A Chance Encounter

This year, all of the meetings have moved from a conference room to a laptop screen. When things get back to normal (whatever that is), I assume that many of those meetings will move back into a conference room.

What if, in the meantime, the conference room changed? In fact, what if the conference room changed frequently?

We’re used to the long table and the chairs and the screen at one end of the room. But what if we took it upon ourselves to change the physical space that we meet in periodically? What if, instead of chairs and a conference table, there was suddenly a bunch of high-top tables for groups of 4-5 people to stand at? What if there was a long, low table and cushions on the floor for sitting on? What if there was no table and just the cushions?

Granted, there are obstacles to this, both cultural and logistical. You’d need space to store the extra furniture and who among us (Westerners, anyway) wouldn’t feel a little indignant at having to sit on the floor?

But the variety of sitting and standing postures that we (again, I mean mostly Westerners) so desperately need to regain a little mobility and flexibility would increase. There would certainly be a little discomfort at first, but a little discomfort might also encourage everyone to honor the scheduled stop time for once.

And it just might be fun to see what the meeting room looks like when you arrive this time.