In any sporting activity there’s a basic principle: “The more of your body you can use efficiently in a movement then the more effective the use of your body.”
By using an extension designed to integrate with your arm, and by understanding how your body posture and shaft positioning affects your performance – then the above quote will reflect your actions ….
Walking on level ground: your structure evolved to walk upright by completely realigning its muscle-to-bone attachments; you walk tall (a vertical line running through your middle should fall between your feet) as you’ve evolved a system of twisting the top half of your trunk on the bottom half which means your right hand/left foot move forward together and vice versa – which makes balancing upright easier as you flow along. This 'flow' action can be improved by including your arm's leverage too, instead of just using that of your legs - whilst you continue to "Walk-tall".....
Making the most of your arm’s thrust means focusing on the elbow’s action as it straightens-out behind. It is this action of pushing against the contours of the handle which will thrust you forward. Consider these contours to be more like shelves to push against rather than to grip. Then as your elbow bends, the hand and pole will automatically come forward, so that the shaft tip just skims over the ground as it trails behind - and as your whole body is already moving forward due to the previous thrust, just drop the shaft tip to the ground behind you again, already angled for the next thrust. Remember that it is unnecessary for the shoulder to swing forward as well (see FAQ/The Walking Action) this would only bring the hand and pole even further forward, which is inefficient. The arm's natural walking action is different to the exaggerated cross-country skiing one which brings the shoulder forward and the hand high, as longer Nordic poles force adoption of an unnatural forward arm action - so it can synchronise with a longer leg-stride length increased by the extra 'slide'. If you are not on Nordic skis then their stylised arm action (Nordic Walking described by the Press as the "Wally" or "Dork" factor" or "NorDork" walking) need not be mimicked. See User Guide/Fitness Walking for the health benefits of brisk walking.
Remember too, that your fingers curl naturally into a hook when they're relaxed, so in general just slight pressure between the thumb and index finger is enough to secure the pole; this allows air to circulate around the palm ..... whereas a tight continuous grip wastes muscle energy - and encourages sweat by jamming the handle high into the palm. It is an advantage for the fingers to be free (not even touching the handle) during the phase when the pole is on the ground, under load - to avoid a grip preventing the natural flow of movement around and over the handle as you thrust.
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WALKING ON THE LEVEL - ASCENTS - DESCENTS - STRIDE LENGTH - SHAFT LENGTH - STRIDE RATE - FEEDBACK