Pure genius. You've always had this problem. You arrive at a dinner party and don't know where to sit? If the table is a 4 person, circle it's pretty simple. But if you're talking about a 6 or 8 person rectangular table, things start to get difficult. How do you keep from getting stuck at the lonely side of the table, or sitting next to someone you particularly don't want to sit next to?
Well, Alex Cornell has given us some tips on choosing the right seat. Check out his infographic and explanation:
One of the most complex social situations you will encounter is the
45 seconds that elapse while deciding where to sit for dinner at a
restaurant. Your choice should appear natural, unbiased and haphazard if
executed properly. Timing is everything.
These 45 seconds determine how enjoyable your next 2 hours will be.
Once the pieces start to fall into place and people take their seats,
your choices narrow. People sit, seemingly at random, and if you don't
take the appropriate measures, you're inevitably stuck at the least
interesting end of the table.
4 Person Circle: This is the ideal setup. You are
safe sitting in any seat. Regardless how interesting everyone is, you
pretty much can’t go wrong. Note: as the diameter of the table
increases, so too does the importance that you sit adjacent to someone
you like.
4 Person Square: This configuration (as opposed to
two chairs on each side) is less fraught with problems. Something to
watch out for is diagonal conversations, i.e. breaking the into two
parts and getting stuck with the more boring of the three tablemates.
6 Person Circle: How loud the restaurant is
determines how important it is that you claim a middle seat. A quiet
space allows for cross-table diagnoal talking, and generally one
conversation. A loud space however forces multiple conversations and
less diagonal.
8 Person Rectangle: To get one of the interior 4 seats, you need to time your approach expertly.
You can’t be first, else you’ll be expected to file to the end. And you
can’t be last, else you’ll be stuck with the least interesting seat at
the table. Timing is everything.
7 Person Rectangle: It’s very easy to get screwed in
this scenario. While it may appear like you can sit anywhere except the
ends, this is not so. You are at risk of sitting next to the lonely
end-seat, which requires you to speak soley to that person for the
duration of the meal.
2 Tables of Any Size: You’re fucked. Regardless of
how you time your approach, you will inevitably choose too soon. Lament
as the other table’s attendance crystallizes into what is clearly the
superior group. Sometimes it’s best to visit the bathroom while seats
are chosen, so any seating disasters are the result of chance, and not
your own miscalculation.
