I have a confession: I’m absolutely that person who starts wandering the room whenever I’m on a long phone call.
Whether I’m catching up with a friend or hashing out work details, I’ll unconsciously pace back and forth.
If you’ve caught yourself doing the same, don’t worry – it turns out this quirky habit is pretty common and even has some science behind it.
When you chat face-to-face, you’re nodding, gesturing, and reading the other person’s facial expressions. On a phone call, all those visual signals vanish.
My brain feels that absence and basically goes, “Hmm, need something to do here,” and the next thing I know I’m doing laps in my living room.
In fact, experts say pacing in this context is a perfectly normal reaction to the “missing” stimuli we usually get in person. “Talking on the telephone lacks that certain something called visual feedback,” explains psychologist Ken Fogel.
Without someone in front of you, “it’s like you’re juggling a hot potato and you can’t pass it to anyone”.
In other words, all the extra energy, emotion, or boredom that you’d normally exchange through eye contact or smiles has nowhere to go – so your body finds an outlet by literally moving.
Pacing back and forth essentially transfers that built-up emotional energy into physical action.
Rather than fidget in place, you start roaming. (On the upside, all that fidgeting and pacing can burn some calories – one study even found those little movements can contribute more to daily calorie burn than formal exercise.
Who knew my annoying pacing habit was secretly a mini workout?
Cognitive Load: Freeing Up Brain Space
Aside from compensating for missing visuals, there’s another brainy reason we pace: it might actually help us think and talk more clearly.
Ever notice how some people “talk with their hands” – even on phone calls when no one can see them? That’s a hint at how embodied cognition works.
Our brains and bodies are deeply connected, so physical movement can influence cognitive processes. Research has shown that people gesture instinctively during speech because it actually helps them process thoughts and words.
In one experiment, even congenitally blind individuals (who have never seen others gesture) used hand gestures while speaking, suggesting we’re kind of wired to move when we talk – it’s not just learned behavior.
In fact, when researchers prevented people from gesturing (by having them sit on their hands while explaining something), their previously clear and fluent speech turned into fumbling incoherence.
Without the ability to move their hands, it was like their thought process got stuck in the mud. This tells us that moving – whether it’s hands or feet – can lighten the mental load of putting thoughts into words.
From a cognitive load theory perspective, holding a conversation is a mentally demanding task.
Your working memory is juggling the other person’s words, formulating your responses, and maybe even imagining their reactions. That’s a lot of cognitive balls in the air.
By pacing or gesturing, we might be offloading some of that “brain load” onto the body. One study noted that when people had to describe something from memory (a more cognitively challenging task), they automatically gestured more to help themselves out.
Those extra gestures effectively reduced the cognitive load and aided memory recall during the description.
This mind-body helper effect can even nudge along our memory and vocabulary.
Ever had a word on the tip of your tongue until you act it out? I’ve definitely paced around or waved my hands trying to remember something, and it’s oddly satisfying when the word pops into mind.
By the same token, pacing during a phone chat might help me articulate my thoughts more fluidly. It’s like my feet are helping my brain find the right rhythm and words.
When I pace on a call, I’m doing a spontaneous version of that: my body’s on autopilot, which helps my mind zero in on the conversation.
It’s multitasking that doesn’t split your attention, because walking (for most of us) is so automatic. In fact, many of us think best when we’re on the move. (If you identify as a “kinesthetic learner” or someone who can’t sit still in class, you know exactly what I mean.)
By engaging the body in a simple, rhythmic activity, pacing can free up mental bandwidth to concentrate on what’s being said. I like to think of it as my brain putting the body on cruise control so it can drive the conversation more efficiently.
Pacing as an Outlet for Anxiety
Another big reason we become human pendulums during phone calls: nerves and energy.
I’ll admit, if I’m on an important or tense call – say, a job interview or an awkward family discussion – I pace even more. It turns out this is a classic stress response.
When we get anxious or excited, our body releases adrenaline and gears up for a “fight or flight” state. That adrenaline has to go somewhere, and often it shows up as restless movement.
Pacing is actually listed among the most common signs of nervousness; it’s your body’s natural way of trying to dissipate that excess energy.
Essentially, walking back and forth is a self-soothing behavior – an unconscious attempt to calm the jitters by literally walking them off.
I often don’t even realize I’m doing it; it’s like my legs take over to burn off the nerves so my brain doesn’t overload.
As the Center for Hyperhidrosis (which knows a thing or two about nervous sweating) puts it, when adrenaline spikes, our bodies instinctively seek a release for that built-up energy in “any self-soothing manner possible”.
Pacing, fidgeting, foot-tapping – these are all little leaks for the pressure building inside us.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, channeling nervous energy into movement can help you stay more composed where it counts – like on the phone, where your voice is the main signal of your state.
I’ve noticed that if I don’t move at all when I’m anxious, I actually feel more on edge internally. There’s science to back that up. In people with ADHD (who often grapple with restlessness), studies have found that allowing movement can improve focus.
In adults, a common example is pacing during phone conversations: many adults with ADHD say they must pace while on calls to maintain focus, otherwise their attention drifts.
So, pacing might be our body’s DIY strategy for stress regulation.
It keeps us just busy enough physically to take the edge off anxiety, which in turn can make us mentally calmer and more present in the conversation. Rather than sitting there with your heart pounding and voice shaking, you walk it out and find your speaking tone more relaxed.
I’ve definitely taken phone calls while pacing around the block to blow off nervous energy, and by the time I hang up, I feel noticeably more centered. In short, if you’re antsy, moving your feet is a lot better than freezing up.
It’s a bit like how athletes bounce around before a race – movement channels that adrenaline toward something productive. On a phone call, that means you sound less nervous and more confident because you’ve literally paced away the excess angst.
Embrace the Walk-and-Talk
Knowing all this, I’ve started to fully embrace my walk-and-talk habit. It’s not just a random quirk – it’s practically a life hack for better conversations.
Next time you catch yourself pacing during a call, remember that you’re in good company.
Productivity gurus and creatives often intentionally use walking to think.
Many CEOs and entrepreneurs schedule walking meetings for serious discussions because they know it can lead to more energetic and creative dialogue.
Even if you’re just pacing in your pajamas while on a Zoom audio call, you’re tapping into the same principles that these folks use to their advantage.
On top of the cognitive perks, there’s the simple fact that our bodies like to move. Humans weren’t really designed to sit still in a chair all day.
So when an engaging conversation kicks our brain into gear, the body naturally wants to get in on the action. One could say we think better on our feet – literally. n.
From reducing anxiety to boosting creativity and focus, this habit of pacing is doing more for us than we might have guessed.
So I’m done feeling self-conscious about my little indoor laps. In fact, I recommend it: got a nerve-wracking phone interview or a lengthy catch-up call? Pop in your earbuds and pace around (safely).
You may find you express yourself more clearly and feel less stressed than if you were glued to the couch.
At the end of the day, whether you pace in your living room, walk around the block, or simply stand up and sway a bit during a conversation, the key is that movement can be harnessed as a tool for better communication.
It’s a fun insight into how our brains work: sometimes to get our thoughts moving, we need to get moving.
So the next time you find yourself unable to sit still on a phone call, go ahead and embrace the pace – your brain might thank you for it.
