SayPro DESIGNING A TRAINING ROOM SETTING

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DESIGNING A TRAINING ROOM SETTING

Start with carefully examining what will happen during the session. The setting should be supportive. The unconscious message of the setting should be taken into consideration:

1. Level – Information can be presented on different levels in comparison of the level of the participants. This level and the position of the speaker / facilitator should be consistent with the kind of intended exchange.

• Higher level – When using power point, flip charts, overhead and white/blackboard the participants have to look up. The information is presented on a higher, hierarchical level
• Equal level – When writing on sheets on the table, the information is on the same level with the participants. It’s easier to play with what is ‘laying on the table’, to add and take.
• Lower level – When using a lower table or the floor, the participants are in a higher position. They can look at it from a helicopter point of view.

2. Object – Using objects or writing things down enables the facilitator to give the information a ‘location’. It can be ‘parked aside’, or brought back in the ‘centre of the conversation’. The setting is now instrumental in the way the memory works.
3. Process – When ‘going through some process’, this would be more expressive if the room allows to literally move with the group, by choosing different settings and places for each step in the process.
4. Participation – In a circle, instead of a rectangular setting, participants can have eye contact with all the other participants.
5. Sub groups – Participants need to be able to see all relevant materials, see each other, converse with each other without raising their voices.

The trainer/facilitator should have a clear access lane to every group.

6. Atmosphere – Create a nice, comfortable and stimulating atmosphere that fits to the learning process. Pay attention to the light, flowers, music, food/beverages, temperature, furniture, room.

Create freedom by avoiding ‘FREEDOM’: Freezing, Roasting, Ear strain, Eyestrain, Distraction, Overworking, Messiness.[1][1] Adapted from: