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  1. What are the requirements to become a Girl Talk Leader?

    A Girl Talk Leader must be a high school female between grades 9 and 12,
    who has read and agrees to all of the leader requirements listed in the
    Leadership Contract. A Girl Talk Leader should be confident that she will be a positive role model and community leader to every girl she will mentor. See Leader Expectations for more details.

  2. How much time is a leader expected to put into Girl Talk?

    A chapter leader should serve two to three hours per week. At least one hour should be spent preparing for the meeting. This includes planning the weekly lesson, making signs for girls’ lockers, calling members or doing a mass e-mail as a weekly reminder and/or writing cards/notes to girls congratulating them on an accomplishment. One hour of actual meeting time with the girls and about half an hour following up with individual girls.

  3. How do I run a meeting?

    Each Girl Talk Leader is responsible for the success of her chapter. Have fun and be creative. Don’t be afraid to mix things up a bit to keep the meetings new and interesting. Here are a few ways you can encourage meeting participation.

    • Place reminders on the girls' lockers or in the halls
    • Hold your chapter meeting outside
    • Invite a guest speaker you know the girls will really enjoy
    • Make the meeting’s lesson completely interactive

    A sample schedule from a typical meeting submitted by one of our Girl Talk chapters is outlined below. You don’t need to follow this exactly, but it gives you an idea of how to successfully plan and run a meeting. At this particular school, the Girl Talk chapter meetings are held from 3:15-4:15 on Wednesday afternoons.

    The day before the meeting – The Girl Talk Leader(s) meet after school and read all of the concerns placed in the anonymous question box that week. The leaders use this as a guide for the next day’s lesson, and decide who will lead the meeting. Every lesson is opened with a personal story/experience from a leader. After a brief run-through of the planned lesson, the leaders leave feeling extremely prepared for the next day’s Girl Talk meeting.

    • 3:15 - Girls start pouring in one by one. They eat snacks brought by a girl’s mom (this rotates each week) and socialize amongst themselves and the Girl Talk Leaders for 10-15 minutes.
    • 3:30 – The leader begins the lesson for the week. They usually open the lesson by playing a fun game known as an “ice breaker (1, 2, 3).” This allows the girls to laugh and get excited about today’s lesson.
    • 3:40 - The leader opens with a topic (usually one addressed through the anonymous question box) and then she shares a personal story reflecting that issue.
    • 3:45 – The group discusses the topic, always including the girls’ comments and asking them for their input. Together they come to a solution on how to handle a challenging situation. For example, if someone is spreading a rumor about a girl, how should she react?
    • 3:55 – They divide up into groups to discuss what they learned for the day. A leader is assigned to every group to lead the discussion. The older girls of the group, 8th graders for example, are encouraged to also participate and begin taking on a leadership role.
    • 4:10 - The leaders give the girls a challenge for the week (for example – T.H.I.N.K., which can be found in the Girl Talk handbook) and the next week they are encouraged to tell their stories of how they carried out the challenge. Then both leaders and girls are dismissed until next week!