The next-chapter keynote
A practical talk about the life behind the numbers, everyday habits and taking one useful next step.
- Planning range: 30–45 minutes
- Optional audience questions
- For conferences, teams and community events
Speaking · Formats & Planning
Lunch and Learn Money Sessions
Compare a short meal-time learning format with a focused question, realistic transitions and a private way to participate.
How booking worksThree simple steps.
Three simple steps.
No pressure.
Planning an assembly, staff training or community night? Start with a few details and Eric will take it from there.
- Tell Eric about your people
Who’s coming, roughly how many, date ideas and what you hope they take away.
- Talk it through
Eric follows up to discuss fit, format and the details of your event.
- No commitment yet
A request starts the conversation. It doesn’t confirm a booking or a fee.
Turn it up. Take the next step.Make the room
Make the room
count.
Schools, teams and community groups. Bring Eric’s practical money and life conversation to the people you want to encourage.
Promotional slideshow with illustrative scenes. The song is performed by a separate singer, not Eric.
Download the vertical video ↓Read the words
Give your people a reason to move.
From the classroom floor to the working crew,
Everybody needs a next step they can use.
Talk about money, talk about life,
Turn a good intention into something you write.
Bring Eric in, get the whole room thinking,
Less drifting, more doing, start building.
Book Eric to speak, make the next move count.
Put a plan in their hands, turn the volume up loud.
Schools, teams, communities too,
A practical conversation made for your crew.
Bring Eric in, let the next chapter begin!
Hire Eric to speak.
Tell him about your event.
Choose a starting formatThe right conversation.
The right conversation.
For your room.
Three ways to begin planning. Eric confirms the topic, length, delivery and fit for your audience.
The practical workshop
Examples, reflection and selected exercises that help participants connect a lesson to their own questions.
- Planning range: 60–90 minutes
- Private writing and guided discussion
- For classes, employee groups and learning programs
Book to conversation
A facilitated conversation around selected themes from The Life Manual, with room to reflect and ask questions.
- Planning range: 45–60 minutes
- Flexible discussion prompts
- For book clubs, libraries, teams and smaller groups
Something you can forward
Download the planner kit ↓Make the planning conversation easier.
Eric’s bio, format ideas, a planning brief and a practical room checklist—in one event-planner kit.
Give the short session a narrow purpose
A lunch-and-learn format combines an educational conversation with a period people may also need for food, rest, or an informal break. Its value depends on a focused purpose and realistic expectations about attention. Choose one question the session should help participants understand. A brief introduction to comparing recurring commitments may fit differently from a task requiring sustained written work. The format label does not create extra time. An organizer should identify what can reasonably be introduced, considered, and closed within the usable portion of the gathering.
This guide supports an inquiry to Eric Guillory about a short meal-time arrangement. It does not confirm that such a session is available or included in an existing program. Eric is an author, entrepreneur, and financial educator. Describe the group, the intended learning question, and the actual timing conditions. Then discuss whether the format could fit, what scope is appropriate, and what would need confirmation. The inquiry does not establish individual advice, a booking, a price, or a promise that attendance will change personal financial behavior.
Count the usable learning time
The scheduled break may include food distribution, movement, announcements, late arrivals, and preparation to return to work. Those activities should be part of the planning picture. Tell Eric how the period is actually used rather than giving only the calendar slot. A session advertised as a certain length may have much less time for explanation and questions. Identifying that difference early helps an organizer compare a short presentation with another format instead of compressing a workshop into a period that cannot support it.
Ask what must happen before the educational thread begins and what signals the ending. If participants leave in stages, a closing question may need to occur before the final minute. If food arrives after the start, the introduction should not depend on everyone looking at a detailed visual at that moment. These are matters to discuss, not a predetermined agenda. They make the practical conditions visible and help avoid a plan whose success depends on uninterrupted attention that the setting is unlikely to provide.
Choose one idea with a clear example
A short format benefits from a single central distinction that can be explained plainly. For instance, an invented example might distinguish a one-time purchase from an ongoing commitment, or a date worked from a date paid. The exact subject should follow the audience's learning need. Avoid treating the short slot as a survey of every money topic. A large list can leave people with familiar words but little opportunity to understand how one useful idea applies to a decision.
The example should stand on its own for someone arriving with no prior reading. State the relevant facts and identify what the example does not establish. Use invented information rather than a real participant's accounts or an employer-specific financial document. A brief session leaves limited room to correct assumptions once personal detail enters the discussion. A complete fictional case offers a shared reference and makes it easier to return to the learning question when conversation drifts toward individual circumstances beyond the agreed scope.
Design participation around the setting
Eating, listening, writing, and looking at a screen compete for attention. An organizer can describe whether participants will have table space, whether food is served during the session, and how much movement is expected. A quiet question or a simple comparison may be more suitable than a complex worksheet in some settings. The point is to select a participation method that people can actually use. Do not assume that a task becomes accessible merely because a sheet or digital link is supplied.
Offer an option to observe the fictional example without speaking. A participant may be using the break to manage other needs or may prefer not to talk about money in a workplace setting. Written general questions can be useful if there is a clear way to collect and handle them. Avoid asking for public reports of debt, savings, purchases, or family responsibilities. The event can invite attention and curiosity while making clear that personal disclosure is unnecessary and that an attendee can keep a reflection private.
Consider shift patterns and access fairly
A lunch-time event may be easier for some employees to attend than others. Tell Eric whether the audience shares one schedule, whether some people will join remotely, or whether participation is spread across locations. These conditions can affect the proposed arrangement. Do not present one meal-time session as equal access for everyone unless that has been established in the actual setting. The inquiry can describe the access problem without assuming that repeat sessions, recordings, or alternative delivery are available or included.
If an organization is considering another opportunity for people who cannot attend, confirm the scope and materials before announcing it. A recording is a separate question from live participation, with its own permissions and practical conditions. A summary resource also needs confirmation rather than being promised automatically. Organizers can keep the initial learning task simple enough to explain consistently across any later agreed arrangement. That preserves a useful educational focus while recognizing that access depends on more than placing an event invitation on a shared calendar.
Keep questions appropriate for a brief group conversation
A short question period needs a clear purpose. Invite questions about the central idea, the supplied example, or where an explanation remained unclear. A request about a personal investment, tax situation, legal obligation, or account problem may need a separate appropriate professional setting. A speaking inquiry does not create that relationship. The organizer should plan a respectful way to redirect those matters without inviting more sensitive detail in front of colleagues. Limited time is another reason to define the boundary before the event begins.
Do not promise that all written questions will receive personal follow-up. Instead, discuss how general questions will be handled within the agreed scope. If a question reveals that the subject needs more time, that observation can inform a later inquiry about another format. It does not mean the lunch session has failed. A useful short conversation can make the next learning need clearer. The organizer can evaluate whether the intended introduction worked while keeping individual recommendations and ongoing support outside claims that this page does not establish.
Leave one usable next inquiry
A short session can close with a simple prompt participants keep. They might identify one term they want explained, one assumption to check, or one ordinary pattern they would like to understand better. The prompt should connect directly to the central idea. Avoid ending with a large list of personal actions that were not discussed enough to be understood. A brief event can support a beginning without claiming that everyone is now prepared to implement a comprehensive financial plan or change a complex household arrangement.
Evaluation can be equally focused. A fictional question can check whether participants understood the distinction. Anonymous comments can address clarity, relevance, and whether the meal-time setting worked. Attendance alone cannot establish financial improvement or lasting behavior change. If shared reading is considered afterward, explain the connection and ask about group copies separately. The Life Manual may provide continuity, but book availability, timing, formats, and fulfillment require confirmation. The follow-up should remain proportionate to the small learning task the session actually attempted to support.
Describe the actual break before choosing the format
A practical inquiry gives Eric the audience, approximate size, proposed date, usable time, food and transition arrangements, setting, and intended learning question. Include access needs and whether anyone will be joining from another location. Explain what is fixed and what could change. If the purpose requires more practice than the short slot permits, say so. The discussion can then consider fit without assuming that a familiar event label can accommodate every educational objective or that a program is already confirmed.
The existing speaking form lets an organizer describe these conditions, while the book inquiry path can be used to ask about group copies where relevant. Keep the arrangements distinct until they are confirmed. A well-defined lunch-and-learn proposal offers one understandable idea, a complete example, a realistic participation option, and a modest closing question. That combination respects the short setting and the people attending it. It gives the conversation a practical purpose while leaving availability, materials, and engagement details to direct discussion with Eric.
Explore the format comparison guide, compare the audience planning guide, or describe your format question to Eric. You can also ask about group book copies.
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A better event.
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What should a lunch-and-learn focus on?
One understandable idea or question that fits the usable portion of a short meal-time gathering.
Does this page confirm availability?
No. Eric must confirm fit, timing, scope, materials, and engagement details directly.
Why distinguish the break from usable learning time?
Food, movement, announcements, arrivals, and return-to-work transitions can use part of the scheduled period.
Is a short slot suitable for a full workshop?
Only the actual task and available time can establish fit; the label does not create time for explanation, practice, and review.
What kind of example can work?
A complete fictional case connected to the central distinction, understandable without prior reading.
Must participants write while eating?
No. The participation method should reflect table space, meal arrangements, and the audience's needs.
Can someone listen without sharing a money story?
Yes. Personal financial disclosure is unnecessary for the proposed learning activity.
How should different shifts be considered?
Describe actual access conditions and confirm any additional arrangement before announcing it.
Are recordings or repeat sessions included automatically?
No. They require separate confirmation of scope, permission, and practical details.
What questions belong in the short discussion?
General clarification about the central idea and example; specialist personal questions need an appropriate separate setting.
What is a useful closing prompt?
One term to clarify, assumption to check, or ordinary pattern to understand, connected to the session's focus.
What should the initial inquiry include?
Audience, size, usable time, meal and transition arrangements, setting, access needs, and intended learning question.
Keep the momentum
Your next useful step.
Format selection
Choose a useful learning format
Compare delivery arrangements in relation to the task, audience, timing and participation needs.
Explore formatsA related format
New Employee Learning Programs
Compare a general money-learning contribution within onboarding, while keeping employer-specific instructions and personal decisions clearly separate.
Explore the formatBook discussion
A shared starting point for learning
Ask Eric about group copies of The Life Manual.
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