Walking Meeting
Conducting meetings while walking boosts creative thinking by approximately 60% compared to sitting.
Instructions
- Schedule a meeting that involves brainstorming or creative problem-solving (not detailed note-taking).
- Invite your meeting partner(s) to walk instead of sitting in a conference room.
- Walk at a comfortable conversational pace — indoors or outdoors.
- Keep the group small (2–3 people works best).
- After the walk, sit down briefly to capture key ideas and action items.
The Walking Meeting applies Marily Oppezzo’s research on walking and creativity to a common workplace activity. Instead of sitting in a conference room, you take your meeting on the move.
Why Walking Meetings Work
Walking increases divergent thinking — the kind of thinking that generates multiple ideas and novel solutions. This makes walking meetings particularly effective for brainstorming, creative problem-solving, and open-ended discussions.
Best Practices
- Keep it small. Walking meetings work best with 2–3 people. Larger groups make conversation difficult.
- Match the meeting type. Use walking meetings for creative and strategic discussions, not for meetings that require screens, whiteboards, or detailed notes.
- Capture ideas afterward. Walk first, then sit down briefly to write down key ideas and decisions.
- Any surface works. The creativity boost comes from the walking itself, not from being outdoors. A loop around the office works as well as a park trail.
Team Adoption
If you’re a team lead, try making one recurring meeting per week a walking meeting. Start with one-on-ones, which are the easiest to convert. Let the results speak for themselves.
Evidence: moderate
Oppezzo and Schwartz (2014) showed walking increased divergent creative output by ~60% across four experiments. Effects were consistent whether walking indoors or outdoors. The meeting format is an application of the walking-creativity finding to a workplace context.