The weather is improving and our thoughts naturally turn to time spent outside enjoying the sunshine. Research has shown that sitting for too long can actually shorten your life span.

Walking meetings could be a great way to get up out of your seat and boost your brain power, enjoy the outdoors while still getting things done! What are the benefits of walking meetings? They are also thought to improve creativity and communication as people let their guard down when they are walking. One only has to look at the leaders of North and South Korea earlier this week to see this in practice!

And of course there is no time like the present! Why not plan a walking meeting of your own and see how effective it can be.

How to get the most from a walking meeting:

1. Don’t bring too many people along

   
   Walking meetings work best on one-to-one or small group basis. As a rule of thumb 3-4 would be the maximum number to include in your meeting, you don’t want to be tripping over one another!
   
   

2. Have a clear and simple agenda

   
   Without a clear agenda or outcomes in mind walking meetings (like seated meetings) can quickly become little more than an exercise in sharing with no value added. Talking while you walk is thought to boost creative thinking. It follows then that walking meetings are a great way to collaborate on solving a particular problem or thrashing out a creative concept.
   
   

3. Know where you are going

   
   Think about how long you will need for your meeting before you set it. Plan a simple route that will take in some calm and open spaces to boost creative thinking. A stroll along a busy carriageway or through throngs of town centre shoppers is distracting and not what you are looking for in terms of a ‘venue’. Think park, green space, back streets and off road paths where possible.
   
   Ensure that someone in the group is responsible for guiding people along the route. It is difficult to lead a meeting and guide – delegate!
   
   

4. Wear comfortable shoes!

   
   This goes for the people you invite to your walking meeting too! Make sure you give them enough notice so that they can wear the right shoes for the job. It is hard to concentrate on your thinking as you walk across a beautiful grassy park if you are wearing stilettos!
   
   

5. Capture the outcomes

   
   The outcomes from the actions that are agreed during the meeting are what determines its effectiveness. There is no point in agreeing to solutions and actions only for everyone to go their separate ways and forget what was said! But walking while taking notes with pen and paper or typing is not going to work. 
   
   You have two choices here. You can either take little a little break when a key point or action is reached so that these can be noted or you can use technology to voice record key points or type using voice recognition as you are going along.