[ASTalumna06]

If sisters don't know things like the handshake, I have a very simple solution... read the ritual book.

And you definitely need to practice the ceremonies.

My chapter, at the beginning of each semester, would run through all of the ritual ceremonies after a business meeting so that everyone knew what they were required to do. This is especially important to do the semester after officer elections, as the people who used to perform parts of the ritual ceremony will no longer be doing it, and they will pass it on to the next person. And that person won’t have someone next to them to hold their hand. They’re on deck, and if they’ve never performed a part of a ritual ceremony before, and it gets handed to them 20 minutes beforehand, then naturally they’re going to be nervous, and generally, they won’t know what they’re doing.

Does your chapter have an advisor? If so, make sure they're attending the ritual ceremonies. If your chapter has specific questions about the ceremony that your advisor can’t answer, contact the next person up the chain. If you continue to practice ritual, but you feel some things still aren’t going well, contact any leadership consultants, or anyone else whose purpose it is to make sure that things in the chapter are being done properly.

And if you're a brand new chapter, I wouldn't be too worried about this right now. Granted, yes, you want ritual to go smoothly, and you want things to be done correctly, but unless people are completely clueless, and are unwilling to actually read the ritual book and take ceremonies seriously, I wouldn't start contacting all of HQ right now.