How Do You Make Brown Bag Sessions Interesting?

Brown bag sessions are an excellent method to ease into public speaking. 

They’re essentially a group meal, with one of you giving a short discussion on a topic of choice.

These sessions are simple to run and usually last only a few minutes, making it less tasking on both you and the folks you’re speaking with.

It is common for hesitant speakers who want to learn how to speak in public to begin small before taking the bull by the horns. 

Brown bags are typically served in small groups before expanding to groups of 20-30 people in a single sitting.

A brief presentation or seminar on a certain topic is typically shown during lunchtime. 

This type of meeting does not have to take place during the lunch hour; it might take place during the workday or after hours. 

Typically, they take place in conference rooms. Lunch and learn sessions are another name for these gatherings.

Read also:  What Is A Virtual Brown Bag

How Do You Make Brown Bag Sessions Interesting? – Steps

One of the important things is to make it interactive. 

This isn’t a lecture with clinking silverware and chewing. 

Use YouTube videos, music, games, and other media to keep people interested and focused on learning as well as food. 

Find movie clips that exemplify the sales and negotiation abilities you want customers to remember and implement, with a few amusing not-to-dos thrown in for good measure. 

Interactivity keeps people interested and encourages them to return. 

Remember that you’re asking your employees to give up their lunch break, whether the focus is on life skills, team development, or business goals. 

They’ll be encouraged by good food, but there’s more to a successful lunch and learn than free pizza!

As a result, make sure your event is worthwhile, relevant, and engaging. People will gladly attend if the topic is interesting. 

For ideas, inquire about what matters to your employees both at and outside of work, as well as what they want or need to learn.

Lunch and learns are frequently held in areas that are outfitted for eating – such as canteens, atriums, and breakout spaces.

However, because they are susceptible to noise and disruptions, conference and meeting rooms should also be considered. 

These are more likely to have projection capabilities and easier access to electrical outlets.

You might host your lunch and learn away from the office. If that’s the case, do your homework and double-check your reservation well ahead of time.

Read also:  How To Use A Brown Bag Lunch For Internal Training

Step-By-Step Procedure

Set A Date And Decide On A Topic And Speaker

Because a brown bag lunch is as much about discussion as it is about content, I think it’s a good idea to set a date and decide on a topic and presenter ahead of time. 

This puts a lot of pressure on the presenter to have time to prepare their content and not worry about it being “perfect.”

Give everyone a chance to speak; try to avoid having the same individual speak over and over again. 

A space near your team wall where individuals may propose subjects they’d want to hear or present is a terrific way to generating ideas.

Don’t Put A Limit On The Number Of People

Avoid the temptation to make a brown bag lunch just for programmers, business analysts, or other professionals. 

Even if the topic is geared toward programmers or testers, it’s a good idea to aim for making your content engaging enough to appeal to the programmer or tester in everyone.

You don’t have to limit yourself to content that is directly related to your job

As information that is directly relevant to work is beneficial in terms of gaining buy-in, it is also beneficial to present content that is only vaguely related to what people are working on. 

You could, for example, give a brown bag on distributed version control systems like Git to a team that is only familiar with centralized version control systems like Subversion or TFS.

You may even have one that isn’t related to the business if you have a couple of brief presentations during a single brown bag lunch. 

Of course, this is a little risky, but it may also be enjoyable.

Lunch Should Be Provided

When considering what to bring, think about what you’d bring to a barbecue, a picnic lunch, or when you’re making sandwiches ahead of time. 

To avoid bringing your brown-bag lunch to work, choose low-mess items. 

A leaking, juicy tomato salad is a nightmare waiting to happen. Reheating your favorite cheese dip in the microwave is simple.

Ascertain That Everyone Is Acquainted

Start with a fast icebreaker when you go around the room and have everyone identify themselves if you have a new team of folks from different places who don’t know each other. 

Name, role, fun fact, and some random nugget, such as ‘my biggest fear’ or ‘what I’m looking forward to’, is usually how you go about it.

Make Certain That Everyone Leaves With Something

‘What do you expect to get out of today’s session?’ follow up the impromptu speech with a question to the audience. 

The presenter brings a bunch of Post-it notes and sharpies with me, and he or she has everyone write down a few things they want to get out of the session and tape them to the wall. 

The presenter reads out each aim ten minutes before the session ends and ensures that each one has been met with whoever authored it. 

If something was left out, it can be discussed, or it could even be the subject of a future brown bag.

There have been a number of great goals, ranging from “learn more about automated mobile testing” to “have a good lunch with my coworkers.”

Always Allow Enough Time For Discussion

A brown bag seminar’s discussion is just as vital as its substance. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to talk about what you’ve just seen.

FAQs

Conclusion

The suggestions above aren’t restricted to the things you can do; you know your employees or colleagues better than anyone else, and therefore you know how to make brown bag sessions interesting for them all.

Try out these steps, key ideas, and also yours to do better.