Preparing the room before a workshop starts
Set up room layout, table labels, sound conditions, and facilitator movement so RoomRadar capture stays usable throughout the session.
This guide helps you prepare a room for a multi-table RoomRadar session. Use it before participants arrive to reduce noise bleed, avoid startup failures, and improve live facilitator visibility.
What is the quick path to prepare a room for a workshop?
The quick path has five steps: place tables to reduce cross-table voice spill, verify stable network and accessible charging, assign one phone per table plus a spare, test audio and transcript flow for every table before start, and set a facilitator movement loop across the room. This takes about 15 minutes and prevents most first-round failures.
- Place tables to reduce cross-table voice spill.
- Verify stable network and accessible charging.
- Assign one phone per table plus at least one spare phone.
- Test audio and transcript flow for every table before start.
- Set a facilitator movement loop across the room.
Which layout choices improve capture quality most?
Layout is the single biggest practical difference between smooth sessions and chaotic ones. Keep enough distance between tables to avoid direct voice projection from one table toward another, and place the capture phone centrally on each table — not at the edge. If you expect heavy background noise, pair this setup with the guide for facilitating in noisy rooms.
Layout is the biggest practical difference between smooth sessions and chaotic ones. Keep enough distance between tables and avoid direct voice projection from one table toward another. Keep the phone central on each table, not at the edge.
If you expect heavy background noise, pair this with [Facilitating in noisy rooms](/guides/workflows/facilitating-in-noisy-rooms).
How do you ensure network, power, and fallback readiness?
Check network behavior before the session starts, not during the first failure. Keep at least one spare phone charged and ready in the same browser environment. For long sessions, plan charging points or explicit swap windows. If drop patterns appear during testing, fix them early using the reconnecting a disconnected device guide.
Check network behavior before the session, not during the first failure. Keep at least one spare phone charged and ready in the same browser environment. For long sessions, plan charging points or explicit swap windows.
If drop patterns appear during testing, fix them early using [Reconnecting a disconnected device](/guides/setup/reconnecting-a-disconnected-device).
How should facilitators move in a multi-table workshop?
Use a simple movement loop: fast scan the room, make a short intervention where needed, then move on. This prevents over-focusing on one table while others drift. For live monitoring patterns, combine this setup with the guide for monitoring discussions across groups.
In multi-table facilitation, movement strategy matters. Use a simple loop: fast scan, short intervention where needed, then move on. This prevents over-focusing one table while others drift.
For live monitoring patterns, combine this setup with [Monitoring discussions across groups](/guides/workflows/monitoring-discussions-across-groups).
What should you check in the five-minute preflight before participants enter?
Run one final check immediately before start: every table is connected to the correct group, microphone permission works on each phone, a test sentence produces transcript within normal delay, and facilitator fallback steps are clear for reconnect or replacement. This preflight prevents most first-15-minute failures.
Run one final check immediately before start:
- every table is connected to the correct group
- microphone permission works on each phone
- a test sentence produces transcript within normal delay
- facilitator fallback steps are clear for reconnect or replacement
This preflight prevents most first-15-minute failures.
What related guides help with room preparation?
Several related guides support room preparation: starting a RoomRadar session, testing audio before a workshop, network basics for workshops, facilitating in noisy rooms, and monitoring discussions across groups. Review these before your session to ensure everything runs smoothly from setup to close.
- [Starting a RoomRadar session](/guides/setup/start-a-roomradar-session)
- [Testing audio before a workshop](/guides/setup/test-audio-before-workshop)
- [Network basics for workshops](/guides/setup/network-basics-for-workshops)
- [Facilitating in noisy rooms](/guides/workflows/facilitating-in-noisy-rooms)
- [Monitoring discussions across groups](/guides/workflows/monitoring-discussions-across-groups)