The potluck plan: group chat template
A ready Instagram DM-look chat for the group chat chaos gallery, nine messages and about 24 seconds as a video. Open it, change the words and export it as a labelled, fictional mock-up.
Preview in the Instagram DM look
Potluck: who brings what?
Salad.
Salad.
We cannot have two salads.
I will bring a different salad.
So will I.
Opal, how about dessert?
Ned, how about dessert?
We are bringing the same dessert, then.
The full script (9 messages)
The first four messages open on the Free plan; the rest need a paid plan.
The template: The potluck plan
Mae starts this one with "Potluck: who brings what?". After nine messages Ned has the last word, "We are bringing the same dessert, then.", which gives about 24 seconds on screen.
Pacing numbers: the longest bubble is message 9 at 7 words, the shortest is message 2. Three questions give the chat its back-and-forth. You can change any line or name once the sample is open in the editor.
Using it in the Instagram DM look
Give each person one habit. A character who always asks a question and one who always sends a single emoji are easy to follow in a fast scene. Switch on typing dots, read marks, reactions and an online status when you build the scene. Free accounts can use Instagram DM without paying. Keep every line under ten words except one. One long message is a joke; five are a wall. Instagram DM-style chats use rounded bubbles with a colour gradient for your side and a plain gray for theirs, and a round profile picture beside the other person.
What the Free plan shows
Four messages is the Free limit, so Mae's "We cannot have two salads." is where the preview stops. Paid plans carry the remaining five messages, up to "We are bringing the same dessert, then.", and allow more people in the scene.
Tips
- Give "I will bring a different salad." (message 5) an extra half second on screen.
- Leave Mae's "Potluck: who brings what?" alone on screen for a full second at the start.
- A 4:5 or square crop fits a long thread on a feed better than a tall phone video.
- Rewrite the last line, "We are bringing the same dessert, then.", in your own voice and mark the post as fiction.
- Swap Mae and Ned for two invented names of your own; shorter names make tighter bubbles on a phone.
Questions
Can I use The potluck plan on the Free plan?
Yes for the look, with limits. The Instagram DM look is on the Free plan, and the editor loads the first four of the nine messages and two people. The rest needs a paid plan. Exports on Free carry a visible ChatsRat watermark.
How long is The potluck plan as a video?
About 24 seconds at a comfortable reading pace, counting nine messages with a short beat between them. Add a second or two for the ending card.
Is this group chat chat a real conversation?
No. It is an invented chat between Mae, Ned and Opal, made as a mock-up. ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app, and look names describe a style only. Label what you publish as fiction.
Can I change the names and lines?
Yes. Open the template in the editor, replace any line or name and export your own version. Keep the characters invented, and keep the content free of real people and anything sexual.
This is fiction. The people in this template are invented. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.