An Essential Guide To Conference Room Setup

Most businesses are now dynamic places where effective communication and collaboration are essential. If you need to host crucial client meetings, team gatherings or brainstorming sessions, then you will probably find that your conference room is at the centre of the most important moments. It is therefore essential that your conference room is set up in exactly the right way to facilitate seamless interactions that encourage productivity, creativity and communication.

That is why Smart Presentations, specialists in video conferencing equipment have put together this helpful guide to ensure you can create the perfect conference room setup. We will talk you through everything from the best types of technology to put in place, all the way through to the ideal furniture and décor, so read on to find out more about what your conference room needs.

What is a conference room?

In the past, a conference room was a daunting and formal space where the most important meetings for only the most senior people in the business would take place. These days conference rooms are used for a variety of different reasons as they present the perfect space for all kinds of meetings, discussions and presentations.

They provide a room where people from different areas of the business can come together without disruption or distraction to work on plans and ideas as well as dealing with clients.

As we now live in a world where meetings don't just take place in a physical sphere, it is important that conference rooms are set up to embrace all kinds of technology so that meetings can be hosted both in face-to-face formats as well as remote ones.

This means that everyone can be included in your processes, so you need to ensure that the room can facilitate effective communication between any size of group, no matter where they are in the world.

Essential conference room equipment

Gone are the days where a conference room contains nothing more than a large table, a white board and a coffee machine. These days there are many more things that you need to take into consideration for the ideal conference room setup. Meeting room conference equipment should now be at the top of your shopping list to ensure that you can offer all the very best tools for communication and collaboration.

You should start by ensuring that there is a reliable Wi-Fi connection for the room for a seamless meeting experience. You will also need cutting edge cameras for a fully immersive conference experience during virtual meetings. These should be set up in such a way that you can carry out one to one conversations or incorporate a wide range of people within the room, and the picture must be clear and crisp at all times.

Microphones are also a vital part of meeting room conference equipment to ensure that there is good quality audio transmission. A meeting can only be successful if everyone involved can be heard properly, so high quality microphones are a must whether they are handheld, lapel microphones or tabletop mikes. You will also need to consider things like speakers and video monitors to ensure that any meeting experience is of the highest quality possible.

Digital whiteboards are now also becoming an essential part of any meeting space. These allow for brainstorming, note taking, and visual collaboration during meetings, and can be shared amongst digital participants to ensure that no one is left out and everyone can have an equal contribution to the discussion.

Choosing the right room

To make sure your conference room meets all of your needs, you need to think about where it is located. This means keeping it away from any particularly noisy areas of your business so that there is no disruption, and everyone is able to think clearly. It should be somewhere that is easily accessible for everyone, whether they work within the business, or are coming in from outside.

It also needs to be somewhere that is free from distractions, so whilst natural light is important, you should think about what your windows look out on and whether the views are likely to cause a problem during a meeting.

Conference room styles

There are a number of different ways that you might want to set up your conference room, depending on the type of business that you run and the way in which you intend to use the space. A classic boardroom style will involve a large central table where all participants can directly face one another.

Alternatively, you may want to set multiple tables end to end to create a hollow space in the centre, which can work better for larger groups.

U-shaped conference rooms allow speakers to move freely within an open area, whilst an auditorium style conference room puts participants in rows. This is more suited to high-capacity environments where an audience will be trained to a single focal point.

Conference room décor

It is essential that your conference room has good lighting and acoustics to ensure that everyone looks good on camera and can be heard properly no matter what the situation. The colours in the room should be reflective of your business, but you must take care that they will not interfere with the picture when anyone is on camera.

Plants are often a popular choice for many conference rooms, as they can help to make people feel more relaxed, and you may want to consider a range of formal furniture and more comfortable options to help make the room adaptable to different situations.

Time is extremely valuable these days, so you need to make sure that every meeting you hold in your conference room is as effective as possible. That means ensuring that you have the correct meeting room conference equipment that can allow colleagues and customers to work together in the most efficient way.

The format and furniture of your room will also play a part in how people are able to work together, so think about the way in which your conference room is likely to ensure you are investing in the right equipment.