Take Away

AWorkingMenu Any decisions about lunchtime learning obviously need to be consistent with the overall goals of the conference experi- ence. If you do choose to feedminds, be sure to coordinate your plans around the food service. For example, if you’re having a plat- ed lunch, allow time for the servers to take orders and start serv- ice before launching into the program.Also, pre-register/assess interest in the pro- gramin advance whenever possible, make it easy for lunch participants to find their tables, provide appropriate structure for the tables so peo- ple are able to engage quickly, andmake sure to schedule time for those who just want to socialize or decompress.

Leading Learning By Jeffrey Cufaude

Feed TheirMinds

Table topics are a staple for lunchtime conversation.Make the noon hour even more appetizing by implementingmore intentional ‘lunch and learns.’

Conference lunches can serve many pur- poses: tobuildcommunity andcreate connections among participants, to showcase exhibitors, or tofacilitate informal learning.Given participants’ increasing interest in getting themost out of every meetingmoment, youmaywant to design lunch as a significant learning opportunity.Here are a fewsimpleways to do so.

Rotating conversation hosts — Every

good table needs a host, but why stop with just one?Have hosts join a table for 10 to 15minutes of good conversation/Q&A, then rotate and repeat at anewtable.Possible hosts could include sessionpresenters informally speaking about their topic, resident peer experts you’ve selected who share theirpracticalknowledge,ororganizational leaders highlighting strategy and future efforts.

Showand tell—Instead of rotating hosts,

consider rotating product/tech demos or resource reviews. Pre-selected hostsmove from table to table for five to 10minutes of showand tell. This could be an exhibitor showcase high- lighting a new technology or resource of inter- est to your participants, or perhaps presenters drawn fromyour attendee ranks talking about a book,website, blog, or personworth follow- ing on Twitter. The shorter timeframe makes these rotations faster-paced, creating a higher level of energy and engagement.

Jeffrey Cufaude is a former higher- education administrator, meeting planner, and association executive. Currently he designs and presents high-impact learning experiences, including engaging conference keynotes and workshops. Learn more about his work atwww.idea architects.org or follow him atwww.twitter .com/jcufaude.

Trivia/knowledge bowl—If you’ve ever

played an in-flight game against fellow passen- gers, you knowhowmuch fun it can be to com- pete against others—even when you can’t see who you’re up against. Put this concept to use at lunch and create a simple trivia/quiz game using a tablet computer provided at each table.

Questions could be related to your organization, profession, or industry, drawn from your certi- fication exam, or inspired by the conference theme or content emphasis. If high-tech isn’t pos- sible, consider offering questions via a slide deck with a presenter announcing the answers.

Case studies/tweet responses—Focus

attention on common challenges by presenting tables with very short case studies to solve. Assignmultiple tables the same case to gainmore insights into possible solutions.Have tables tweet their responses and showthemin real timewith aTwitterwall, or flipchart themfor display and review during the afternoon break. Or create a series of short case-study–style questions and offer several possible responses for each.Use sim- ple cellphone polling programs such as Poll Everywhere for table or participant voting, and project responses in real time as part of a PowerPoint display.

Dine and discuss — A variation on tra-

ditional table topics, this format offers a shared piece of content as the catalyst for conversation. Possible content catalysts include books, arti- cles, blog posts, or TEDTalks.Content ismade available online prior to the conference, and participants select the table to discuss the con- tent they have already reviewed.

Buffet-line learning—Give people stand-

ing in line something to look at and talk about, such as posters on easels that share a quick fact, a powerful quote, a compelling question, or information about award winners and their accomplishments. Posters could be in the form of large signs on a floor easel or postcard/flyer size, displayed among the food selections.

ON_THE_WEB: Need more ideas? Check out the book Lunch and Learn: Creative and Easy-to-Use Activities for Teams and Work Groups for 25 completely designed 55-minute programs suitable for lunchtime learning: http://amzn.to/lunchandlearnideas.

ILLUSTRATION BY JEAN TUTTLE pcma convene September 2011 33