The conference is a business staple. From huge corporations to family businesses, you are sure to encounter conferences at some point during your career. When it comes time to organise a conference yourself, it can be tricky to work out exactly what style would suit your conference best.
From theatre style to a boardroom layout, you need to consider what you will be doing at your conference, who will be attending and what the desired outcome is. Often this might require a number of different conference room setup styles throughout your event.
Take a look at our list of possible room layouts for events to work out which would be the best for your conference and get planning your productive and motivating conference. If you’re looking for tips on how to get your reception event room layout right, click here.
Theatre Style
Probably the most common conference room layout for larger events, the theatre style is ideal for events with central presentations. The layout is rows of chairs facing towards a stage and is ideal for fitting the maximum amount of people into one space.
We would recommend this conference room layout for product launches, big announcements or annual reviews. It’s not ideal for events that require a lot of note taking or during a session where people might want to be close to refreshments.
Classroom Style
The classroom layout is ideally suited to medium and large meetings, when there are too many people to sit around one table. We recommend the classroom style for more interactive conferences when people need to take lots of notes.
This is one of the conference room setup styles that can be used for conferences where delegates might be expected to take a test. It’s important to take into consideration that this style may require a large room, in order to fit tables and chairs to for a medium sized audience.
This layout is ideal for conference sessions that will require note taking, as the tables allow for comfortable note taking on both paper and computers.
It is also an ideal layout for those that want to include refreshments in the session, as these can be easily organised at the back of the room.
Boardroom Style
One of the more traditional conference room setup styles, the boardroom layout is a single table with all the attendees sitting around it. We would recommend this style for smaller or high profile meetings.
This style is also a great layout for a breakout session of a bigger conference. It is ideal for less than 25 people, otherwise it can be hard to have productive discussions when the group is larger.
Great for sessions when people are giving smaller presentations, the boardroom style is a great option for most smaller meetings. This is also an easily achievable style of conference as most hotels and event spaces have a boardroom available.
U Shape Style
Great for conferences or meetings that have 40 people or less, the U shape style is ideal for discussions as everyone can see each other as well as the session leader.
We would recommend this conference room layout for meetings that are looking for great interaction between the session leader and the delegates.
The set up is simple enough; tables take up three sides of the room with all delegates facing towards the centre. This conference room layout is great for allowing the event speaker to easily move around the room and allows for presentations as well as debates.
Cabaret Style
Cabaret Style is a great layout for sessions that have both a central presentation and group work. Tables are only filled on one side, giving the delegate the view of the presenter as well as the option to talk to each other for discussions or brainstorming sessions.
We prefer this conference room layout for an interactive environment and have found that it works very well for training sessions as well as workshops that require presentations as well as group work.
Banquet/Dinner Style
This is a great choice for conferences where you are looking to seat people in smaller groups. It is mostly used for evening entertainment or an after conference dinner.
We love this layout because it encourages conversation in a relaxed environment, you never know what your delegates might come up with when the conversation starts flowing.
This layout is great if you have a particular seating plan in mind as you can assign certain people to certain tables. It’s also a great way to encourage your management to get to know your general staff a little better as you can really mix the tables up.
Cocktail/Reception Style
This is one of the perfect room layouts for events when working with drinks receptions or short events. As there are no large seated areas, this style of conference room layout helps to promote flexible networking as people move around during the event.
We would recommend this room layout for people that are hosting networking events as it gives everyone a chance to move around and talk to lots of different people over the course of the evening.
If you wanted to add tables, you could add some smaller tables to allow people to put down their drinks. But if you really want to make the most of this layout, we would recommend keeping the tables small and the seating options minimal so that people keep moving around the room.
There is certainly lots to think about when you are planning your conference, so make sure that you plan the sessions and the conference room styles accordingly.
Conferences can be some of the most valuable events in your corporate calendar so make sure you plan the sessions and the spaces accordingly to make sure you get the most out of the conference.
