If we’re completely honest, no one loves training. At least, no one loves the idea of training. When we hear the word ‘training’ we are transported back to school days.Endless hours sat at a desk with a boring teacher dictating at the front of the classroom. Very rarely does the word ‘training’ inspire or motivate people.

That being said, undertaking a training course is one of the best ways to up skill employees and work on self-development. This can mean career progression, or an improved quality of life for many who do it.

For those who are most likely to need your training courses, it is important for them to have the motivation to do it. Without motivation, it doesn’t matter how many courses they go on, learning just will not happen no matter how good the course is.

That’s where the Lunch & Learn comes in.

What’s a Lunch & Learn?

The clue is in the name. It’s a mini training course or development event that has been scheduled to fit into the attendee’s lunch break.

These short sessions are, typically, informal and less structured than ‘traditional’ training courses. And for that reason, content is captivating and learning activities lend themselves well to short bursts to allow for engagement and retention.

In short, hosting a Lunch & Learn gives you the opportunity to give individuals a taste of what you have to offer, and have them coming back for more.

Here are some top tips for starting a Lunch & Learn to drum up interest in your courses:

1. Choose interesting, relevant topics

This will depend on where you are holding your Lunch & Learn and who will be attending, but the key is to choose a topic that can be easily covered in 30-45 minutes and that will captivate the interest of your audience

2.  Establish learning objectives for each topic

Just like your full-length training courses, it’s so important to set out clear learning objectives for you Lunch & Learn. Attendees want to know what they will walk away having learned, and objectives do that in short bite-size sentences.

3. Provide Food and Drink

If people are giving up their time to attend one of your courses, they’ll appreciate refreshments. Not only that, but we learn better when we are well fed and comfortable. By meeting these basic needs at your venue, they’ll be comfortable and ready to learn – not wondering where they’re going to get their lunch from.

4. Ask for feedback

Getting feedback on your Lunch & Learn will help you to plan sessions moving forward and may even help you to improve on your existing courses! Not only that but asking for feedback is a perfect opportunity to collect contact information for people who may be interested in your courses. With their permission, you could add them to your mailing list, so they can hear about your courses in the future.

5. Offer Discounts

Offer discounts to attendees of your Lunch & Learn. This could be in exchange for their contact information, or just through attending – and make sure you have lots of business cards to hand and links to your social media and websites to encourage engagement beyond your session.

Whether you hold your Lunch & Learn at a library or community center, at your own offices, or at your client’s workplace, it’s important that they are offered for FREE and attendance is voluntary. This may be a scary thought, however the return on investment has a lot of potential for your training business. By holding these free sessions, you are putting yourself in front of an audience with very little investment from them (other than giving up their free time). If they choose to attend, even if they have just a passing interest in the course you have to offer, it’s a fantastic opportunity to get them involved and drive sales to your business in the future!