preparing for formal recruitment!

pinkangel · #1 11-24-2002, 11:30 AM

I was wondering if anyone had any creative and/or fun activites their chapters did to prepare for formal recruitment. We are having a workshop coming up, and I'm always looking for new ideas!

workshop activities for: songs, skits, conversation, and anything else you can think of!

Thanks so much for your help!

dphies00 · #2 11-24-2002, 07:15 PM

Hey --

Try to plan activities really far in advance. People forget how important that is. Also feed everyone - its a break from thinking about recruitment and then people can still spend time together and why they're in the chapter.

Also try to include everyone's opinions. As rush chair, me and our recruitment advisor always tried to remember that mostly everyone in the chapter had strong opinions about recruitment - they had all been through it in some way or another. We tried to plan for a lot of feedback time and, as I put it, "storytime." Everyone is always aware of what's going on with other chapter in your region and on your campus. It's fun to illustrate ideas when you refer to other ideas that have worked and backfired for other organization.

In addition to conversation workshops, we did a question workshop, a ritual rehersal, a fashion show (sisters dressed to show what they would wear for each day of recruitment), a ranking workshop (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR YOUNGER SISTERS!), and we ended with a candle pass.

Feel free to PM if you want more in depth ideas - also, I had my sisters fill out a survey analyzing the different workshops and activities, asking what they felt worked best. It helps when planning the next workshop!

aephi alum · #3 11-25-2002, 09:49 AM

We did a rush retreat every year - not a real "retreat", but a weekend where we spent both days, 10-6 or so, in a function room on campus, just preparing for rush.

For conversation skills, we paired off, with one person acting as the sister and the other as the PNM. The PNM often had some character flaw (shy, slutty, etc) that she had to act out.

A word of advice on songs: Don't practice the same one 50 times in a row. Our rush chair made us do that with one particular song, and I was sooo sick of it that it was all I could do not to run screaming from the room when we had to sing it during parties! Mix it up... if people aren't learning a particular song, revisit it later in the workshop.

We didn't do a fashion show, but everyone was told what to have on hand. We did dress checks during work week - we just showed the rush chair what we planned to wear, and were reminded to try everything on again to be sure it still fit.

Hope this helps

gazta02 · #4 12-01-2002, 11:52 PM

i agree with feeding people! have breakfast for the girls one morning..or you could also do recruitment care packages! put crackers, a drink, and some other goodies in there! those are wonderful...plus it puts everyone in a good mood at the beginning of workshop.
make sure you have activities planned in between conversation skills and other tedious things...minds tend to wander!

oceanphi01 · #5 12-02-2002, 09:18 AM

We do kinda the same thing as aephi alum. We have two formal recruitment retreats in the spring semester where we go over rules and themes for parties and how to talk to the new girls. Make sure you go over Panhellenic rules because not everyone knows them and it can cause major problems.

MoxieGrrl · #6 12-02-2002, 09:51 AM

We did most of the things that everyone else has posted, so while I don't have anything new to add in that aspect, here is one suggestion I do have - try to hold some of the workshops away from your chapter house. A change of scenery always helped everyone focus on the task & it was fun to get away for a while. That way, you don't have to worry about your workshop being interrupted by that sister who always brings her phone with her.

Good luck!!!!!!

pinkyphimu · #7 12-02-2002, 08:51 PM

end each session on a positive note....rush prep is stressful, so try and keep each member excited about the endless practices. have awards (best pnm - for the sister who was the best pnm during rotation practices; sister who smiled the most; sister without a voice after song practice....etc). have your spirit committee send notes to members during the week of rush. have each member write down their funniest memory from her rush experience (or something else) and read a few at the end of each practice. have each member write their name on a piece of paper and have everyone else write something nice about them. depending on how many sisters you have, you could do this over a few days or all at once.

this sounds simple, but it is absolutely the key......tell everyone what a great job they are doing. thank them for participating and doing their part. even if there are a few people who are slacking off, don't mention it to the group. i remember being told at the end of every rush practice one year that we weren't doing enough...it wasn't good enough yet, etc. and by the time rush came, we were all miserable!! and most of all....have fun!!

good luck