Social Butterfly Badge

The Social Butterfly badge s part of the “It's Your Story - Tell It!” badge set introduced in 2011.

When a Girl Scout Junior earned this badge, she will know how to act at many types of events, from picnics to weddings to parties.

Step 1: Hold a conversation

It’s easy to have a conversation with your best friend, but what about people you don’t know well?  Conversation skills will help you in your job one day and make you seem more open to new friends!  Try one of these to help you have conversations with ease. 

CHOICES – DO ONE:

• Practice conversation starters.  First, make a list of 10 great questions to start a conversation.  Think about the different situations you might have: with one new person, a group of new people, or an adult friend of your parents’. Then, role-play with your questions to practice starting and continuing a conversation.

FOR MORE FUN: Make a list of the questions to keep in your backpack, so you can look over them when you’re around new people.

OR

• Invite an expert to come talk about conversations. Some people specialize in helping talk to one another.  Ask a psychologist, motivational speaker, life coach or other knowledgeable person to show you how to introduce yourself and begin a conversation in different situations.

OR

• Make a poster with 10 conversation tips. Look in books, online, or in magazines. Remember, body language is an important part of conversations, too.  Some of your tips can be smiling and other friendly gestures that can help everyone feel at east. Then, hang your poster in a good sharing place.

Tip: One of the best conversation starts is a smile! Looking welcoming and friendly puts others at east so they feel comfortable talking with you.

Charming persons are almost never self-centered, but have wide interests in persons and things and can forget about themselves. -Girl Scout Handbook, 1933

More to EXPLORE Introduce others to the conversation.  Practice introducing newcomers to a conversation so everyone feels welcome, as Juniors did to earn their Hospitality badge in 1963.  How would you start a conversation between your volunteer or teacher and your parents or with a new girl and your group? What are some good topics about which everyone can chat?

Step 2: Use table manners

Manners can be important at mealtime.  Practice feeling at ease at the table with one of these activities.

CHOICES – DO ONE:

• Brainstorm five things not to do at the table.  For each one, list a good substitution.  Here’s one to start you off:  “Don’t criticize the food!  Instead, find something you like about it.”  Pick three good table manners from your list to practice in the next two weeks.

OR

• Set the table. Find out where silverware, glasses, napkins, and plates go. Make paper “reminder” place mats that show outlines where everything should go – one for a formal dinner, and one for a casual meal.  You might make the place mats from fabric and trace your “cheat sheet” on the back! Then, try setting the table for a week.

OR

• Study table manners from other countries. In the United States, many people use a fork, and knife to eat, but in other places, it’s more common to use chopsticks or eat with your hands.  Learn about mealtime customs from another culture, then, have a meal using manners from that place.

Table Manners Around the World

You may know how to be polite at your own table, or at a friend’s house, but what about in a different country? Every culture has its own rules for meals!  South Americasconsider it rude to squash food, but it’s perfectly polite to mush things like peas and corn onto your fork in Great Britain. It is acceptableto slurp your noodles in Japan– it’s even considered a sign of respect to the cook.  In France,many people eat pizza with a knife and fork. In Korea,you should wait for the oldest person or people to lift their spoons or chopsticks before you start.  It is also best to eat at the same pace as everyone else.

Step 3: Be prepared for special occasions

Special occasions all have their own rituals.  When you know what they are, you know how to act!  Choose one occasion and find out the answers to the questions in the box below.

CHOICES – DO ONE:

•  Wedding. 

OR

• Funeral or wake.

OR

• Coming-of-age ceremony,like a bat mitzvah, confirmation, or a quinceanera.

More to EXPLORE: Pretend you’re a Girl Scout from 1963.  Have a “style show” with your Junior group.  Dress up for one of the events in this step and explain why you chose that outfit.  As girls earning their Good Grooming badge did, discuss “the importance of good grooming, posture, and appropriateness of clothing.”

Special Occasion Questions

• Why is the ceremony held?
• What important rituals are in the ceremony?
• How should you dress?
• What’s one helpful skill you should know before attending?
• When is the occasion usually held?
• Is there something that is especially nice to say (or wish to) the host or guest(s) of honor?

Step 4: Say thank you

When you receive a gift or are invited somewhere, it’s good manners to say thank you. There are other times when thanking someone is less obvious, but just as important!

CHOICES – DO ONE:

• Thank the host.  When someone has invited you over for a dinner or a party, find the host before you leave and say thanks.  Tell them what you most enjoyed. Practice in a role-play or skit.

FOR MORE FUN:  In many places, gifts are given to the host of a party as a thank-you. Find some examples and make a host gift of your own.

OR

• Handwrite a thank-you note.Kind words written by hand show you took time to share your thanks.  Handwrite three thank-you notes in the next month.  (You might even make your own note card!)  Include why you are thankful.  If it’s for a gift, tell the giver how you use it, or your favorite thing about it.

OR

• Make a thank-you gift.  The next time you feel really thankful to someone, give a thank-you gift, like a bouquet of flowers, a drawing of a bag of trail mix.  Gifts you make yourself often have the most meaning.  Think about thanking people who help you every day, like your crossing guard or a teacher.  Or, thank someone for a smaller gesture, like making your feel comfortable in a new situation.

Say “Thank You” Around  the World

FRENCH                     Merci                                     (mehr-see)

DANISH                      Tak                                            (tahg)

SPANISH                    Gracias                                 (grah-cee-yas)

ITALIAN                      Grazie                                    (gra-see)

JAPANESE                  Domo                                    (doe-moe)

MANDARINChina   Xie xie                       (syeh-syeh)

HINDII  India             Shukriya                            (shoe-kree-a)

ARABIC                       Shukran                             (shoe-krahn)

SWAHILI            Asante                     (ah-sahn-the)

East and Central Africa

HAWAIIAN                 Mahalo                                (mah-hah-loh)

TAGALOG           Salamat                    (sa-la-mat)

Phillipines

Step 5: Practice being at ease

Hold a party to practice all you’ve learned.  Invite people with whom you aren’t that close so you can really practice being at ease.  Make introductions, make conversation, show good table manners, and thank guests for coming.  Pick a group to invite from the list below, and start partying! 

CHOICES – DO ONE:

• Other Girl Scouts.  Grow your skills by inviting younger and older girls.

OR

• Your friends and their parents.Make a point of chatting with some adults!

OR

• Everyone in your class.Think about classmates you don’t know very well and come up with some conversation starters ahead of time.

More to EXPLORE: Make it a dance party.  Girls earning their Social Dancer badge in 1963 had to “develop some ideas for getting a dance party off to a quick start, be able to teach an icebreaker, and know several ways to help guests mingle.” Try these skills yourself!