CONFERENCE TABLE
If you are really looking for control, spread your notebooks, pens, manuals, and anything else you brought along over as broad an area as possible--without bursting anyone else's [territorial] bubble. This will give you further claim to the territory. --Susan Bixler (The Professional Image, p. 236)
Consumer Product. 1. A flat, smooth piece of furniture designed as a stage to dramatize face-to-face meetings.
2. A corporate "level playing field" upon which speakers may address colleagues on matters of business. 3. A horizontal flatland, or territory, in which to send defensive and offensive messages with the eyes, face, hands, and
shoulders.
Usage: Nonverbally, conference tables showcase the upper body's signs, signals, and cues. The
table's shape, size, and seating plan a. influence group dynamics, and b. may also affect the
emotional tone and outcome of discussions. (N.B.: Because torso height varies less than standing
height, people seated around conference tables appear to be roughly the same size; thus, conference
tables neutralize physical advantages of stature [see LOOM].) Meanwhile, the lower body's features are
securely masked below the tabletop, and do not compete for notice with heads, hands, or eyes. A conference table may symbolize corporate status and power in business, politics, and military affairs.
RESEARCH REPORTS: 1. Dominant individuals choose central seats and do most of the talking (Hare and Bales 1973). 2. Leadership and "central" seating positions (i.e., "opposite the most others") "go hand in hand" (Burgoon et al. 1989:389). 3. Competence across a boardroom table shows in a well-moderated voice tone, rapid speech, few verbal disfluencies or hesitations, fluid gestures, and eye contact. Listeners respond negatively to dominance cues, on the other hand, such as a loud voice, eyebrow-lowering, staring, postures stiff with muscle tension, and pointing (Driskell and Salas 1993).
See also STEINZOR EFFECT.
Copyright 1999, 2000 (David B. Givens/Center for Nonverbal Studies)