Given that it sounds like you have dissent, then you might want to demo various options, assuming the mounting hardware allows for that, without repeated re fixing. Actually hearing the effect of different positions and angles can be way more eloquent to the uneducated/wrong. But, as has already been pointed out, if your target is even, intelligable coverage, then the best results are likely to be speakers high, with a good downward tilt, typically aimed around the centre of the audience area. Your area sounds like it's not huge, and may not be an acoustic nightmare, so it's not a particularly huge challenge. What you haven't mentioned is what speakers you have. Their dispersion pattern will dictate how well they will be able to cover the appropriate area, without dropping off at the edges, or spraying the sound too widely to increase undesirable reflections.