open · Meeting Management, Team Building · 5–15 min · 4-200 people · medium energy
Pop-Up Rules
A host sets two or three short, specific rules that apply only to this gathering, and announces them at the start or in the invitation. Because they are temporary and a bit playful, people follow them instead of resisting them. Good pop-up rules make a mixed group easier to be in, because everyone is working from the same instructions instead of guessing at unwritten etiquette.
When to use Pop-Up Rules
Use at the start of an offsite, dinner or event where people from different teams, levels or cultures will not share the same unspoken norms.
What it solves
Mixed groups fall back on the habits of the most senior or most confident people, and everyone else spends the day guessing what is allowed.
How to run Pop-Up Rules, step by step
- Name what you want to be different about this gathering, for example 'people actually meet someone new' (before the event).
- Write two or three rules that make that behaviour normal, such as 'no job titles until lunch' or 'you may not refill your own glass' (before the event).
- Put the rules in the invitation so people arrive expecting them (before the event).
- Announce them at the start, with the reason, and post them where everyone can see (5 min).
- Enforce them lightly and with good humour, starting with yourself (throughout).
- At the close, lift the rules out loud so it is clear they belonged to this gathering only (2 min).
Materials needed
- A poster or slide with the rules
- The rules written into the invitation
Facilitator tips
- Tie each rule to the purpose of the gathering. A rule with no reason feels like control.
- Fewer rules work better. Three is plenty.
- Leaders following the rule first is what gives everyone else permission.
Common pitfalls
- Rules are so cute or vague that nobody remembers them by the second session.
- The host announces rules and then does not hold anyone to them.
Variations
- Phone rule: devices in a basket at the door for the dinner.
- Language rule: no acronyms, and anyone who uses one explains it to the table.
Running it online or hybrid
Works online too, for example 'cameras on during the opening round' or 'answer in the chat before you speak'.
What it produces
Two or three posted rules for the gathering, which people often refer back to.
Origin
Named and described by Priya Parker in The Art of Gathering (2018) as temporary, explicit rules that hold only for the length of one gathering. — source
Build a session around Pop-Up Rules
METODIC places Pop-Up Rules inside a complete, timed session plan — agenda, worksheets, facilitator guide and slides — matched to your group and goal.