The Pac-Man Rule

Have you ever heard of the Pac-Man rule? In November, I went to WordCamp Seattle. If you’ve never been to a WordCamp or other WordPress-related event – like a meetup – they’re very big on being inclusive. They want everyone to be able to participate. While at WordCamp, they made an announcement, asking people to try to follow the Pac-Man rule. As you would expect, there were some inquisitive looks in the audience. The speaker then explained what that Pac-Man rule is.

Pac-Man is a character from a 1980s video game. He is a solid, yellow circle with a slice missing for his mouth. In the game, his job is to eat stuff. Think about conversations you have in a group of people. Naturally, you form a circle. This is so every person can see every other person in the discussion. For a person on the outside of that discussion circle, there is no space for them, and therefore no opportunity, to join that discussion. So to be more welcoming to new comers, think of Pac-Man. His open mouth represents an space to welcome that new person. When someone joins your discussion, expand the circle, to recreate that space.

Put simply, The Pac-Man rule says: When you’re having a discussion, and positioned in a circle, create an space sosomeone else can easily join the discussion.

On the surface, this might seem like a small thing. However, most of our communication is non-verbal. The ability to demonstrate that someone is welcome, purely by how we position ourselves, is a powerful thing. It can be done without even making eye contact. So, if we can make it easy for other people to join the discussion – why not?