All About The Table

Everybody’s in a rush. We grab coffee on our way to work, eat lunch at our desks, and I know many of us stand in the kitchen and have dinner while reading emails, reviewing BEOs, or catching up on our social media. We pride ourselves on having jam-packed schedules, brag about our chaotic travel itineraries, and we can’t remember the last time we talked to our mothers. However, we can only run at this pace for so long. Eventually, we need to slow down. If we don’t slow ourselves down, life has a way of slowing us down for us.

I have said before that event planning is not just a job, it’s a personality. As event planners, we think differently than other people. We’re living in this year, next year, the next year, and depending on the size and type of events we plan, another year or two after that. I often forget what year we’re actually in when writing the date on a document because I’ve been so focused on an event two years out, it’s my current reality. Most of us also think in questions, at least I do. When you say “table” I immediately have 100 questions pop into my head about that table (see my blog “Details Matter”). Is it round or rectangle? Is it a hightop or cafe table? Do you need chairs with your table? How many? Does it need a linen? What color? Do you want a centerpiece? What should it be? Is the table for dining? Do you need tableware? How long will you need the table for? Are you renting it or do you have one? Where does the table need to be placed? You get the idea.

I was helping to plan an event where people would be dining together, and in this case, the goals and objectives were about getting people to the tables as quickly as possible. Pick up their food; no lines, no waiting, and plenty of hosts to help them find a seat. Why? It was about the table. And not in the detailed sort of way I immediately thought of. This event was about community for the guests. It was about getting them to the tables so they could meet one another, talk face-to-face, and start to build relationships. 

Of course there were details involved to encourage this response: setting up long dining room-style tables. The kind you see in movies; tables that go on for days with lots of chairs on both sides, tablecloths galore, and a vine centerpiece decoration that seems to run on and on and on. Serving a simple and very limited menu with only three options, leaving only three lines to enter. Boxed meals with everything inside for grab-n-go efficiency. Your selections? Choice of sandwich, side, and cookie (with options for our gluten-free friends of course). You can get a lot of folks through a food line this way, trust me, we’ve done it. But again, it wasn’t about the details, they were the supporting actors in this scenario. The main event was the laughter, chatter, and subsequent friendships formed around those crazy long tables. 

Why? Because we need each other. There’s energy we derive from being together. That’s why in-person events are still so popular today despite rising travel costs, increasing supply chain issues, and having to invest our personal time. According to an article by one of the hospitality and tourism industry leaders, Amex Global Business Travel,¹ there are many benefits of being in-person together.

Communal benefits. Establishing trust relationships, gaining insight through nonverbal cues like eye contact, body language, and facial expressions, and giving people a stronger sense of belonging through shared meals or networking activities.

Professional benefits. Opening lines of informal communication creating lower stress environments through small talk and elevator chat, encouraging collaboration and creativity when working together, sparking ideas off one another’s’, and eliminating technical issues by being physically present with one another.  

Organizational benefits. Experiencing an event or organization’s culture first-hand through interactions with each other, demonstrating company values by showcasing an organization’s commitment to its initiatives and identity, and facilitating quicker decision-making, improving project completion rates, and increasing other performance and satisfaction metrics by interacting face-to-face and in real time.

These intangible benefits can create lasting relationships both in business and in life. We need to see smiles on each others’ faces, feel a hand of encouragement on our shoulders, or simply know that we’re not alone in this world. Can you do this when you’re moving at the speed of thought, scheduling activities and meetings for 23.75 hours of the 24 you’ve been allotted each day? Me neither. Let’s sit down at the table and talk for a while.   

What other benefits have you experienced attending an in-person event?
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1.American Express Global Business Travel. The Benefits of In-Person Meetings. March 17, 2025. https://www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/blog/benefits-of-in-person-meetings/