65 lunch and learn topics your team will want to attend

Wellbeing lunch and learn topics

The easiest topics to fill a room with. Keep them practical: one habit people can try that afternoon.

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   1. How to avoid burnout. Spot the early signs and set up the habits that prevent it. Hosted: How To Avoid Burnout

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   2. Better sleep for busy people. Simple routines that improve sleep quality on work nights. Hosted: Sleep Strategies

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   3. Managing stress at work. Practical ways to handle pressure before it piles up. Hosted: Let's Stand Up to Stress

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   4. Healthy eating on a workday. Food choices that keep energy steady through the afternoon. Hosted: Healthy Eating

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   5. Meditation for beginners. A guided session and how to keep a five-minute practice going. Hosted: Meditation

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   6. Desk stretches and posture. Ten minutes of movement anyone can do in work clothes.

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   7. Starting a gratitude journal. A writing habit that takes three minutes a day. Hosted: Gratitude Journaling

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   8. Taming notifications. Settings and habits that win back focus time.

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   9. Talking about mental health at work. How to check in on a colleague, and where to point them for support.

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    10. Resilience when plans fall apart. Strategies to keep going through setbacks. Hosted: Power of Perseverance

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    11. Moving more during the workday. Walking meetings, standing breaks and step challenges that stick.

Career and professional development topics

Skills people want but rarely get trained on. These double as cheap professional development.

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   12. Time management that sticks. Beat procrastination and prioritize the work that matters. Hosted: Maximizing Time Management

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   13. Setting goals you'll actually reach. Smarter goals and how to stay motivated after week two. Hosted: Goal Setting & Goal Getting

3. 14

   14. Public speaking. Speak up in meetings and present with less nerves. Hosted: Speak Up! Public Speaking Workshop

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   15. Emotional intelligence at work. Handle hard moments with empathy and a cooler head. Hosted: Fostering Emotional Intelligence

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   16. Self-leadership. Take charge of your own goals and get past self-doubt. Hosted: The Art of Self-Leadership

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   17. Giving and receiving feedback. A simple script for feedback that lands well both ways.

7. 18

   18. Running better meetings. Agendas, timeboxes and how to end on time.

8. 19

   19. Writing clear emails and docs. Lead with the ask, cut the length in half.

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   20. Negotiation basics. Prepare, anchor and find the trade both sides want.

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    21. Your LinkedIn profile. A profile and headline that say what you actually do.

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    22. Getting comfortable with discomfort. Take on stretch work and set boundaries with confidence. Hosted: Get Comfy Outside Your Comfort Zone

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    23. Leading with vulnerability. How admitting what you don't know builds trust. Hosted: The Power Of Vulnerability

Money basics

Invite your benefits provider or a financial educator, and keep it to education rather than personal advice.

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   24. How your retirement match works. What the match is, vesting, and why it pays to enroll early.

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   25. Reading your benefits package. HSA, FSA, deductibles and copays in plain words.

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   26. Budgeting basics. A simple monthly budget that takes 20 minutes to set up.

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   27. Understanding your paycheck. Gross, net, withholding and every line in between.

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   28. Building an emergency fund. How much to aim for and where to keep it.

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   29. Paying down debt. The snowball and avalanche methods side by side.

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   30. Investing 101. Index funds, risk and how compound growth works.

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   31. Saving for a first home. Down payments, credit scores and the costs people forget.

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   32. Spotting scams and fraud. The tricks scammers use and how to check before you click.

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    33. Retirement planning at any age. What to focus on in your 20s, 40s and 60s.

Tech and tools topics

Short, hands-on sessions that save everyone time. Ask the person on your team everyone already asks for help.

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   34. AI tools at work. What they're good at, where they go wrong and what your policy allows.

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   35. Writing better AI prompts. Give context, show an example, ask for a format.

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   36. Spreadsheet shortcuts. The ten formulas and shortcuts that save the most time.

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   37. Cybersecurity basics. Phishing, passwords and two-factor login in 30 minutes.

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   38. Getting more out of Slack or Teams. Channels, statuses and notification settings that cut the noise.

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   39. Reading charts and data. How to tell a fair chart from a misleading one.

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   40. Managing your inbox. Filters, folders and a daily routine that keeps email in check.

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   41. Automating repetitive tasks. Templates, rules and simple automations anyone can set up.

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   42. Slides people remember. One idea per slide, big text, fewer bullets.

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    43. A power-user tour of your own tools. The features of your company's software nobody knows about.

Culture, inclusion and team topics

Sessions that help people understand each other and the company they work for.

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   44. Psychological safety. Build a team where people speak up and take smart risks. Hosted: Psychological Safety in the Workplace

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   45. Diversity, equity and inclusion basics. Shared language and principles for an inclusive workplace. Hosted: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Foundations

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   46. Allyship in practice. Everyday ways to support underrepresented colleagues. Hosted: Allyship in the Workplace

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   47. Equity vs. equality. The difference and what it means for how teams work. Hosted: Equity vs. Equality

5. 48

   48. Meet a team. One department explains what it does and how to work with it.

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   49. A customer in their own words. Invite a customer to talk about how they use your product.

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   50. Working across generations. Different habits and expectations, and how to bridge them.

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   51. Hybrid work habits. Norms that keep remote and office people on equal footing.

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   52. Sustainability at work and home. Small changes that cut waste without much effort. Hosted: Zero Waste Hacks: Tips & Tricks for a Sustainable Kitchen

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    53. The company story. A founder or long-timer on how the company got here.

Fun lunch and learn ideas

Not every session needs a business case. A fun one now and then keeps people coming back for the serious ones.

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   54. Coffee tasting 101. Taste blends side by side and learn what you actually like. Hosted: Coffee Tasting

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   55. Grow your own herbs. How to grow and care for herbs, and how to cook with them. Hosted: Herb Gardening

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   56. Composting at home. How to start, what goes in and what stays out. Hosted: Composting

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   57. Origami. Learn a few folds and leave with something on your desk. Hosted: Origami

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   58. Calligraphy and card making. Hand lettering basics and a card to send. Hosted: Card Decorating

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   59. Zero-waste cooking demo. A chef turns kitchen scraps into soup on camera. Hosted: Zero Waste Cooking

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   60. Improv basics. Games that make people quicker and funnier on their feet. Hosted: Improv

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   61. Your bucket list. Set the personal goals you keep putting off. Hosted: Bucket List Experience

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   62. Phone photography. Light, framing and editing for better photos tomorrow.

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    63. Plan a trip in an hour. A coworker who travels a lot shares how they plan.

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    64. Chess or board game strategy. Openings and tactics from the office's best player.

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    65. Teach me your hobby. Three employees, ten minutes each, on whatever they love.

How to run a lunch and learn

Six steps from picking a topic to the follow-up. The first and fourth decide your turnout.

1. 1Ask before you pick. Run a one-question poll with six topics from this list. The winner gets better turnout than anything you choose alone.
2. 2Keep it to 45 to 60 minutes. Five minutes to settle and get food, 30 to 40 minutes of content, 10 to 15 minutes of questions.
3. 3Pick the right speaker. An internal expert for tools and culture, your benefits provider for money topics, a professional facilitator for skills and wellbeing.
4. 4Promote it like an event. Send the invite two weeks out with a one-line promise of what people will learn, a reminder the day before, and ask managers to mention it.
5. 5Sort the food. Order in, cater or give a meal stipend. Ask about dietary needs in the invite, and make sure the food arrives before the speaker starts.
6. 6Leave something behind. Share a one-page summary or the recording (with the speaker's permission) so people who missed it still get the value.

Lunch and learn ideas beyond a talk

• Talk and Q&A: one speaker, one topic, plenty of questions.
• Panel: three people with different views on one topic, with a moderator.
• Hands-on workshop: everyone makes or practices something, from a spreadsheet to a terrarium.
• Skill swap: three employees teach something in ten minutes each.
• Book or article club: everyone reads one short piece and discusses it over lunch.

Running a virtual lunch and learn

• Send a meal stipend or delivery credit the day before, so lunch is ready when the session starts.
• Keep it to 45 minutes. Attention drops faster on screen than in a room.
• Make cameras optional, since people are eating.
• Take questions in the chat and use a poll or two to keep people involved.
• Rotate the time slot so other time zones get a lunchtime session too.

Want an expert to run it?

Our hosted lunch and learn workshops run 60 minutes with a live facilitator on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request). You handle lunch, we handle the session. Book about 2 weeks ahead.

Planning a series? See virtual wellness sessions, mental health workshops and DEI workshops, or get a free quote for a year of sessions. Kit workshops like Herb Gardening ship a box to every person, so book those about 3 weeks ahead.