We’ve been doing quite a bit of reconfiguring spaces at work to make them both more functional as well as cool to use. At the north end of our upper building, we have a cafe-like space that’s been in ongoing deferred-maintenance mode for some time. I kicked around some ideas with our resident I-can-build-anything creative genius, Don, and let him run with it. The finished product is pretty great.
One of the finishing touches Don put in the space is a custom restaurant booth set. The seats are comfortable, look sharp, and provide a great space to take a lunch break or just connect with people. So last week, I had a volunteer electrician friend come out to pull a dedicated circuit in the cafe space for a high-capacity coffee brewer. After it was done, we sat in one of the booths and talked for about an hour, catching up on life. An hour or so after we wrapped up our conversation, I got this text from him:
“Those booths encourage conversation. Awesome idea: The world needs more booths.”
That is an awesome idea. Remember face-to-face conversation? You know, sharing thoughts, talking through concerns, sketching out ideas, and having intelligent discussions without the overblown internet persona outrage? You have instant feedback through facial expressions, tone of voice, and spoken word. You have instant ability to clarify a particular point, on the spot. You get a better “read” of where the other person is coming from. And, you get better engagement in the conversation.
You want to build friendships, relationships, and partnerships? Build more booths.
What’s your favorite place to have a good conversation?
My favorite place to have conversations is probably the car. I love a good long road trip where you can talk for hours.
That’s a great place to really dig in to a conversation. I think there’s a tendency to get pretty honest when you’re looking through the windshield instead of at each other.