to another, and this can disrupt the sense of belonging to the larger group. Or, if you want to encourage informal communication and net- working, it may be beneficial to have an area, such as a hospitality suite or a porch, where participants can gather informally to share ideas.
Ask questions like these to determine the venue features that will sup- port session outcomes and participants’ interests:
• Will there be time for people to enjoy the distractions of a busy, down- town hotel location, or will the agenda benefit from participants’
being more isolated in a retreat situation?
• How quiet is the meeting space? Are adjoining rooms and passage- ways near a plenary room noisy?
• What are each location’s potential value-adds from the various per- spectives of client, participants, families, committee members?
Sending the Right Message
Given the purpose of the session you are planning, think about the message you want your location to send to people. Here are some of the things you might want it to say:
• This is an urgent and essential meeting; we are here to work.
• This meeting is a perk for excellent sales efforts; we will have a couple of short meetings and the rest of the time is for recreation.
• This is an important session for top-level people who expect the best in service and accommodations.
• The setting isn’t as important as is a clear commitment from everyone to address justice issues in the country.
• The location for this event is rotated among four key stakeholders, and we are delighted this year to be hosted by . . .
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Sometimes the choice of setting can be political. If a city council or a not-for-profit organization holds its retreat on a cruise ship or in a luxurious setting, it leaves itself open to criticism about how it is spending taxpayer dollars. Conversely, a board of directors for a public golf club may be seen to be astute by arrang- ing to exchange locations with another golf club at no cost.
Selecting a Space That Works: Quantity and Quality
Both too much and too little space in a room are problematic. Be specific with the site manager about exactly how much space you want. After deciding on the number of participants, select a plenary session room that is slightly larger than what you need so that if you end up with more peo- ple than anticipated, you will be able to accom- modate them. If necessary, a large room can be made to look smaller with screens and plants.
Pay attention: hotels and other facilities need to be efficient with room space. You may want nine feet between tables to manage noise, and the hotel may try to sell you a space that can accommodate only four feet between tables. Be specific in your requests, and don’t worry if others get annoyed; this time investment reaps real rewards in group productivity. Here’s an example of spelling out your needs:
We will be having a consensus-building session with 15 people. I need a room that is large enough to accommodate a hexagon setup with 3 people per side except for the front table which is for the facilitator only. We will also need a few round tables at the back for small-group discussions.
No matter what a salesperson tells you, pillars in rooms are prob- lematic. If you can’t avoid them, make sure that the space where you will have plenary sessions does not have any pillars. Space behind a pillar can be used for breakout tables or coffee breaks, but it won’t work for plenaries.
Consider the aesthetic quality of a space in relation to how well it will support participants in work- ing together to achieve expected
Pillar Entrance
Breakout Table Breakout
Table
Meeting Record Table er
HeadTable
Translation Booth and Recording Equipment
about adding some bright colors to a dowdy room to perk up the setting:
for example, spring flowers.
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“The room has importance beyond its functionality. Every room we occupy serves as a metaphor for the larger community we want to create. This is true socially and also physically. . . . Change the room, change the culture” (Block, 2008, p. 152).