ThemeLogistics & venue
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Space & Size

Is there enough work space?

Running out of space mid-exercise is one of the most disruptive things that can happen in a workshop, and it is entirely preventable.

Space and size covers whether the room is large enough for the activities you have designed, including breakout work, wall use, movement and any physical exercises. The headcount is the starting point, but the activities are what determine the real space need. Eight people doing a collaborative mapping exercise need more room than twenty people watching a presentation.

Consider the surface area, not only the floor area. Workshop activities often need wall space for posting outputs, table space per participant for writing and building, and clear floor space for activities that involve movement or standing. A room with generous floor space but no usable wall surface is still a constraint.

Think about what the room looks like partway through the day. After several exercises, when the walls are covered in sticky notes and large paper, and tables have been pushed to the sides, will it still work? Plan the room for its end state as well as its start state.

Easy to missCalculate the table surface area you need per participant before you book, because a room described as holding 30 people in boardroom style may only comfortably support 16 people doing hands-on work.

How experienced facilitators handle it

The same building block, handled by people who have run a lot of workshops. Patterns and illustrations to react to, not rules to follow.

Design for the busiest moment

Experienced facilitators think about the activity that needs the most space (often a physical exercise or a wall-based output session) and check whether the room can hold it, not just the average activity.

Account for materials on the table

They estimate how much table space each participant needs for the materials they will be using, post-its, canvases, printed sheets, pens, and add that to the chair-only calculation.

Check wall space specifically

They walk the room and count the usable wall sections before they plan how many outputs will go on display, because a room with windows on three walls and a projector screen on the fourth has almost no usable wall space.

Plan for a larger group than you expect

If attendance is uncertain, they size for ten to fifteen percent more than the confirmed number, so a last-minute addition does not crowd the space or require furniture rearrangement on the day.

Questions to plan around

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

What is the most space-intensive activity in the programme, and does the room support it?
How much table surface per participant does the programme require?
Is there usable wall space for posting outputs, and can things be attached to those walls?
What does the room look like two hours in, when materials are spread out and outputs are on the walls?
Is there a separate breakout space, or will small-group work happen in the same room as plenary?

Watch for

A room that feels spacious when empty is often cramped when 20 people, their bags, their laptops and the day's materials are in it.
Breakout groups in the same room as plenary work create noise and distraction; if you have both in the programme, check whether the room is large enough to absorb it.
Shared spaces and corridors used for breakout work are unreliable; other groups may use them, noise bleeds in, and participants feel like an afterthought.