Walk and Talks with Friends - Strolling Deepens Connections
In ‘The Beauty of the Walk and Talk’ NYT writer Jancee Dunn, explores one of my favorite activities: the walk and talk. It’s obvious to me that this kind of exchange is fundamental to connection, but I guess not everyone knows about it.
Here are a few excerpts:
“Some of my most rewarding conversations have happened while on foot. The exchanges seemed to flow more easily, as if our steps were setting the tempo for our speech. But there may be a simpler reason that walks draw people out: Research shows that it can be less stressful to talk to someone when you’re walking side by side, with minimal eye contact, than conversing face to face.
“When walking next to someone, a conversation becomes parallel play,” with each person “looking ahead yet connected by the exchange,” said Esther Perel, a couples therapist, author and host of the podcast “Where Should We Begin?”...
When we’re walking with another person, Parker said, the social norms around silence and talking tend to shift. “It’s OK to take a beat, which is its own kind of intimacy,” she said. “Some of the best and most random conversations often happen after long periods of silence.””
Dunn suggests giving your walk-and-talk a focus with prompts such as “ What’s a promise you wish you hadn’t broken?” or “The trip that changed my life was …”.
I might suggest prompts such as:
How do your feet touch the ground as you walk?
Are you breathing?
How do you feel about your tummy?
What sounds are you hearing that attract your attention?
What could you do in this moment to release one specific tension or align two specific points in your body?
Enjoy your walk and talk!