Where to sit in a meeting

You might not find this in a business book. Or discussed at a lecture. Nor at work.

Yet, when entering a boardroom for an important meeting, the question of where to sit is not necessarily a trivial one. Look, I do not wish to exaggerate. Many factors (content, preparation, appearance, language, posture etc etc) are often more important. However, choosing the right seat in a room also matters.

“Surprisingly“, I have an opinion on the matter, and I share my experience, well also to learn about different views.

Obviously, the position to choose varies depending on personal objectives:

• If you aim for rapid disappearance or are worried of evacuation procedures, I recommend a seat near the door.

• Looking for distraction: sit opposite the window.

• Not on a diet? Sit next to the cabinet with food, if available and discreetly reachable.

However, this post is dedicated to those who want to have influence during a meeting, exhort authority even if initially they might not have the formal power. Like – I have been in that position many times – if you are a consultant, or a newcomer to a company.

Let’s mark the setting first, I imagine a standard room shaped like the picture below.

So there is a door, a series of seats parallel to each other, and the “head” of the table with a screen or a monitor on the other hand.

Western and Asian sitting positions around the table

Convention is – of course – that the most senior person in the meeting will sit at the head of the table. An exception would be in Asia where more often than not the most senior person will sit in the middle of one of the horizontal rows, most likely in the one closer to the door. I illustrate below with the blue dot identifying the spot of the likely leader.

I presume, for the purposes of this post, that one can arrive early enough to choose a spot. If you arrive late you can only sit where there is a free spot and already giving away a possible advantage. So I recommend to arrive on time.

I tend to arrive early, and first of all look at the room and its setting. I walk around a bit, I try and sense the feng shui around me, then I just “breath the room in”. I identify where the most powerful person is likely to sit and then I let my instinct choose. I make sure that my gut and my head agree. Maybe I even sit on the spot I like to see how it feels. I think that taking the time to let our superconscious decide is the best thing to do. But, more often than not, I follow the pattern that I explain below. Please note these observations are more valid in a “western” setting, as I have more experience there and also because otherwise I spend too much time drawing tables in PowerPoint.

Understanding the power seat

Below, I mark in yellow what I call the “power seat” which is especially important in a new meeting, when few people already know you and you wish to make an impression.

Why is that seat important? In my view, it is because it allow for something I call: “the transfer of power”, that is, a way to acquire and maintain attention from other participants. I should also say that typically, I am very quiet at the start of the meeting. I may introduce myself softly and briefly if asked, but I really try to be subdued, not attract any attention. In the first few minutes of a meeting, my purpose is to have people “forget” that I am there.

However, after a while, I speak. My first statement is typically short, but pronounced loud. It is about something I am confident about (a fact I know, an opinion I can defend) and ideally it is also new or controversial to the audience.

An example could be: “It is nice to hear the company is growing. However, our research clearly shows we are losing market share. Isn’t That what we should worry about?”; or “I find it interesting what Jane (a junior member of the meeting) was saying” – especially if this Jane did make a good comment that no one listened to; or finally as an example I would make up a metaphor: “Isn’t it time this team ventures into the blue, clear and open waters of international expansion?”

This type of strong statement, when accompanied by a right seating position, can be powerful. They change entirely the dynamics of the room. All of the sudden, from a hidden, non threatening position, it is possible to gain the upper end in the energy flow of the room. I illustrate below:

The power shifts. People on the same side have to move to actually see me better (and they become more alert by the simple act of moving). There is a peer relationship established with formal power in the room (blue dot) as well as a convergent deference from others in the room.

A couple of other remarks. If I already know the boss well (or if I am the boss), a slightly different position, then I would sit next to the CEO. See below.

With regards to Asia, I put less thought on, but for the sake of completeness in that case I would sit as per one of the yellow dots below, maybe the one to the right.

I am not sure these ideas would work for everyone. Some of my colleagues – past and present – saw me adopting these techniques and in case they read this blog they might add their comments on the effectiveness of my theory. To other readers, I can only suggest to try, it might be fun!