--- title: "Crossing the Mall" description: "Participants walk across a circle four times, shifting from ignoring one another to greeting each other as close friends. A brief structured debrief links those contrasting experiences to group norms and everyday working relationships." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/how-to-set-behavioural-norms-in-the-classroom-full-value-communities/" --- # Crossing the Mall Participants walk across a circle four times, shifting from ignoring one another to greeting each other as close friends. A brief structured debrief links those contrasting experiences to group norms and everyday working relationships. **Time:** 15 minutes. UWT plan based on the 4-pass sequence and debrief in the 2020 Playmeo post. **People:** 6 to 24. Whole group standing in a circle, crossing individually to open spots on the opposite side. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Examine how different levels of interpersonal contact feel in order to choose intentional interaction norms for a group. **Use it when:** Use at the start of a cohort, classroom, or project kickoff when participants need to establish working agreements for how they acknowledge and support one another. **Skip it when:** Skip if the group lacks open physical floor space for people to move freely, or when participants are already well acquainted and have agreed working norms. ## Materials and tools - Open floor space cleared of tripping hazards - Flipchart or whiteboard - Markers ## Before participants arrive 1. Clear chairs and tables to leave an open floor at least 4 meters across. 2. Draw or write the four greeting levels on a visible board as a quick visual reference. ## Say this to open Stand in a circle facing inward. We will walk across the circle four times to find an open spot on the other side. Each crossing uses a different interaction rule. For the first crossing, imagine you are strangers in a busy shopping center. Cross the space and actively avoid making contact with anyone. ## How to run it ### 1. Set up the circle and pass 1 (Strangers) (3 minutes) Gather participants in a circle. Deliver the opening script. Signal participants to walk across simultaneously to find an open space on the opposite perimeter. Participants walk without making eye contact, speaking, or acknowledging anyone. Once everyone is stationary on the rim, call time. ### 2. Pass 2 (Nod) and pass 3 (Casual friends) (4 minutes) Direct pass 2: walk across again, this time acknowledging others with subtle contact such as a slight nod or brief eye contact, but without stopping or talking. Call time when all reach the perimeter. Direct pass 3: walk across greeting others as familiar colleagues or casual friends, using brief verbal hellos, smiles, or waves. Allow people to pause momentarily, then settle on the opposite side. ### 3. Pass 4 (Warm reunion) (3 minutes) Direct pass 4: walk across greeting each other with high warmth, as if seeing dear friends or family after a long separation. Remind participants that physical touch is strictly optional, and warm verbal greetings or energetic waves count equally. Once everyone finishes crossing, invite participants to remain standing in the circle or take a seat. ### 4. Debrief and norm identification (5 minutes) Facilitate a structured conversation on the progression using the debrief questions. Collect 3 to 4 quick comments from volunteers. Record one or two explicit working commitments on the flipchart that the group wants to maintain. ## Debrief questions - What physical or emotional differences did you notice between ignoring everyone and greeting people warmly? - Which level of greeting felt easiest, and which felt most awkward? - Which behaviors from passes two through four do we want as our baseline habits while working together? **Finished output:** A short list of 2 to 4 agreed everyday interaction norms recorded on a flipchart. ## Remote In a video meeting, set participants to gallery view. Run the rounds by asking participants to look at the screen under different prompts: pass 1 looks away or stares blankly past the camera, pass 2 gives a neutral nod when catching someone's tile, pass 3 gives a wave and quick unmuted greeting, and pass 4 gives an enthusiastic welcome in chat or unmuted voice. Conclude with the standard debrief. ## Hybrid Run in-person movers in the room while a camera shows the whole circle. Remote participants keep cameras on and run parallel versions: during passes 1 through 4, remote participants apply the greeting levels to their onscreen gallery or post greeting lines in shared chat. Call on at least one remote and one in-person participant during debrief. ## Access and participation choices - Participants with mobility constraints can navigate the floor at their own pace, or act as observers tracking body language changes across the rounds. - Physical contact during passes 3 and 4 is completely optional; participants may use purely verbal greetings, eye contact, or hand waves. - Anyone may opt out of moving and observe the exercise from a seated perimeter spot without explanation. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants collide or bunch up in the middle during the walk.** Remind the group to walk at a relaxed pace and yield space safely before launching the next pass. **Someone feels uncomfortable with forced hugs or close physical greetings during pass 4.** Explicitly state before pass 4 starts that touch is strictly optional and that verbal or waving greetings carry the same status. ## Terms used here - Full Value Community: A framework for intentional classroom or team culture rooted in shared behavioural norms. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in a 2020 Playmeo blog article by Richard Maizell, who cites the group exercise Elevator Air as the basis for Crossing the Mall. Retained the four-stage crossing progression (ignoring, subtle nod, casual acquaintance, warm reunion) described by Richard Maizell on Playmeo. UWT structured the activity into timed facilitator steps, established non-contact alternatives for pass 4, and added specific debrief questions and remote adjustments. [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/fun-activity-to-set-behavioural-norms/) [Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/fun-activity-to-set-behavioural-norms) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/how-to-set-behavioural-norms-in-the-classroom-full-value-communities/