For Better Meetings, Take a Walk

Hey, we know. Meetings aren’t always that interesting. That’s why we search high and low for ideas on how to make them better.

Sometimes, the answer is as easy as going for a walk.

In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, authors Russell Clayton, Christopher Thomas and Jack Smothers took a look at the merits of the walking meeting or “walk and talk.”

To see if this was really a thing worth pursuing, they did an exploratory looking for  actual benefits. Turns out, there are some!

“Recent research finds that the act of walking leads to increases in creative thinking. Plenty of anecdotal evidence also suggests that walking meetings lead to more honest exchanges with employees and are more productive than traditional sit-down meetings.”

Here’s some actual stats. “Those who participate in walking meetings are 5.25% more likely to report being creative at their jobs than those who do not” and “are 8.5% more likely to report high levels of engagement.”

And you’ll like this. Walking meetings pretty much cost zero cents!

The authors did offer several bits of advice:

• Keep in mind that walking meetings are not breaks from work. They are meetings that would have taken place regardless.
• Consider including an ‘extracurricular’ destination on your route.
• Avoid making the destination a source of unneeded calories (Sorry about that one).
• Do not surprise colleagues or clients with walking meetings (yes, that would be very bad…even in they love surprises).
• Stick to small groups with a maximum of three people.
• Have fun. Enjoy the experience of combining work with a bit of exercise and fresh air.