Zoom’s breakout groups are a superb tool that permits individuals in a meeting to divide into smaller groups for concentrated conversations or tasks. As a person who has utilized this functionality extensively for virtual events and team gatherings, I can declare with certainty that breakout groups have transformed the manner in which we collaborate from a distance. In this article, I will walk you through the steps of setting up and handling breakout groups in Zoom, while also revealing some practical advice and shortcuts.
Enabling Breakout Groups
Before you can start using breakout groups, it’s essential to ensure that the feature is enabled in your Zoom account. If you are the meeting host, you can enable this feature by following these steps:
- Open the Zoom web portal and sign in to your account.
- Click on “Settings” in the navigation menu on the left.
- Under the “Meeting” tab, scroll down to the “In Meeting (Advanced)” section.
- Toggle the switch for “Breakout room” to enable it.
- Click on “Save” to apply the changes.
Creating Breakout Groups
Once you have enabled breakout groups, you can create them during your Zoom meetings. Here’s how:
- Start a Zoom meeting as the host.
- Click on the “Breakout Rooms” button in the meeting controls at the bottom of the screen.
- In the breakout rooms panel that appears, click on “Create Rooms.”
- Specify the number of breakout rooms you want to create and how you want to assign participants (automatically or manually).
- Click on “Create” to generate the breakout rooms.
Pro tip: If you prefer to manually assign participants to breakout rooms, you can do so by clicking on the “Assign” button next to each room and selecting the participants from the list.
Managing Breakout Groups
Now that your breakout groups are set up, it’s essential to know how to manage them effectively.
To start the breakout sessions, click on the “Open All Rooms” button in the breakout rooms panel. Participants will be automatically moved into their respective breakout rooms. As the host, you can choose to join any breakout room by clicking on the “Join” button next to the room’s name.
During the breakout sessions, you can broadcast messages to all breakout rooms or specific rooms. To do this, click on the “Broadcast a message to all” or “Broadcast a message to” buttons in the breakout rooms panel.
When it’s time to end the breakout sessions and bring everyone back to the main meeting, click on the “Close All Rooms” button. Participants will receive a notification and be prompted to return to the main meeting.
Conclusion
Breakout groups in Zoom are a game-changer when it comes to facilitating meaningful collaboration and engagement in virtual meetings. Whether you are conducting a training session, organizing a team-building activity, or hosting a virtual conference, breakout groups allow participants to interact in smaller settings and foster deeper connections.
By following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily create and manage breakout groups in Zoom, taking your virtual meetings to the next level. Embrace this powerful feature, experiment with different activities, and watch as participants become more engaged and productive in their breakout sessions.