a seat at the table

[takashi]

Hello,

I came across this sentence:
"Everyone with a stake in the decision had a seat at the table"

Could I rewrite this as:
"Everyone who would be influenced by the decision had a voting right"?

Thank you in advance.

[Mister Micawber]

Uh, yes, pretty much, Takashi. However, I would say 'affected' rather than 'influenced'; and the isolated sentence does not indicate that 'seat at the table' means 'voting right'-- it could mean just that they had a chance to participate in the discussion and express their opinion.

[takashi]

Thank you Mister Micawber.

So, not actually so far as a voting right but could mean that they have a chance to say their opions in the discussion.

Influenced by the decision.
and
Affected by the decision.
are different?

Is their a clear difference in definition between these two. (Maybe I should post another thread for this one ^_^)

Thank you so much.

[Mister Micawber]

'Influenced by the decision' and 'affected by the decision' are a little different in that the former suggests to me mental or intangible effect while the latter suggests direct physical effect. They overlap, I suppose, but that is the impression I get.

[takashi]

I see. Mental or physical effect.

Thank you Mister Micawber.