Home

A Good Leader Does This

  1. Come up with some ten questions about the book. There are plenty of book club discussion questions for just about any book you choose—especially bestsellers. Print them out and use them as a guide. But don’t feel like you have to stick with a script. Use the questions as a jumping off point for discussion.
  2. You probably won’t get to all the questions. The best questions usually lead to intense conversations. That’s what you want. Use your questions as a guide. Skip around; conversation might naturally flow to another question that isn’t necessarily next on your list. Know that you might make it through half of your questions on a good night. If it’s time to wrap things up and you still have a few things to talk about, ask if anyone else wants to stick around for a bit. Or send them home with some additional ideas to think about.
  3. Let others answer first. This isn’t class, and you’re not the teacher. Sure offer some background on the book and author, then yield the floor. Letting others answer first promotes conversation and helps everyone feel like their opinions matter.
  4. Pay attention to quiet people. Some people are naturally shy. You don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, but everyone’s opinion matters. Besides, a book group member, no matter how shy, wouldn’t be there if she didn’t want to participate in some way. Sometimes it’s hard to get a word in with a group of talkative people. Help out the quiet ones. Directing specific questions their way. Doing this lets the more talkative ones know it’s time to let someone else be heard.
  5. Stay on task. Book clubs are social outlets. As such they might tend toward off-topic conversation. A little is fine, but you want to remember that you’re all there to discuss the book. As a leader, it’s your job to keep discussion on the book.