--- title: "Walk in the Park" description: "Participants pair up or form trios, step outside or move through the venue, and discuss a specific prompt while walking. They return to capture their thoughts on note cards for immediate use or the next agenda item." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/walk-in-the-park/" --- # Walk in the Park Participants pair up or form trios, step outside or move through the venue, and discuss a specific prompt while walking. They return to capture their thoughts on note cards for immediate use or the next agenda item. **Time:** 20 minutes. Source suggests 15 to 30 minutes; structured here at 20 minutes for reliable scheduling. **People:** 4 to 24. Pairs or trios; odd total forms one trio. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Give participants movement and fresh surroundings while discussing a focused question with a partner. **Use it when:** Use when energy drops during long sit-down sessions or when a reflective prompt benefits from informal, low-pressure conversation. **Skip it when:** Skip during severe weather, when safe and accessible walking routes are unavailable, or when participants need direct reference to detailed shared documents. ## Materials and tools - 1 index card or note card per person - 1 pen or pencil per person - 1 shared countdown timer visible or audible to the group - Digital document or chat space for remote participants ## Before participants arrive 1. Identify accessible indoor and outdoor walking paths with clear boundaries. 2. Check that exterior doors do not lock participants out. 3. Write the walking discussion prompt on a visible board or slide. ## Say this to open We are going to take a Walk in the Park. Pair up, step outside or walk the halls, and discuss one prompt together. You do not need to look at screens or take notes while moving. We will reconvene here in twelve minutes to jot down thoughts. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce prompt and form partnerships (3 minutes) State the designated prompt clearly. Form pairs. If there is an odd number of people, form one trio. Hand each person an index card and pen to keep in their pocket. Show the precise boundary areas and state the exact time to return. ### 2. Walk and discuss (12 minutes) Pairs depart the main room and walk along designated outdoor or indoor paths. Partners take turns sharing their thoughts on the prompt. Facilitator monitors the door and departure area to ensure everyone exits smoothly. ### 3. Reconvene and capture notes (3 minutes) Call the group back to the main room. Give everyone two quiet minutes to write one key observation, idea, or open question from their conversation onto their index card. Anyone may choose to keep their card private. ### 4. Debrief and transition (2 minutes) Invite two or three volunteer pairs to share one takeaway that stood out. Transition directly into the next working session or collect the cards if they feed into the next agenda item. ## Debrief questions - What idea or perspective surfaced while walking that had not come up while seated? - How did moving change the way you and your partner tackled the question? **Finished output:** One completed index card per participant with an idea, observation, or next step related to the prompt. ## Remote Assign participants to two-person breakout rooms. Invite them to join via their mobile device with audio only and walk around their immediate space or outdoors while speaking. Set an automatic return timer for twelve minutes, then bring everyone back to write one takeaway in a shared digital document. ## Hybrid Pair in-person participants with in-person partners. Pair remote participants with each other in audio breakouts. Keep the prompt, return time, and capture process identical across both groups. Remote members add their takeaway to the digital document while in-person members write on index cards. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may choose stationary discussion in comfortable seating, an indoor level corridor, or an outdoor paved path without disclosing reasons. - Participants may opt to walk solo and reflect rather than converse, writing their thoughts upon return. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants return late, disrupting the schedule.** Announce an explicit return time by the clock before departure, not just a duration. Ask one person in each pair to set an alarm on their phone for the turnaround point at six minutes. **Bad weather makes outdoor walking impossible.** Redirect the activity to indoor corridors, atriums, or covered perimeter hallways that offer continuous movement. ## Terms used here - Prompt: A single, focused question or topic given to the group to guide discussion. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in the Relationship Makers Handbook, pages 462-463. Retained the core mechanic from the Relationship Makers Handbook: taking a walk in nature or outdoors in pairs or trios to ponder a specific question and reconvening to record thoughts. Added explicit 20-minute stage timings, setup requirements, non-walking accessibility options, clear return procedures, and an index-card capture step. Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/walk-in-the-park/