Prepare
yourself for trial & error – even your best ideas can flop!
It can take a little while to
figure out the pulse of your group – what they are interested in, what they
want from Girl Talk, and what their comfort level is. So, with that in mind
keep things light and fun in the beginning so that you, as Advisors and Leaders,
can build your confidence with success along the way. Use lots of go-arounds as
ice breakers so that everyone gets a chance to talk and feel included right
from the start. Try not to go too deep too fast – get-to-know-you questions are
great in the early stages!
And, when you do try to dive into
bigger topics, go-around discussions are also great things to bust out when the
other activities you might have planned aren’t going well. Maybe you try to do
a meeting about body image and the girls just aren’t mentally there…have some questions
ready as a back-up plan! “What is something you love about yourself?” “If you
could go anywhere in the world and money was not an issue, where would you go?”
“What is your favorite holiday tradition?”
Prepare
WELL!
Here’s the real truth:
last-minute meeting planning looks last-minute. You have decided that Girl Talk
is an important thing for your community, so respect all those middle school
girls (and yourselves) enough to plan your meetings well. There are SO MANY
amazing resources available through the Leader Login, that everything you need
is right there and really will not take long to review and prepare for. Try to
get together (in person, or at least in person via online chat) with your
co-leaders for 10-15 minutes in the days leading up to your meeting to talk
through who will do what, who will bring what, and any other details you need
to take care of. You have a much better chance of attracting and retaining
middle school girls to your chapter if you make it worth it to them by planning
well.
Be patient…
Remember, even if only one girl
comes, you’re making a difference. Can you imagine how hard it would be to walk
into a room of high school girls by yourself? That girl needs you! So, don’t
get discouraged if it takes time to catch on!
And,
if no one shows up…
When confronted with that yucky
feeling that no one is coming, move on! Use that time to work with your
co-leaders on ideas for the future – how to promote meetings better, what
topics might be more enticing, and how your Advisor can help you. Seriously,
don’t get discouraged and keep this in mind:
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IDEAS!
And finally, here are some ideas
to consider trying as you promote and start your new Chapter!
·
Plan
something really fun for your first meeting and ADVERTISE that you’ll be doing
it. Fun ideas include: cupcake decorating, spa day to paint nails, yoga day,
friendship bracelets, etc.
·
FOOD!
Food will keep them coming back J
·
Whether
you’re on the same campus or not, do something to draw attention to your new
club like have an information booth at lunch, visit homerooms to give an
in-person invitation to every girl, or create a catchy video and see if the
middle school will play it during morning announcements.
·
Find
out what the girls that come to your first meeting want to get out of Girl Talk.
They might be too nervous to say it out loud, so give everyone some Post-It
notes and invite them to write their ideas down and add it to a poster – see
photo below!
- Use journals! Either provide notebooks or ask the girls to have a “Girl Talk notebook.” You can sit around decorating them at a meeting and then give the girls journal prompts to answer. You can use this to do a go-around discussion if girls are comfortable sharing…sometimes it is easier to talk if you’ve had time to think and write first!
The keys to having a successful Chapter are having perseverance, patience, and planning. With these three tools, your Chapter will be awesome!
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