The most important part of the conversation leader job is to make friends. This makes your job as a conversation leader different than that of a teacher because teachers have to maintain a certain distance as they must assign grades and enforce the rules of attendance. The conversation leader's prime objective is to make friends with all of the students in the group. These students need to feel comfortable about approaching you with the variety of problems that arise because they are learning a new language and coping with a new culture. For them, you are the main representative of American campus culture, and you must be prepared to help your students find the same success and enjoyment that you get from university life.
First impressions are very important.
This handbook is designed to help you plan your conversation groups to be interesting, fun, and useful to the students. The main idea is to care about your students and to be prepared. If the students see that you are unprepared or apathetic, you will lose them. Attendance is usually not required in conversation group. Students attend because they want to interact with native-speaking students and learn some of the less formal aspects of the English language as well as learn how to get by in America.