Next steps (after this meeting I will...)

Start the Next Steps activity by getting the group to stand in a circle. Inform participants you're going to check-out and close the meeting by sharing two actions you'll be taking afterwards.

Start by getting the group to stand in a circle. Inform participants you're going to check-out and close the meeting by sharing two actions you'll be taking afterwards.

1. A next step relating to the meeting (work tasks and follow-up actions)
2. A next step relating to yourself, something that will make you feel good or relax you (play)

When participants make the first, work focused statement, they'll start by saying "After this meeting I will" and raise their right hand.

When they make the second statement focused on doing something, they'll start by saying "but before that I will..." and raise their left hand. Then they'll give a high five to the person on their left who then shares. 

Give participants a minute or so to reflect individually and then go first to demonstrate the exercise. 

1. "After this meeting I will write up the notes and share them in Slack" (raising your right hand) 
2. "But before that, I will eat some of the chocolate cake I baked at the weekend and go for a walk" (raising your left hand)
3. High-five the person to your left, who then continues the activity. 

Continue until everyone in the circle has shared their two actions.

End by asking everyone in the group to high-five with as many people as they can in a quick, energetic flurry and close the session. 

Variations and tips 

• If you're short on time or you want to close only on one aspect (work or replenishment), you can cut to just one of the statements.  
• It can be fun to invite participants to come up with a way to hand over the baton, either inventing a new high five or a handshake. 
• In an online setting, invite participants to do a double high-five to the screen and say the name of the person they're passing to. 
• If you're at a conference or a session with refreshments, an alternative to high-fives is to raise your drink or snacks. This can be fun online too, especially if you've created any artifacts or run "touch blue" as an energizer - you can refer back to earlier items in the session. 

Variation statements

Training

• My biggest takeaway from today is ...
• I'll reward myself by... 

Forward-looking

• This meeting showed me...
• This week, I'm most looking forward to ...

Appreciation

• I'd like to thank X person for...
• I will thank myself by...

You can introduce whatever two statements works best for your session/group as needed, though I'd aim for always having one statement that relates to the meeting (and ideally what you might do as a result) in order to create closure and a second statement that is softer and centres on some element of self-care.