Questions for the PNM's!
 

Hey everyone! This is my first thread so please don't bite ;) I am about to have my first recruitment on the other side in a couple days and I am really worried I am going to get a PNM like how I was; shy, quiet, soft-spoken. (it was bad then). I have started to make a list of "back-pocket" questions I can ask her if things get..awkward. Here's my list so far:

What would you contribute to Phi Sigma Sigma?
Do you consider yourself a leader?
What is your major?
How are you liking your classes so far?
What grade are you in?
Are you involved in any groups on campus, or were you involved in anything in High School?
What made you decide to join a sorority?
What would you consider your dream job?
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?
Are you living on campus?
Do you have any siblings?
How do you like rush so far?
Do you like doing Community Service?
What are you looking for in a sorority?
Do you want to Study Abroad?



Can anyone else think of some good questions that are easy to remember?

In my opinion, you should get rid of the questions in red. You're looking to befriend these women.. not ask them strange/difficult questions that may not lead to a good conversation. The questions I've highlighted sound way too rehearsed/memorized, and in some cases, they sound more like interview questions than "get to know you" questions.

You want to ask things that will lead to another question, and then another. It may sound strange, but ask questions based on things for which YOU would have a somewhat interesting answer. With a PNM who is shy or doesn't talk much, sometimes they feel more comfortable with someone else leading the conversation. If you ask what her major is, and she says, "History," and you ask her what she wants to do with her degree, and she says, "I don't know," you could respond by saying, "Not many people know.. I didn't know either.. and still don't! But you still have plenty of time to decide. So assuming money didn't matter, what would your dream job be?"

You may not want to start with "What's your dream job?" out of the blue. You need to start with general questions, and then lead into more specific ones.


ETA: I came across this article not too long ago which provides a simple trick to turning any boring/simple conversation into an interesting one. Try this!

http://www.phiredup.com/index.php?op...rdpress&p=2314

Great advice, ASTalumna. You don't want to ask things specific to Phi Sig until pref, anyway. Other question ideas:

What did you do this summer?
Do you like to read/Have you read any good books lately/what's your favorite book?
Did you have a job in H.S.? OMG, my job at Little Caesar's sucked...blah blah blah
Do you like to travel? Where is your favorite place you've ever visited? Where is your dream vacation spot?
What does your Dad do for a living? Ha! Just checking to see if you're paying attention. Do Not ask this!


Some conversations come from noticing things on the PNM, ie. great jewelry or outfit may lead to a discussion on shopping, or a cut short haircut may lead to a conversation about Miley Cyrus. Who knows.

"So, what made you consider recruitment?" (Be careful with your intonation with this statement, do not accent the YOU!)

"How are your classes so far? Anything interesting?"

"Wow, what (an) amazing (pin, earrings, bracelet, necklace, hair, clothes, etc) you have! Any story about it?"

"Susie Sister & I were discussing movies earlier - what type do you like? Do you have any favorites?" (Works with books, too)


By stating that you were discussing something with a sister earlier, you've established that you're not just drilling her with questions. Roll with it! Get comfortable, and remember that you'll be doing this for the rest of your life, in every social situation!

Wow thank you so much everyone! That is great advice! I start my recruitment tomorrow and I really appreciate the help! I'll take it to heart <3

Let us know how it goes!

I will frequently when I meet someone new say "tell me your life story in 10 seconds or less." it generally makes them chuckle and say something basic about themselves which is a good starting point from which to build a conversation. It's not about learning their life story; it's about getting them to talk about something they feel comfortable with. Asking a totally goofy question that they can't possibly get wrong might be an ice breaker. Just use it only as a conversation starter. If you were a fruit what would you be? might be a funny question to ask, but not after what would you do if you won a million dollars and whatever the 21st century version of "Beatles or Stones." Then you're just weird :)

During my recruitment, a girl asked me where I was from. Then she said, "So if you took me to [your hometown], what would we do?" I thought it was an interesting way to ask me about my interests!

We always did a neat activity in recruitment workshops to help you come up with conversation pieces if things are running dry...we had to think of a topic to talk about using the letters of our name. So my name is Carolyn...I'd have something like this:

C - College - how did you pick NCSU as a school?
A - Activities - what activities were you involved in in HS?
R - Rush - what made you decide to rush?
O - Orientation - how did freshman orientation go?
L - Live - where do you live? dorm? where's "home" - how do you feel being so close/far away?
Y - Youth - what are some favorite memories from your youth? family vacations, etc.?
N - News - Bring up a neutral current news topic (did you watch the VMAs? etc.)

Ha, if my FB feed is any indicator, the VMA's were not neutral this year.

LOL...no they were not!

My favorite resource for recruitment conversation, and any other conversation with strangers: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.
It's a quick, easy read. You can often find the books at used bookstores.
Full of extremely helpful info about how to talk to strangers, remember names, feel more comfortable in social situations etc.

Did I say it was fun and easy to read? Yes! I try to review the book every so often. I seem to have had a return attack of shyness as I've gotten older. It REALLY helps!

So I am finished with the first two days and I already have two rush crushes! I go back in today from noon until 8 pm for Skit Night(: I think I am most nervous about tonight just because everyone already knows about the philanthropy and I won't have that as a fall back question. Wish me luck!!

You should be getting more serious with the girls as you go through recruitment. More in depth, less superficial conversations are possible since you know the girls. If you read recruitment stories, PNMs LOVE when you remember things about them. Bring things up and tie it into other discussions.

LOL, glad you added that!:D

We all had a good laugh over here about the intonation advice!