What is it?

A Gallery Walk gets people out of their chairs and moving around the room, rotating between stations where questions, content, or work-in-progress are posted on walls or tables. At each station, groups read what previous groups have written, discuss among themselves, and add their own responses. By the time every group has visited every station, each question has been explored by multiple perspectives, and the room is covered in layered thinking. It works because movement changes energy, written responses create accountability, and building on other groups' ideas produces richer output than any single discussion could.

Also Known As

• Learning Gallery
• Poster Session

When to Use It

• You need to explore multiple questions or topics in parallel rather than one at a time
• A group has been sitting too long and energy is dropping
• You want every person's thinking captured in writing, not just the loudest voices
• You need to gather diverse perspectives on several related issues in a short timeframe
• You are reviewing proposals, plans, or work-in-progress and want structured peer feedback
• A large group needs to cover more ground than a single plenary discussion allows
• You want to surface themes and patterns across several related topics
• You are opening up a new topic and want to see where the group's thinking clusters

When NOT to Use It

• The group needs to reach a single decision on one issue. Gallery Walk spreads attention across topics rather than focusing it.
• The topic is emotionally charged and needs careful, facilitated conversation. Written drive-by comments can feel dismissive on sensitive subjects.
• You have fewer than 8 people. Small groups lose the layering effect that makes Gallery Walk work, and you end up with sparse stations.
• Time is tight. If you cannot give at least 5 minutes per station plus 10 minutes for report-out, the output will be shallow.
• The content at stations requires long reading time. If people need 10 minutes just to understand what is posted before they can respond, the rotation model breaks down.
• The room is too small for groups to spread out without crowding.

Gallery Walk emerged from educational practice rather than from a single creator. It has been widely used in classroom settings since at least the 1990s, drawing on principles of cooperative learning, peer instruction, and kinaesthetic engagement. The technique gained broader traction in the facilitation and organisational development world through practitioners like Sharon Bowman (Training from the BACK of the Room) and its adoption within the Liberating Structures community. Its roots connect to gallery-style art viewing, poster sessions in academic conferences, and the broader shift toward active learning methods.

What You Need

Group size: 8-40 people (groups of 3-5 at each station). Below 8, the layering effect is weak. Above 40, you need duplicate station sets or a very large room.

Time required:

• 30-60 minutes typical.
• Minimum 30 minutes (4 stations, 5 minutes each, plus briefing and report-out).
• Extended versions with more stations or deeper content can run 75-90 minutes.

Space:

• A room with enough wall space to post 4-8 stations at least 2 metres apart
• Space for groups of 3-5 to stand comfortably at each station without blocking other groups
• Tables can substitute for walls if wall space is limited

Materials:

• Large flip chart paper or poster sheets (one per station, minimum)
• Markers in different colours (ideally one colour per group so contributions are visually distinct)
• Sticky notes for individual comments
• Blu-Tack or masking tape for posting stations
• Timer (visible or audible to all groups)
• Optional: dot stickers for voting or prioritisation
• Optional: pre-printed station templates with prompts and response areas

The Process

Setup

1. Decide on your station questions or content. Write each one clearly on a separate sheet of flip chart paper using thick markers. Questions should be open-ended and specific enough to generate multiple responses.
2. Post stations around the room at least 2 metres apart. Number each station clearly. Make sure each station is visible and accessible, with enough space for a group to gather and write.
3. Prepare markers in different colours. Assign one colour per group so you can track which group contributed what.
4. Set up a timer that all groups can see or hear.
5. If using a feedback format (rather than open questions), print or write the response prompts at each station.

Step 1: Brief the Group

Time: 3-5 minutes

Purpose: Make sure everyone understands the process, timing, and what good contributions look like.

1. Explain the format: "You are going to work in small groups, rotating around the room to visit different stations. At each station, there is a question or piece of content for you to respond to."
2. Explain the rules: "At each station, start by reading what previous groups have written. Then discuss as a group and add your own contribution. Build on what is already there. Avoid repeating what has been said."
3. Assign groups of 3-5 people. Give each group a different coloured marker.
4. Assign each group a starting station.
5. Tell them how much time they will have at each station: "You will have [5-8] minutes per station. I will give you a two-minute warning and then signal when it is time to move."
6. Explain what happens after: "Once you have visited all stations, you will return to your starting station and summarise everything that has been written there for the whole group."

Watch for:

• Questions about what "build on" means. Give a quick example: "If the previous group wrote 'We need better communication,' you might add 'Specifically, we need weekly updates on project status' rather than writing 'communication' again."

Step 2: Station Rotations

Time: 20-40 minutes (5-8 minutes per station, depending on complexity)

Purpose: Generate layered, diverse responses to each question through multiple rounds of group input.

1. Start the timer and let groups begin at their assigned station.
2. Give a two-minute warning before each rotation: "Two minutes left at this station. Start wrapping up your contributions."
3. Signal the rotation: "Time. Please move clockwise to the next station."
4. As groups rotate, circulate and observe. Read what is being written. Listen to discussions.
5. If a group is struggling, prompt them: "What has been missed here?" or "Do you agree with what the previous groups wrote? Why or why not?"
6. Continue rotations until every group has visited every station.

Watch for:

• Groups that rush through reading previous responses and jump straight to writing their own. Redirect: "Take a minute to really read what is already here before you add anything."
• One person doing all the writing. Suggest rotating the pen at each station or giving everyone sticky notes.
• Groups bunching up because stations are too close together. Move stations further apart if needed.
• Energy dropping at later stations. This is normal. Acknowledge it: "These later stations are harder because so much has already been said. Your job now is to find what is missing."

Step 3: Synthesis at Starting Station

Time: 5-8 minutes

Purpose: Give each group ownership of one station's output and prepare them to share the key themes with the whole room.

1. Direct groups back to their starting station: "Go back to the station where you began. Your job now is to read everything that has been written and pull out the key themes."
2. Ask each group to identify: the 2-3 strongest themes, anything surprising or unexpected, and any areas of disagreement across groups.
3. Ask them to prepare a 2-minute summary for the whole group.

Watch for:

• Groups trying to read out everything rather than synthesising. Remind them: "We do not need a full read-out. Give us the headlines."

Step 4: Report-Out

Time: 10-15 minutes (2-3 minutes per station)

Purpose: Share the synthesised findings across the whole group and draw out connections between stations.

1. Bring the whole group together. Each group presents their station's summary in 2-3 minutes.
2. After each report, ask the rest of the group: "What connects to what you saw at other stations?" or "Does anything here surprise you?"
3. Capture cross-cutting themes on a separate flip chart as they emerge.

Watch for:

• Reports running long. Hold the time boundary. Two minutes is enough for a summary.
• The group wanting to debate during report-out. Park detailed discussions: "Let's capture that as a theme and come back to it."

Closing

Time: 5-10 minutes

1. Review the cross-cutting themes you captured during report-out.
2. Ask the group: "What stands out most across all the stations? What did we not expect?"
3. If the Gallery Walk is leading into action planning, identify which themes need the most attention and assign owners or next steps.
4. Thank the group for their contributions and point out the richness of what was produced: "Look at the walls. That is the collective thinking of this entire group, and it took us [time]. You could not have covered this much ground in a single conversation."

Facilitator Guidance

What Makes This Work

Gallery Walk works because it combines three things that standard discussions do not: physical movement, written accountability, and cumulative building. Moving around the room changes the energy and breaks the pattern of passive sitting. Writing responses down means every voice is captured, not just the loudest ones. And the layering effect, where each group builds on what came before, produces richer output than any single group could generate alone. The technique also creates a kind of productive pressure: groups can see what others have written, which pushes them to go deeper rather than repeat what has already been said.

Common Pitfalls

• Too many stations: More than 8 stations and the energy drops, responses get thinner, and time blows out. Aim for 4-6 stations for most groups. If you have more questions than stations, combine related questions on one sheet.
• Weak questions: Vague or closed questions produce vague, shallow responses. Each question should be specific enough that a group could debate it. Test by asking: will this generate at least three different responses?
• Skipping the report-out: The temptation when time is short is to cut the synthesis and report-out. Do not. This is where the value lands. Cut station time instead. Five minutes per station with a strong report-out beats eight minutes per station with no synthesis.
• Stations too close together: If groups can overhear each other, conversations bleed together and people feel self-conscious about writing. Space stations at least 2 metres apart. Use different walls of the room.
• Not reading previous responses: Groups that skip reading and jump straight to writing miss the whole point. Set the expectation clearly in the brief and reinforce it during the first rotation.
• One-word responses: If you see sticky notes with single words or very short phrases, intervene early. Model what a useful contribution looks like: a sentence or two that adds a specific perspective.

Adaptations

• Virtual/remote delivery: Use a digital whiteboard (Miro, Mural, FigJam) with separate frames for each station. Assign groups to breakout rooms and rotate them on a timer. It works but loses the physical energy. Keep station time shorter (4-5 minutes) because typing is slower than reading handwriting.
• Larger groups (40+): Create duplicate station sets in different parts of the room. Two sets of 6 stations with 20 people each works better than one set of 12 stations with 40 people.
• Smaller groups (6-8): Use pairs instead of groups of 3-5. Or run it as an individual walk where each person moves at their own pace and writes on sticky notes rather than directly on the chart paper.
• Shorter timeframe (20-25 minutes): Reduce to 4 stations, give 3-4 minutes per station, and do a quick whole-group debrief rather than a full report-out from each station.
• Feedback on work-in-progress: Post project plans, designs, or proposals at each station instead of questions. Give groups specific feedback prompts: "What works well? What questions do you have? What would you change?"
• Dot voting add-on: After all rotations, give each person 3-5 dot stickers and have them walk around again, voting on the ideas or themes they think are most important. This adds 5-10 minutes but produces a clear priority ranking.
• Silent Gallery Walk: Remove the group discussion element entirely. Individuals walk at their own pace and write on sticky notes. Useful when you want more individual reflection or when group dynamics might lead to groupthink.

Real-World Applications

Strategic priorities workshop: A leadership team of 16 used Gallery Walk with six stations, each posing a different strategic question about the next financial year. After three rotations, the cross-cutting themes revealed that four of the six questions pointed to the same underlying capacity issue, which the team had not previously connected. This became the centrepiece of their strategic plan.

New team onboarding: An L&D manager used Gallery Walk on day one of a graduate programme. Stations displayed different aspects of the company (values, customers, history, challenges). New starters rotated in pairs, writing their reactions and questions. The output gave the L&D team a clear picture of what the graduates understood and where the gaps were, which shaped the rest of the induction week.

Project retrospective: A consultant ran Gallery Walk at the end of a six-month project with 24 stakeholders. Each station covered a different project phase. Teams walked through the timeline, adding what worked, what didn't, and what they would do differently. The layered responses from multiple teams produced a far more honest and complete retrospective than a traditional debrief would have.

Product feedback session: A product team posted wireframes and prototypes at eight stations. Internal stakeholders walked through and left structured feedback on sticky notes using "What works / What questions do you have / What would you change" prompts. The team collected more actionable feedback in 45 minutes than they had gathered in weeks of email chains.

Conference session design: A facilitator at a two-day conference used Gallery Walk to replace the standard "what topics do you want to discuss?" brainstorm. Six stations each posed a different question about the conference theme. Ninety participants rotated through in groups of five. The synthesised output from report-out directly shaped the afternoon breakout sessions.