👓 The Pac-Man Rule at Conferences | Eric Holscher

Read The Pac-Man Rule at Conferences by Eric Holscher (ericholscher.com)

The rule is:

When standing as a group of people, always leave room for 1 person to join your group.

More memorably, stand like Pac-Man!

The new person, who has been given permission to join your group, will gather up the courage, and join you! Another important point, the group should now readjust to leave another space for a new person.

Leaving room for new people when standing in a group is a physical way to show an inclusive and welcoming environment. It reduces the feeling of there being cliques, and allows people to integrate themselves into the community.

I’ve always instinctively done this at networking events; it’s great to have a good name for it.

Hat tip: Kevin Marks who linked to

Also!!!
Tell everyone about the Pacman rule!
— Samathy Barratt (@Samathy_Barratt) June 13, 2019