Walk, Talk, Decide

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Formulate a mutually agreed response to an open-ended prompt through structured dialogue in pairs.

Use it when: Use when reviewing previous content, opening a complex discussion, or synthesizing lessons learned where physical movement aids concentration.

Skip it when: Skip when the prompt requires detailed written calculations, close reading of text, or confidential individual reflection.

Group arrangement: Pairs; one group of three if an odd number of people are present

Timing: UWT suggested 15-minute standard block based on the 5 to 15 minute source band.

Materials and tools

• Timer or bell
• Display board or flip chart for the prompt

Before participants arrive

1. Write the open-ended prompt on a flip chart or display slide where all participants can read it.
2. Clear walking paths around the room so pairs can circulate without bumping into furniture.

Say this to open

Find a partner. In a moment, you will walk together around the room while discussing the prompt on the screen. By the time I say freeze, you must agree on one shared response to share with everyone.

How to run it

1. Pair up and read prompt 2 minutes

   Display the open-ended prompt. Read the opening script aloud. Direct participants to stand, select a partner, and get ready to walk. If 24 participants are present, there are 12 pairs. If an odd number is present, form one group of three.

2. Walk, talk, and decide 5 minutes

   Start the timer. Pairs walk along perimeter paths while discussing the prompt. By the end of this period, each pair must reach consensus on a single statement or decision answering the question. For example, if the prompt is 'What is the biggest operational risk this quarter?', both partners must settle on one specific risk rather than two separate opinions.

3. Freeze and whip around 5 minutes

   Call out 'Freeze' or ring a chime. All pairs halt where they stand. Move rapidly through the room, asking one person from each pair to state their agreed answer in 20 seconds or less without back-and-forth debate.

4. Debrief and close 3 minutes

   Highlight common themes across the shared answers. Call out any notable differences or misconceptions. Ask one or two debrief questions to close the session.

Debrief questions

• What points of difference came up between you and your partner before you agreed on a response?
• Which idea from another pair offered an angle your group had not considered?

Finished output: Each pair agrees on and verbally states a single shared answer to the discussion prompt.

Remote

Assign participants to two-person breakout rooms for the walking discussion time. Prompt them to agree on a one-sentence response. Return everyone to the main room and conduct the whip-around using the chat panel or by unmuting one speaker per room.

Hybrid

In-room participants pair up locally and walk. Remote participants enter one-on-one breakout rooms. At the freeze cue, broadcast an alert to return to the plenary room. Call on remote and local pairs alternately during the whip-around, sharing spoken responses or entries from a shared text document.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to walk can sit together in a quiet corner to hold their partner conversation.
• A participant who prefers not to speak during the whole-room sharing may nominate their partner to read their agreed response, or may pass without giving a reason.

If the session gets stuck

Partners cannot reach consensus before the freeze signal.

Tell the pair to report the primary point of disagreement as their joint response when called upon.

Room traffic becomes congested or too loud for conversation.

Instruct half the pairs to walk in a clockwise loop around the perimeter while the other half walks inside the loop, and remind participants to use low voices.

Terms used here

• Whip-around: A fast sequence where every subgroup shares one brief answer in turn without interruption.