How to seat guests at a conference

Conferences and business meetings enable you to acquire customers or improve the qualifications of employees. The key to success is an idea and a comprehensive action plan. What should the organization of a conference look like step by step and where should you start? If organizing training is difficult for you, read our guide - here you will learn what rules to follow when planning the stage of seating our guests. If you have already chosen a conference room, time and format of the conference, it would be a good practice to plan the seating of participants.

A lot depends on whether the meeting is with or without accompanying people, whether we sit at round or rectangular tables, or in a cinema style - and also whether there is one or several hosts and guests of honor. Due to the multitude of options, each situation should be considered individually.

However, the principles of business savoir vivre come to our aid here:

• The central place is always occupied by the host, who usually sits in the middle of the long edge of the table (French style) or at the top of the table (English style). In the case of round tables or cinema seating, this is a place from which you can clearly see the stage or the central part of the banquet hall.
• To the right of the host sits the guest of honor or the highest-ranking person, and the other guests take their places according to the hierarchy - the closer to the host, the higher the rank and position in the organization.
• According to etiquette, spouses are treated as guests of equal rank, which means that the wife of the honored guest takes over the status of the husband, and, for example, the husband of the assistant takes over the status of the wife.
• It is not inappropriate to seat the guest of honor opposite the host. This is permissible when the host sits exactly in the middle of the long side of the table and has an even number of guests on his right and left. However, since, according to etiquette rules, we only talk to people sitting to our right and left, this arrangement will make it much more difficult for us to contact our main guest.
• The guest of honor should not sit with his back to the entrance door or the stage or at the back of the audience.
• Let us also remember to, if possible, seat guests so that two women or two men do not sit next to each other. This is not always possible, so the priority is to seat women first.
• We can also seat guests in an alternating arrangement - once a guest, once a host.

The above arrangements are intended to: build good relationships, honor guests of the highest rank and implement the overall strategy of the planned event.

As you can see, organizing special events is not only a dilemma of where and when to meet, but also how to behave and plan the event. Often, these issues are very complicated and sophisticated because they serve to build relationships. The future of the organization may depend on the proper organization and planning of the conference, and its final reception may show our class, sophistication and general condition of the organization. If you have problems finding, selecting and negotiating a meeting place, write to Konflinx . We will professionally take care of the comprehensive selection of the appropriate venue and agenda for your event.