Using breakout rooms in online meetings

Online meetings have become an essential part of how businesses communicate, collaborate, and solve problems. Yet, despite the tools that make virtual communication possible, one aspect often lacking in these meetings is the ability to break down larger discussions into smaller, more focused groups. That's where breakout rooms come in.

With breakout rooms, you can divide participants into smaller groups to discuss specific topics or complete tasks, making your meetings more dynamic and interactive. In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about using breakout rooms in online meetings.

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What are Breakout Rooms?

Breakout rooms are smaller, separate virtual rooms within a larger online meeting. These rooms allow meeting hosts to divide participants into smaller groups, making it easier for them to discuss specific topics or complete tasks. Breakout rooms are designed to mimic the dynamic of in-person group discussions while maintaining the benefits of a virtual meeting environment.

Using breakout rooms can significantly improve collaboration, boost engagement, and allow participants to feel more comfortable contributing. These rooms are particularly useful during workshops, training sessions, and collaborative meetings where different groups need to work on different aspects of the agenda.

Let’s dive into what you’ll need to get started with breakout rooms.

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Requirements and Initial Setup

Before you can use breakout rooms effectively in an online meeting, you will need to follow some basic requirements and setup steps.

What You Need:

• Video Conferencing Platform: Ensure that your platform supports breakout rooms. Hubilo, for example, allows for easy creation and management of breakout rooms during your virtual events.
• Host Permissions: As the host or organizer, you will need administrative rights to create and manage breakout rooms.
• Sufficient Time: Make sure you allocate enough time to explain the breakout room process to participants and provide clear instructions.

Setting Up Breakout Rooms:

Once you’ve checked the above requirements, it’s time to start setting up. Depending on the platform you're using, you will generally need to:

• Navigate to the meeting or event setup area and find the breakout room option.
• Choose how many rooms you need based on the number of participants.
• Set up room options, such as whether participants will be automatically assigned or manually assigned.

Now that your rooms are set up, let’s look at the process of creating and managing them during the meeting.

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Creating and Managing Breakout Rooms

Creating and managing breakout rooms during a meeting is a straightforward process, but it requires some attention to detail to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Creating Breakout Rooms:

Most platforms, including Hubilo, allow you to create breakout rooms manually or automatically. If you choose automatic assignment, the system will divide participants into rooms based on the number you specify. This is a great option for meetings where participants don't need to be grouped by specific criteria.

However, if you want to control who is in each room, you can manually assign participants. This is useful for targeted discussions where you want to group specific people based on their expertise or role.

Managing Breakout Rooms:

Once the breakout rooms are created, you, as the host, can monitor them in real time. In many cases, you can join any room to observe discussions, provide guidance, or answer questions. You can also send announcements to all rooms or move participants between rooms if needed.

Managing breakout rooms requires a certain level of flexibility. Keeping track of which room needs attention and ensuring that all participants are engaged is key to running an efficient meeting.

Breakout rooms are essential for fostering meaningful discussions, but understanding how to assign and move participants between rooms is the next important step. Let’s explore that.

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Assigning and Moving Participants

Managing participants in breakout rooms is one of the most important aspects of making the most of these virtual spaces. The goal is to ensure that each room has the right mix of people for productive discussions.

Assigning Participants:

When assigning participants in breakout rooms, you can let the application assign people randomly or do it manually. If you are manually assigning, match the experience, subject, and so on of each participant to a group accordingly.

Moving Participants:

Sometimes, as discussions unfold, it might make sense to shuffle participants between rooms. This flexibility can be especially useful in collaborative settings or when certain participants are needed in different groups. Platforms like Hubilo allow you to move participants between rooms with a simple click.

With participants assigned and in their rooms, let’s now look at how to foster interaction and collaboration within these rooms.

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Participant Interaction within Breakout Rooms

One of the main reasons breakout rooms are so effective is that they encourage more interaction among participants. With fewer people in each room, everyone has a chance to speak and contribute, which can lead to better outcomes.

Encouraging Engagement:

To keep participants engaged, consider using tools like live polls, Q&A sessions, and virtual whiteboards within the breakout rooms. These tools provide interactive ways for attendees to share their ideas, vote on key points, or collaborate visually.

Facilitating Collaboration:

Encourage each group to designate a leader or facilitator who can guide the discussion and ensure everyone has a chance to contribute. With a focused approach and a clear agenda, the discussions will stay on track and achieve the desired outcomes.

Breakout rooms foster a collaborative environment, but it’s important to manage them effectively as they progress. Let’s move on to how to handle breakout rooms during the meeting.

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Managing Breakout Rooms in Progress

When your breakout room is up and running, it's absolutely necessary to manage them in real-time to keep the meeting on track. You need to make sure participants are keeping to the point, discussions are advancing, and the rooms are fulfilling their function.

Monitoring Breakout Rooms:

Most video conferencing platforms allow hosts to join any breakout room at any time. This is your opportunity to check on the progress, help answer questions, and guide the discussions if needed. You can also use this time to switch up group members or make adjustments based on the needs of the session.

Sending Announcements:

It’s important to keep participants informed. Use announcements to remind them of time limits, share key updates, or provide guidance for the next steps in the session. This will help keep everyone focused and aligned.

Now that you’ve managed the rooms during the session, it’s time to bring everything to a close. Let’s talk about how to end breakout rooms and bring participants back to the main session.

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Ending and Returning from Breakout Rooms

Ending breakout rooms is the final step in the process. As the host, you need to ensure that all participants are brought back into the main meeting and that the transition is smooth.

Closing Breakout Rooms:

Many platforms provide the host with an option to close all breakout rooms simultaneously. This means that participants will automatically return to the main session, where you can continue with the next portion of your meeting.

Post-Breakout Follow-Up:

Once everyone has returned, take a few moments to gather feedback, share any insights from the breakout sessions, and allow groups to report back on their discussions. This ensures that the breakout rooms have had an impact and that the information is shared with everyone.

With the breakout rooms successfully concluded, the meeting can move forward with a collaborative and informed atmosphere.

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Conclusion

Breakout rooms are a powerful tool for enhancing online meetings, offering the ability to split large groups into smaller sessions. With tools like Hubilo’s platform, managing and utilizing breakout rooms becomes seamless and efficient. From easy setup to real-time management and interactive tools, Hubilo ensures that your online meetings are more than just a passive experience.

Ready to improve your online meetings with breakout rooms? Explore how Hubilo can help you create, manage, and enhance your virtual events and meetings with powerful breakout room features. Contact Hubilo to get started today!