If you have an event in a remote place, people expect something like a hotel room with tables. When they come into this place, they are disoriented. There is nothing here that says "meeting." A boardroom conjures up a particular process.

Architecture speaks. If you walk into the traditional CEO's office, it is a long way from the door to the desk. The desk is 52" wide because for most people in the western society this is the distance that is outside of the personal range. It is protection for the CEO. When you sit in the chair by the desk, the chair is low compared to the desk. The window is behind and the light is coming into your eyes.

Edward T. Hall talks a lot about social distances. Americans tend to keep distance. Forty years ago, you just did not touch someone. In an Arab country, they think you are hiding something if they cannot smell your breath. Some cultures close the doors, while in America we think there is something negative going on if the door is closed.

000706.Matt Taylor