We have studied the electrodynamic and focusing dependence on the coupling slot and coupling cell parameters for circular and rectangular accelerating structures. We find that: (i) for circular structures the coupling slot induced asymmetric electromagnetic fields of the coupling cell have twice the influence on the transverse beam dynamics than those of accelerating cells; (ii) the neighboring cell coupling slot location can influence the beam dynamics from minimally to usefully; and (iii) by increasing the coupling slot area while optimizing its geometry and decreasing the coupling cell area covered by surface currents, the coupling can be increased -15% with little decrease in shunt impedance.