How to Be a (Virtual) Badass Book Club Host
First, a great big “thank you!” for pulling all your badass friends and colleagues together for a virtual book club! Now more than ever, building connections to others is so important!
Here are a just a few suggestions to help you prepare for your meeting! If you have other ideas, suggestions or advice to offer to a new host, please send those to me at hello@badasswomensbookclub.com. – Gina
Picking the Book
Many a book club group has fallen apart over the book choice! (True story: I might have left a book club because I didn’t want to read “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”. I am not proud of that fact.)
Picking the right book is probably the most complicated decisions you’ll have to make as a host. For a new book club group just getting started, I recommend that you pick the first (and maybe even the first few) book(s). Need some ideas? Check out my Ultimate Badass Book Club Guide. All of the books on this list have been previous, Badass Women’s Book Club picks and they represent a variety of genres – fiction, nonfiction and memoir (surprisingly popular among our members!). And, best of all – the guide includes discussion questions for each book selection!
After the first few meetings you might want to consider more collaborative ways to select your book. Majority rules certainly works; you might also consider rotating the hosting duties and allowing each month’s host to select the book for that month.
Your group might also decide that they want a theme for your book club. At the Badass Women’s Book Club our books are always FOR badass women, BY badass women – meaning all women authors, women leads, and/or stories and advice about and for women. Some clubs focus only on thrillers, some on new releases, some solely read biographies. Allow your group space to create an identify that works for them and use that to guide your book selections.
And, if you ever feel like you need ideas for a book club pick, then check out my Badass Women’s Book Club Online Store – I have books grouped by category to make your searching easier!
Picking the Platform
There are several options for virtual connection – Facetime, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, to name a few. I have found the most success with Zoom – it’s very user-friendly, making it perfect for even those members who don’t feel confident using technology. I also think encouraging your members to use the video function is important as it really helps with engagement and connection. If you are very confident in your Zoom skills you can add music as people are entering and/or allow your members to break out into different rooms for smaller discussion groups. There’s even a cool add-in that lets you manage drawings and giveaways. The Zoom Help Center has lots of ideas and resources – you can check it out here.
Before the Meeting
Once you have picked your book, your platform and your date and your time, let your guests know so they will have enough time to buy the book and read it! I have found that having a set date, time and location helps with regular attendance. Along with the initial invitation, I have also found that it’s best if I send a reminder out 3-5 days before each meeting, too (yes, even when it’s a set day and time!).
When you send out the reminder expect to get responses from people that they haven’t had a chance to read the book. While reading the book is desired, encourage even those who haven’t read the book to come. If being around a group of excited, engaged and empowered women is what someone needs, then I think we would all agree we want them there! (Besides, it never fails in my meetings that the people who haven’t read the book have *almost* as much to share as those who have read it!)
During the Meeting
Connection before content! This is a good rule for in-person meetings, but I think it’s an absolute necessity for virtual meetings! Be sure to greet everyone as they arrive (a great way to check that all video cameras and mics are working!). Depending on the size of your group, you might want them to introduce themselves in the chat box, too. You can even start the chat discussion by posting an opening question (“What’s the best thing that happened to you this week?”).
Before we start the formal discussion, I like to give everyone a chance to introduce themselves to the group and to share something. My “go-to” share prompt is “Tell us something you are reading, watching or listening to”. That strategy is a win-win for me – it gives me great content for the Badass Women’s Book Club, and it gives me great ideas of books, shows and podcasts for my own personal enjoyment! (I will warn you – this part of the meeting is super popular! Sometimes we don’t even get to the book discussion until 30 or 40 minutes past the hour!)
I also like to start the formal part of the discussion with a “vote” – “What did you think of the book? Give me a thumbs up, thumbs down, somewhere in the middle.” This part almost always gets people laughing – especially when the vote is split or when you see someone trying to decide on their vote. I then let the thumbs up share what they liked and am also sure to let the thumbs down share, too. This strategy definitely works as an easy (and comfortable) way to get the formal discussion started.
As you’ll see from the discussion questions in my book guide, I try to keep them broad, to allow for a lot of open discussion. Don’t feel like you have to talk about every question, in the exact order presented. Usually I will get about 1-2 questions out and then it’s off to the races! If the group doesn't have a lot to say about a topic or doesn't seem interested in the question, move on to a question that gets them talking. Again, don’t feel pressured to cover every question on the list. You will just have to judge your audience and let them take you where they want to go.
The only challenge I want to make you aware of is the person who might try to dominate the conversation. Be mindful of that and – as delicately as possible – try to engage others who might not be sharing as much. If the problem persists, you may have to speak to that person outside of the meeting. As the facilitator of my book group, I am trying to be more mindful about “holding space” – giving just a few extra moments for others to contribute. Some people are more reflective and thoughtful and take a little longer to come forward with their thoughts. Try to give these guests the space and time to do that.
After the meeting
I usually do a short, wrap-up email the next day (sometimes a few days later!), sharing the book, show and podcast recommendations that came up during the meeting. And I send it to the full member list – not just the ones who were there that night. I also take the opportunity to share the title of the book for the next month.
If you are interested in joining the Badass Women’s Book Club host list - you’ll get a link to our book and discussion questions sent to your inbox every month - just check out all the info here.
If you take pictures of your virtual meeting, please post them on Instagram and tag @badasswomensbookclub. I love to see women connecting and reading!
Looking for books and gifts for you and the badass women in your life? Visit our Badass Women’s Book Club Online Store! I do earn a small commission from sales made from this site (and the links above!) – so thank you in advance for your support!