![]() Refrain from using a PowerPoint unless absolutely essential (e.g., the topic of the brown bag meeting requires images or a demonstration), and then only as a backdrop or reference point.Just be certain not to overload the event with "cronies" that take over and shut down real exchanges. If the leader is lacking in the subject matter expertise required to provide robust answers to questions, there's nothing wrong in asking an expert to participate. If a senior executive is leading the brown bag, make sure he or she is well versed in the topic, knows what the hot buttons might be, and is prepared to listen and invite questions, not just talk at the participants. Provide a topic or two, but not a formal agenda.Use your acquaintanceship, friendship or familiarity with the attendees to break the ice and reinforce the informality. If your brown bag meeting is going to be virtual, use video conferencing to enable "participants to share personal stories to foster a deeper sense of inclusion and understanding of one another," according to a Deloitte analysis. Try to sit at the same level around a table rather than use a podium or in some other way separate yourself from attendees. ![]() Keep the meeting informal so that people can feel comfortable asking questions, commenting and, yes, eating lunch.A presentation can be a valuable tool in a training session a speaker at a podium may be essential for a very large audience and a limited question/answer segment may be suitable for a complex talk. But when the brown bag meeting is designed to explore, share and address concerns during, say, a complex organizational change, intimacy and trust are critical. Following are a few tips to help achieve that: It's not that these elements are necessarily bad indeed, each has a place in a different type of meeting, even a brown bag. A controlled Question/Answer period stifles real discussion and learning. An unfamiliar face at a podium replaces the "lean in" feeling of colleagues exchanging ideas and knowledge over lunch. Death by PowerPoint smothers lively interchange. If brown bag meetings become overly structured, they lose their advantage. It lets you leverage informality to open hearts and minds. ![]() The brown bag meeting is a powerful tool for promoting two-way communication, especially important during a change effort. But what happens when this informality is hijacked? What happens when the give-and-take of the brown bag lunch meeting becomes indistinguishable from the one-way corporate meeting? More important, what steps can you take to keep that from happening? You’re supposed to be able to bite into your sandwich, slurp your soup and chew your celery while you listen, learn and talk. Whatever their purpose, their shared defining trait is informality. They serve as a forum for everything from training and information sharing to open discussion. Brown Bag or Sack meetings have been a staple in the business world since the 1960s, the earliest reference I could find. ![]()
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