Venue 

The right venue can have a profound effect on the success of a meeting. The purpose of your meeting will influence your choice of the venue. A formal meeting should be held in a formal venue as this will encourage formal behaviour.

People work best when they feel comfortable, so the aim should be to create an atmosphere of relaxed concentration. The meeting environment should encourage participation. The views of participants should be respected and they should feel free to have their say without fear of ridicule. Disagreements should be turned into productive exchanges of information and experience. To achieve this, the atmosphere should be welcoming and friendly, relaxed, yet conducive to productive work.

Your job is to ensure that those attending the meeting have the best possible opportunity to carry out their business efficiently. Meetings should generally be held in an area which is:

• private
• free from interruptions or distractions (but not free from information)
• comfortable (but not too comfortable!)
• capable of alternative furniture configurations
• equipped, as necessary, with equipment such as wall clock, laptops, multimedia projector, phone, fax, videoconference or microphone
• in a convenient location for all participants
• neutral – if you are resolving a conflict you need a location that gives no advantage to any group or individual
• cost-effective.

How can you create a good meeting environment?

Post your ideas to the ValleyView Meeting room, under the topic Good meeting environment, and compare your ideas with others you find there. After reviewing all postings on this topic, revise your list of ideas and keep a copy for future reference.

Use the menu below to continue.

 Setting up a meeting