Sensory Distractions - Using Feng Shui To Balance Meeting Energy

If the room energy isn’t right, the best speaker in the business can suffer, along with the audience.

There are many aspects that make or break an event, it isn’t just who is speaking. The environment itself can set up an event for success or failure. If the room energy isn’t right, the best speaker in the business can suffer, along with the audience.

You can ramp up the success factor of any event by using Feng Shui. You can give your event that extra edge, that ‘X factor’ that no one sees but everyone knows is there. It’s the energy in the room with which everyone feels and reacts, without even knowing it.

Feng Shui is an ancient practice developed in China thousands of years ago. The literal translation is ‘Wind and Water’, but it is really about using the energy in our environment to enhance how we feel and function.

When the energy around us is in balance and in harmony, we are balanced and in harmony. It’s the difference you feel between being one of a thousand cars racing down the 401 in Toronto or sitting beside a smooth flowing river in the Rocky Mountains. One is crushing and agitating, the other is expanding and calming. We can make our event rooms feel the same way.

Start with the room itself. Sometimes you just don’t have a choice due to the other events going on in the room or even the speaker’s requirements, but when you do have control over the set up, start with placement of the stage. The two best placements for the stage are at the back-centre area of the room or centre-right, as determined from the main door. The back-centre area is known as the “Fame Zone” while the centre-right is about enhancing communication. Both of these positions provide a strong support for the participants on stage. Don’t have the audience too far back; a large gap makes it more difficult for the energy to reach between the speaker and the audience. Every speaker has his or her own requirements for stage set-up that must be respected, but it is up to you to keep the stage uncluttered and free of obstructions. Ensure that it is swept and well lit. Good quality silk plants or fresh flowers provide creative, flexible, expansive energy.

When set-up is theatre-style, avoid a centre aisle as this causes the energy to rush up and down the aisle. It is better to split the seating into three sections with aisles on the side. This slows down the energy (more like a flowing river than a busy highway). Give a little space between the chairs rather than pushing up against each other. Also, have a slight curve to the rows. Again, this slows the energy allowing it to flow smoothly without rushing. This makes everyone feel less stressed and better able to enjoy the environment.

If the room set up requires tables, round tables move the energy more smoothly than square or rectangular tables. Unless the table must be set for a meal, keep seating to the back half of the table so no one’s back is to the stage. Lighting is an important consideration and greatly affects the energy of a room. Natural lighting is always the best, so open those curtains whenever you can. Don’t worry about the view being distracting ; if your speaker is great, they won’t notice the view (and if the speaker isn’t great, it gives the audience something to do). The second choice is incandescent lighting, this is the closest to natural lighting. Fluorescent lighting can cause headaches and fatigue; so unless you must have these lights on, it is better to leave them off completely and fill in the lighting with lamps placed in the corners, preferably with the light flowing up. Keep the stage well lit with no dark shadows in the corners.  This keeps the energy from stagnating. If there are pillars in the room counter the negative effect of all those corners by placing silk plants on each side of the pillar.

Every space is infused with the residual energy of all those that have occupied the space prior. This energy is absorbed by the walls, carpets, furniture, all those chairs, and the ceiling and it gets stuck in the corners. If the previous event went well, everyone was happy, there was lots of laughter and it ended with a standing ovation, great. The energy left behind is positive and welcoming. What if it wasn’t? What if it was a tragic story, ultra serious or the event/speaker bombed? What if the person that was last sitting in that chair was having a really bad day? That residual energy is left there, lurking in the corners and shadows waiting to inflict itself on the next unsuspecting speaker and audience. As an event planner (or even a speaker) there are things you can do to diffuse the negative energy and make it a more positive, enjoyable environment for everyone.

Space clearing removes the negative, residual energy that has been left behind and leaves the space with energy that is brighter, more positive and auspicious. A cleared space allows the energy to flow more freely allowing new ideas to be absorbed and accepted more readily.  There are many ways to clear a space. One way is to smudge the area using a sage bundle. However, with smoking regulations it might not be the best option or even allowed. My favourite space-clearing technique uses sound and is one of the easiest ways to space clear a room. Sound raises the vibration level of the room and adds tranquility and balance to the space. You can use a bell, Tibetan singing bowl or even just clapping your hands. You can quickly clear a room by walking around clapping or ringing a bell, following the walls, paying special attention to the corners where the energy tends to get stuck. Also walk up and down each row of chairs or around each table to remove any negative energy.

Stagnant energy produces a dull, flat sound. Clear flowing energy sounds resonate with a clear, vibrant tone. If the room is occupied the entire day with different groups and speakers coming and going, an excellent way to keep the energy in the room clear throughout the day is to place four bowls of sea or Epsom salt, one in each of the corners of the room. The salt absorbs and holds negative energy. At the end of the day, throw out the salt or wash it down the drain. For smaller rooms, you can use fresh flowers, high-quality essential oils or even burn a candle to clear the space.

Before your next event, set your intentions to enhance the positive energy with proper room set up and replace the negative energy with clear, balanced energy by performing a simple space-clearing exercise. You, the speaker and the audience will all benefit from being in a more positive environment.

Article written by Darlene Law for the Winter 2010 Issue of Speaking of IMPACT
Darlene Law is a certified BTB Feng Shui practitioner. Darlene teaches workshops and works with businesses and homeowners to help balance and enhance their space using Feng Shui, space clearing and dowsing tools.  Darlene can be reached via her husband who is a speaker in Canada http://www.alvinlaw.com.ca