Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 8da57451f2f48def426b43ffcbb78ef8d43e66b047f168fa2cc25c0c93db402e

# Code of Conduct Mind Map

Participants brainstorm conditions that make a session meaningful and pleasant, map these ideas as shared values, and attach specific observable behaviors to uphold them.

**Time:** 35 minutes. Extended slightly from the 30-minute source estimate to allow adequate time for action-linking and group commitment across larger groups.
**People:** 4 to 24. Whole group with optional silent writing in place

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Establish an agreed set of observable group behaviors and mutual working norms for a meeting or project.
**Use it when:** At the kickoff of a new team, workshop, or collaborative session where participants need clear ground rules and shared accountability.
**Skip it when:** Short routine status updates, one-way briefings, or teams that already work under established and effective team agreements.

## Materials and tools

- 1 flip chart easel or whiteboard
- Dry-erase markers or flip chart markers in 2 or 3 colors
- 1 pad of sticky notes per participant
- 1 pen per participant

## Before participants arrive

1. Draw the words 'Meaningful' and 'Pleasant' in the center of the whiteboard or flip chart paper.
2. Arrange seating so everyone has an unobstructed view of the writing surface.
3. Place pads of sticky notes and pens within easy reach of every participant.

## Say this to open

To do good work together today, our time needs to be both meaningful and pleasant. Meaningful means productive and valuable. Pleasant means respectful and positive to experience. We will build our code of conduct together, mapping what we value and the concrete behaviors we will hold each other to.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce anchors and process (3 minutes)

Point to the central words 'Meaningful' and 'Pleasant' on the board. Deliver the opening script. Immediately after delivering the script, explain the two-stage process: first, the group identifies core values and conditions; second, the group maps specific, concrete actions required to uphold each value.

### 2. Brainstorm conditions and values (7 minutes)

Invite participants to contribute what is necessary to make the session meaningful and pleasant. Participants can choose to call ideas aloud or write them on sticky notes and hand them forward. As ideas arrive, map them outward from the center. Where possible, draw simple icons or sketches alongside or instead of text. Continue until the board reflects contributions from across the room.

### 3. Clarify and align meanings (5 minutes)

Review the recorded nodes across the room. Ask for clarification on broad terms. For example, if someone suggests 'respect', ask whether they mean punctuality, listening without speaking over others, or concise remarks. Combine duplicate concepts with group consent. Once clarified, briefly number the distinct values around the central anchors to prepare for sequential processing.

### 4. Define observable actions (12 minutes)

Move through the numbered values one by one. Ask: 'What specific action ensures we uphold this today?' Draw branches radiating outward from each value to record concrete behaviors (for example, link 'stay focused' to 'screens lowered unless taking shared notes'). If time runs short, prioritize the top 4 to 6 values chosen by a quick show of hands.

### 5. Ratify shared responsibility (4 minutes)

State clearly that every participant shares responsibility to uphold and gently signal breaches of this code. Ask for individual confirmation using verbal assent or a visible thumbs-up. Keep the finished mind map visible throughout the entire gathering.

### 6. Debrief agreements (4 minutes)

Pose the debrief questions to the room. Collect 2 or 3 quick responses from volunteers, confirm shared alignment, and transition directly into the main agenda.


## Debrief questions

- Which agreement will require the most intentional discipline from us today?
- How will we respectfully signal each other if one of our agreements begins to slip?

**Finished output:** A shared visual mind map displaying core working values linked to agreed behaviors, displayed continuously for the duration of the gathering.

## Remote

Use a digital whiteboard with 'Meaningful' and 'Pleasant' placed in the middle. Participants contribute ideas via text chat or digital sticky notes. The facilitator maps items into radiating branches, using digital icons or quick sketches where practical, and connects outer nodes for concrete behavioral rules.

## Hybrid

Use a single shared digital whiteboard projected on the room main screen so in-person and remote participants share the exact visual display. The facilitator or a designated in-person scribe inputs ideas spoken in the room, while remote participants submit through chat or digital notes directly on the board. Turn-taking alternates between room voices and remote contributions.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants can submit ideas via sticky notes, digital chat, or verbal call-out without speaking publicly.
- Silent visual assent (such as a thumbs-up or nodding) is accepted in place of spoken agreement during ratification.

## If the session gets stuck

**Suggestions remain vague platitudes like 'be nice' or 'good communication'.**

Ask: 'What observable action would prove we are doing that in the next hour?' Record the specific behavior.

**A vocal minority dominates the call-out session.**

Pause open call-outs. Give 2 minutes for individual silent writing on sticky notes, then collect one idea per person around the room.


## Terms used here

- Mind map: A visual diagram starting with a central topic in the middle and branching outward into related ideas and sub-points.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Gamestorming and SessionLab; Gamestorming attributes the post to Johan Tré.

Retained the central anchors ('Meaningful' and 'Pleasant'), mind-map layout, and two-stage process (values first, then concrete actions) from the Gamestorming source. Added a structured step framework, explicitly incorporated visual sketching and icons from the source strategy, added numbering to bridge values into concrete action drafting, clarified simultaneous silent sticky-note input, and included a closing debrief within the running clock.

[Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/code-of-conduct)

[Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/code-of-conduct/)

[SessionLab](https://www.sessionlab.com/methods/code-of-conduct)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/code-of-conduct/