If you’re looking to get more mileage out of your meetings, literally taking them for a walk could be the answer. This simple concept can help you improve productivity and bond with your colleagues, all while working on your own health and wellbeing.
As the term suggests, walking meetings take place on foot and outside. Compared with your standard sit-down affair, supporters say they’re a sure-fire way to get the creative juices flowing. This might explain why the likes of entrepreneur Richard Branson, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and the late Apple founder Steve Jobs have all been known to favour the walk-and-talk approach.
The benefits of walking meetings
As well as enhanced creativity, advocates claim that holding meetings on the move improves communication and collaboration among participants by breaking down hierarchical barriers, with one senior executive at Oracle stating that walking side by side means the “conversation is more peer-to-peer”.
Others also state that by taking the formality out of meetings, participants are free to relate on a much more personal level. As a writer who regularly conducts one-on-one interviews, I’ve certainly found this in my own work. Since I installed a voice recorder app on my smartphone a few years back, I’ve gathered some of my best material while walking and talking and find subjects are much more likely to relax and open up.
Recent research supports many of these anecdotal reports. One study by Stanford University found thatwalking increases creative output by an average of 60% and even gives the walker a residual creative boost after they sit down. Results also indicated that walking makes people chattier, particularly when outside.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review revealed that in addition to heightened creativity, those who participated in walking meetings were more likely to report high levels of engagement at work than those who did not.
Neuroscientist Andrew Tate says it’s likely the increased blood flow to the brain produced by talking walksthat helps people to generate bright ideas and express themselves more fluently.
But of course when we get out of our seat, it’s not just our brain that benefits. Walking is a great way to improve or maintain our overall health, helping to offset our increasingly sedentary behaviours.
According to Safe Work Australia (SWA), 50% of Australian workers have jobs that involve sitting down often or all the time, with 8-10 hours the average time most adults are sedentary per day. But if, like me, your job is largely computer based and you’re partial to binge watching the latest Netflix series, the chances are your total hours are a fair bit higher.
With evidence mounting that sitting for prolonged periods leads to poor health outcomes, particularly illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the latest government physical activity guidelinesare calling for us to move more and sit less, even if we already do the recommended amount of exercise.
Walking meetings are a simple way to achieve this. They ensure we’re not sacrificing our health for work, nor our work for fitness.
Incorporating walking meetings into your work
Ready to give walking meetings a try? Here are a few tips to maximise their effectiveness:
- Stick to one-on-ones or small group meetings with a maximum of three or four participants.
- Focus on meetings when you need to gain a fresh perspective on an issue or brainstorm solutions.
- Consider the timing of your meeting – many of us experience a slump mid-morning or in the mid-to-late afternoon, so a brisk walk could deliver a much-needed burst of energy.
- Let participants know in advance that you’re planning a walking meeting. This will give them a chance to prepare, including changing their footwear if necessary.
- Don’t just walk around the block. Research indicates that free walking or walking without a direction in mind may promote a better flow of ideas.
- Finally, have fun. You’re combining fresh air and exercise with productive dialogue, so stay focused and enjoy the conversation.
If you’re still hesitant to give walking meetings a go, it’s worth looking at them from a cost-benefit perspective. Scheduling regular walk-and-talk sessions comes at virtually zero cost – there is no cheaper way to boost creativity, engagement and health all at the same time.
This article was first published on the Optus Yes Business website in Oct, 2017.
