BNI 826: Meeting Room Setup - Do You Need a U Shape

Summary

BNI & The Power of One: Episode Summary

Episode: BNI 826: Meeting Room Setup - Do You Need a U Shape
Host: Tim Roberts
Release Date: June 9, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of BNI & The Power of One, host Tim Roberts delves into the optimal meeting room configurations for Business Network International (BNI) chapters, specifically addressing the efficacy of the U-shaped table layout. The discussion is sparked by a thoughtful question from David in Pennsylvania, whose chapter has experienced significant growth, expanding from 35 to 53 members over four years.

Listener's Question

David in Pennsylvania poses a compelling question regarding his chapter's meeting room setup:

"Our chapter has grown from 35 to 53 members over the last four years. We're now meeting in a former church sanctuary in order to maintain the required BNI U shape table layout. We can add a chair per table, make it a bit tighter seating, or just add tables on the wings. How do your large hundred member chapters do the U? Do they meet in bowling alleys or linoleum manufacturing plants? We have a great facility, it's fairly inexpensive and I'd hate to walk away just to maintain the U."
[00:00]

The Importance of the U-Shape Layout

Tim Roberts begins by emphasizing the U-shape as the recommended configuration for BNI meetings. He outlines several key benefits:

1. Space Utilization:
   "It's about utilization of space and about giving time, giving an area for interaction, for things like open networking, etc."
   [02:15]

2. Enhanced Interaction:
   The U-shape facilitates easier movement and short conversations among members, fostering a more interactive environment compared to rectangular or square setups.

3. Welcoming Atmosphere:
   Rectangular or square layouts can be unwelcoming and restrictive, limiting the ability for members to engage freely and diminishing the overall experience for visitors.
   "When you walk into a meeting room and there's a big rectangle or square, you're losing about probably more than 50% of your meeting space."
   [02:40]

Challenges with Larger Chapters

Addressing David's concern about accommodating a growing membership, Tim discusses the limitations of traditional U-shaped setups in larger venues:

• Capacity Constraints:
  Rooms accommodating over a hundred members require massive spaces, often leading to impractical setups that hinder effective communication.
  "There's no way you can be in a room with a hundred plus people all on... you need microphones just to hear each other."
  [04:30]

Recommendations for Scaling Up

Tim offers practical solutions for larger chapters to maintain the U-shape without compromising on space or member engagement:

1. Dual-Sided U-Shape:
   "You can have chairs on both sides of the U. So it can be outside, you know, chairs lining the outside of the U and then wrapping down into the inside of the U."
   [03:10]

2. Nested U-Shapes:
   For chapters exceeding one hundred members, implementing a nested U-shape with smaller U-configurations within a larger one can optimize space and maintain interaction quality.
   "There's kind of like a big U and then there's like small, almost a smaller U inside the big."
   [04:00]

3. Maximizing Seating Without Compromise:
   By creatively arranging chairs both inside and outside the U, chapters can significantly increase seating capacity without sacrificing the open and interactive environment essential for effective networking.

Maximizing Meeting Room Potential

Beyond just seating arrangements, Tim underscores the broader importance of the meeting room setup in fostering a professional and engaging atmosphere:

• First Impressions Matter:
  "The very first impression they're going to have is when they walk in that room, what is it saying?"
  [07:30]

• Encouraging Movement and Networking:
  It's crucial to educate and encourage members to utilize the open spaces for networking, rather than congregating around fixed seats.
  "You want to give people the space and the freedom and encourage them to be engaging with their fellow members, their visitors and everything else."
  [07:10]

• Balancing Cost and Quality:
  While budget constraints are a reality, investing in an effective meeting space can yield significant returns in member satisfaction and chapter growth.
  "Too many chapters start focusing on what's the cheapest option we can go with... there's a cost to going cheap as well."
  [06:50]

Conclusion and Takeaways

Tim wraps up by acknowledging David's chapter growth and the strategic advantages of their current meeting facility:

"It sounds like your chapter is doing really well. To go from 35 to 53 over four years shows consistent growth. That's really good."
[07:45]

Key Takeaways:

• The U-shaped layout remains the gold standard for BNI meetings due to its facilitation of interaction and optimal space utilization.
• Scaling up requires innovative seating arrangements, such as dual-sided or nested U-shapes, to accommodate larger memberships without diminishing the networking experience.
• The meeting room setup plays a pivotal role in member engagement, visitor impressions, and overall chapter success.
• Investing in a suitable meeting space is critical, balancing cost considerations with the need for a professional and welcoming environment.

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For those interested in optimizing their BNI chapter meetings or seeking further insights, visit bnipowerof1.com to submit topics, questions, and weekly presentations. Engaging with these resources can help tailor your chapter's strategies to foster growth and success.

Transcript

[A]

Sam Foreign welcome back to BNI and the Power of One. Back with your show. Submissions Topics Questions submitted at bnipower of1.com as always, appreciate everybody who continues to do so encourage you to do so. It's also where you'll leave weekly presentations for weekly presentation coaching episodes where you can leave business topics, whatever it is, continue to make this show yours. So with that, today's question comes from David in Pennsylvania says our chapter has grown from 35 to 53 members over the last four years. We're now meeting in a former church sanctuary in order to maintain the required BNI U shape table layout. We can add a chair per table, make it a bit tighter seating, or just add tables on the wings. How do your large hundred member chapters do the U? Do they meet in bowling alleys or linoleum manufacturing plants? We have a great facility, it's fairly inexpensive and I'd hate to walk away just to maintain the U. All right, so let's first of all talk about why the U shape is the recommended shape for a, B and I. Meaning it's about utilization of space and about giving time, giving an area for interaction, for things like open networking, etc. It's really challenging. When you walk into a meeting room and there's a big rectangle or square, you're losing about probably more than 50% of your meeting space. And it's not very welcoming. There's not a lot of room to move around. There's not a lot of room to, you know, have short conversations with a lot of people because that requires you to be able to move around. And so it just sets a bad first kind of experience for everybody. And what happens then is you got, you, you watch members, they just kind of go to their typical seat where they'll typically be each and every week, and they'll just kind of linger by that chair and they'll talk to a couple people who come by there, but they're not interacting, they're not moving around, they're not meeting visitors, they're not doing those types of things. So the U shape is better for that because you have the big open space now that you can use, people can walk in and out of. It also allows for a better flow for the BNI meeting in terms of being able to see everybody. So even worse than a square or a rectangle would be, you know, like a restaurant setting where you have just chairs, all tables and chairs are kind of all over the place, very disorganized, doesn't make everybody feel like they're a part of the same meeting at times. Very clubby, very social, more than focused, business oriented, which is what your chapter should be representing because that's what the focus of the chapter should be. So with the U shape to your question though, what can you do? You can have chairs on both sides of the U. So it can be outside, you know, chairs blinding the outside of the U and then wrapping down into the inside of the U. That gives you a lot more space and, you know, a lot more chairs per table that you're already using. So it's not required that everybody's just on the outside of the U. And we just have to continue to make this U larger and larger. Our hundred person plus chapter meets in a big function room and they run long tables. There's kind of like a big U and then there's like small, almost a smaller U inside the big, um, it doesn't completely connect as a, as another U. So there's tables inside the U with chairs on both sides. There's no way you can be in a room with a hundred plus people all on. I mean, unless you get a massive, massive ballroom. And then you need microphones just to hear each other, where you got a hundred plus people just on the outside of you. So. But you can kind of keep the same format, you can keep the same focus, which is we want to all feel like we're a part of this meeting together. We want it to be business designed, have that business feel. But we want to maximize the use of the space that we're renting as well. Not just for the sit down part of the meeting, but for the open networking. The networking. After all that, you want to make sure that it flows and is welcoming and easy. I'm not a fan of the meeting at restaurants, like I said, where the tables are, you're just in a restaurant and the tables are kind of all over the place. It feels disorganized, it feels clunky. When people are going through their weekly presentations. Sometimes you're looking at, you know, you barely see somebody. Sometimes it's just weird and kind of generally uncomfortable. And if you have the space for a big rectangle, I would open it up. I would open it up into a U and put, if you need to put chairs on both sides of, so going around the outside and then looping through the inside. If you're fitting 50 plus people on the outside, you can probably get another 40 plus people on the inside. So it won't be equal probably for spacing, but you can Get a pretty high percentage of what's on the outside and the inside, and that gives you that room. And then if you need to, you can start adding maybe a table inside of that. Your rent. He said $125 a week for a chapter that size, that is really inexpensive. What is that? Less than $3 a week per person. So kudos. It sounds like you have a great meeting space. It sounds like your chapter is doing really well. To go from 35 to 53 over four years shows consistent growth. That's really good. And I would bet a big part of it, you might not think of it that way, but a big part of it is the meeting setup. Is it welcoming? Is it professional? Does it create the right experience? Your meeting room matters. Too many chapters start focusing on what's the cheapest option we can go with. And I get not wanting to spend money, obviously, but there's a cost to going cheap as well. Right? You got to think of it from a visitor standpoint. You're inviting a visitor to this business meeting. Group of business people helping each other grow. And the very first impression they're going to have is when they walk in that room, what is it saying? So be be aware of that. I have seen some chapters, by the way, to have a U setting, but the way it's set up, people don't utilize the middle. So you're going to want to. If that's the case, you know, just because maybe the limitation on the size of the room, when you walk in, you're kind of already into the tables, but you're going to want to try to encourage, educate everybody on how to use that space. Even if maybe you open up the table so there's like a clear pathway into the middle of the U and you close it during the meeting, try to come up a way with a way where they use that. You don't want members, again, just conjugating around their seat and just kind of staying there and talking about to the couple members who might also be sitting in that area. You want it to feel like a networking meeting, the open networking time. You want to give people the space and the freedom and encourage them to be engaging with their fellow members, their visitors and everything else. So you need open space to do that. And so even if I've seen the use where they're not even using the open space, so you just really want to encourage that and educate on why that is so. Sorry. So important. So, David, great question. Really appreciate it. Hopefully this helps give you a few ideas on what you guys can do and for everybody else. Again, if you're finding value, continue to leave reviews. I really appreciate those, but engage. Send a topic, send a question, send your weekly presentation and I'll talk to you soon.

[B]

We rise with the sun Ready for the day with hard work and passion we pave the way Every little task it builds and it grows in this world of business it's the heart that shows dedication Shines in everything we do Together we climb it's me and it's you we all work hard to make our dreams alive with strength of spirit we leave the average behind the power of giving lifts us high and wide that's why we are proud to be a part of BNI from early mornings to late at night we hustle and we strive Keep our vision bright through every challenge we stand tall and strong Together as a family we can't go wrong the bonds we're building they take us far in the game of business we're shining like a star but we all work hard to make our dreams come true with strength of spirit we all pull through the power of giving lifts us high and wide that's why we are proud to stand side by.

[A]

Side.

[B]

Being as the place where connections thrive Uniting our hopes keeping dreams alive Together we network, inspire and share with every referral we show that we care we all work hard to make our dreams align with strength of spirit we're truly on the grind the power of giving lifts us high and wide that's why we we are proud to stand side by side so here we are Lifting each other high with dedication and pride we're ready to fly Together we'll grow through every stormy night in this journey of ours we're shining bright.

[A]

Sam.