“A system of laws considered to govern spatial arrangement and orientation in relation to the flow of energy.”

Yep you read it right…. Feng Shui is not only just for your bedroom.

With over 1000’s of hours spent training in-person and online, I know a thing or two about training and more specifically the design of a training room for the maximum impact. The design and setup matters!

I want to share a little about what I have learnt over the years to help anyone reading this to help improve and enhance the learning experience of every attendee.

The entrance to the training room

The entrance to a feng shui training room should provide a clear pathway for learners to move in and out of the room. Entrance and exit is equally important.

How do I do this practically? Well if I was delivering a workshop or in person masterclass, I ensure that there is sufficient space around each table or table set which also helps the busy energy (yang energy) from the hallway or the reception area flow into the learning environment.

Seating arrangements

Seats should slightly face each other and the front where the trainer will be standing to give a collaborative approach.

The most traditional design and the most boring, in my opinion, is where lines of chairs face the front and reminds me very much of a classroom.

The traditional and commonly designed training room will have rows of seats facing the front of the room often seen in lecture room of colleges and universities. Though much of my training happens online when training executive leaders at one of the top universities in the world, as an example, if I were to transfer my leadership programme to an in-person training… they’d be hard pressed to get me to deliver this impactfully in a traditional lecture theatre style with tiered seats.

Positioning of the trainer’s desk

Most of the time I’m provided with a training desk or table where I can place my laptop, paper and any other useful information I’ll need for the session. This can be maneuvered too. I like to place things diagonally across from the door so I can see who comes and goes. (now I sound like a Shakespearean!).

I remember being advised to have a wall behind my back because according to feng shui, this means you will have strong support for your work. If you sit with your back to a door or window, you won’t feel confident in your work and there is a risk of being stabbed in the back, literally! I’m not saying that I am totally convinced by this perspective but I’ll share a little story with you and you can judge.

When I used to teach HR and Leadership in a well known college in Central London my back faced the door. That class was the most challenging of all my sessions and one particular student continually undermined me and went behind my back and reported me to the head of department because I wasn’t a lawyer yet I was teaching HR Law. Anyone that knows a thing or two about HR knows that you don’t have to be a lawyer to teach Employment Law to 2nd year degree students.

Anyway, I digress. This student stabbed me in the back (so to speak) and made my time at the College nothing short of hell. Was the fact that my back was ill-positioned according to Feng Shui??? Who knows ?

Environment is everything!
Learning and embedding is aided by the environment!

In closing…
If you are a trainer for corporates like me or deliver facilitation, workshops, masterclasses… let me know if this resonates in any way and do share your own experiences of the learning environment.