The Psychology of Seats: How To Boost Your Impact & Influence At Work

This week on the Squiggly Careers podcast, Helen and Sarah borrow brilliance from an unexpected source — the psychology of seats. Inspired by a conversation about how we choose where to sit, Helen talks about how your seating choices can shape the way you feel, behave, and influence others at work. From safe seats that help us feel in control to power positions in meetings and even virtual seating on video calls, this episode reveals how something as simple as your seat can affect confidence, inclusion, and collaboration. You’ll leave with small, practical shifts to help you show up differently — and boost your impact and influence at work. Episode 506 🦞 Pre-order Learn Like A Lobster: PRH US - https://bit.ly/3KxTeBn Amazon UK - https://amzn.to/3KcRZaR ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Introduction & Announcement 01:54 Borrowing brilliance from the psychology of seats 03:54 Why where you sit says more about you than you think 07:54 Seat safety — comfort, confidence, and control 12:34 Power seats — what your meeting position communicates 15:54 Round tables, rectangles, and creating collaboration 20:04 The height effect 20:54 No-seat meetings 22:54 Virtual seats 29:54 Inclusion, confidence, and creating space for others 🎯 What You’ll Learn Why your seat can shape your confidence and influence How seating choices affect team dynamics and inclusion How to use “seat psychology” to build better meetings and connections Simple ways to change where (and how) you sit to boost your impact 📚 Resources Mentioned Learning Cog: https://www.learningcog.com The Long Win by Kath Bishop: bit.ly/4he0Rt4 For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected] More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 📩 Download our free career tools: https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 📮 Get Squiggly Careers in Action in your inbox: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction 📚 Read our books: The Squiggly Career and You Coach You: https://www.amazingif.com/books/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices