Have you ever led a Zoom meeting and wanted to break your participants into smaller discussion groups? If so, it‘s time you mastered Zoom breakout rooms!
As a certified Zoom Pro consultant who trains clients daily, I‘m going to provide you with a comprehensive, insider‘s guide to running phenomenal breakout room sessions.
What Are Zoom Breakout Rooms and Why Do They Matter?
Breakout rooms allow the host of a Zoom meeting to instantly split participants into separate, smaller video sessions. This facilitates small-group discussions, interactive activities and more impactful collaboration between your attendees.
Breakout rooms act as fully-featured Zoom calls inside your original meeting complete with audio, video and screen sharing. Users can seamlessly transition between the main room and sub-rooms in a magical experience that promotes organic conversation.
This expert guide will teach you how to enable breakouts on your account, launch rooms in live meetings, manage multiple sessions and maximize engagement. Let‘s get started!
The Evolution of Breakout Rooms on Zoom
Breakout rooms entered the scene back in October 2013 with the Zoom 2.5 release. Over time, customer demand and real-world usage fed core product innovations that make today‘s breakout rooms so powerful:
2013 – First version debuts allowing manual participant assignment
2016 – Mobile support expanded access beyond just desktop
2017 – Reporting provided hosts transparency into room activity
2018 – Additional assignment methods added automation
2019 – Deeper integrations with platforms like Slack and Office 365
2020 – Surge in popularity during coronavirus virtual events
2022 – Whiteboarding, polling and metrics enhance capabilities
Nearly ten years later, breakout rooms remain one of Zoom’s stickiest and highest rated features. One study by Wainhouse Research found that 87% of customers consider breakouts must-have for meetings. It‘s clear they deliver immense value.
Behind the Scenes: How Breakout Rooms Actually Work
Breakout rooms provide such a smooth experience that most users rarely peek under the hood. As a Zoom expert, I‘m going to demystify how rooms function behind-the-scenes:
The Meeting ID – A randomly generated 9, 10 or 11 digit number that uniquely identifies each room
Participant IDs – Every attendee receives their own PID which persists across meeting instances
Room Assignments – Zoom tracks exactly which participants get assigned to which rooms
Media Streams – Audio, video and screen share feeds seamlessly transition between main room and breakouts
Reintegration – All participants automatically return to the original meeting ID when closing rooms
Zoom built an elegant, patented system that delivers magical user experiences. Breakout rooms feel like fully independent calls, when in reality extensive linking happens behind-the-scenes.
Understanding these technical concepts allows savvy hosts to troubleshoot issues and optimize room workflows.
Now let‘s explore how YOU can start leveraging breakout rooms!
Enabling Breakout Rooms at the Account Level
Before creating any rooms, you first need to activate the feature on your Zoom account:
- Login at Zoom.us and access Account Management
- Click on Account Settings then open the Meeting tab
- Switch Breakout Room to On to toggle the feature live
- Check the box to allow hosts assign rooms when scheduling
Room owners can now view the breakout room controls when starting or scheduling meetings.
Let‘s discuss how admins can prep users with the right permissions to lead productive breakout sessions.
Permissions and Roles for Managing Rooms
Not all meeting participants can leverage breakout rooms. The ability to create, manage and join rooms depends on your role:
| Host | Co-Host | Participant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create Rooms | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Open / Close Rooms | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Assign Participants | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Join Rooms | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
Hosts & Co-Hosts – Full control over breakout rooms
Participants – Can be assigned to rooms by hosts but cannot manage sessions
Understanding permissions prevents confusion when delegates attempt unauthorized actions.
Now let‘s walk through launching rooms!
Starting Breakout Rooms in a Live Zoom Meeting
The breakout room controls appear for hosts and co-hosts during meetings after enabling the feature at the account level:
Step 1) Start a new Zoom meeting
Step 2) Click on the More options menu ⋮
Step 3) Select Breakout Rooms from the dropdown
Step 4) Set the number of rooms needed then click Create Rooms
Step 5) Assign participants to rooms either manually or automatically
Step 6) Finally, open the rooms to split your Zoom meeting!
It only takes six quick steps to divide a Zoom call into active breakout sessions.
Next let‘s explore how to best manage rooms in real-time.
Managing Open Breakout Rooms
Once you split participants into rooms, hosts should actively monitor and participate in the breakout sessions. Here are management best practices:
Broadcast Announcements – Make live voice or text announcements to all rooms
Join Rooms – Randomly visit rooms to assist and encourage participation
Reassign Participants – Move users between rooms to balance group sizes
Gain Insights – Check the room participant list and reporting metrics
Share Templates – Push helpful templates like slides, whiteboards and polls
Moderate Chats – Keep public channels on-topic by responding to questions
Send Alerts – Notify all rooms before closing breakouts with a countdown
By actively engaging vs just waiting idly, hosts enable collaboration, community and ideation!
Now let‘s review room assignment strategies.
Participant Assignment Options
Zoom offers flexibility regarding how attendees get assigned to breakout sessions:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| Automatic | Zoom evenly and randomly distributes participants across available rooms |
| Manual | The host hand-picks and assigns each participant to specific rooms |
| Self-Select | Participants voluntarily choose which room they wish to join |
Automatic – Fastest method but rooms may not be evenly sized
Manual – Most control for the host but time-intensive
Self-Select – Empowers attendees to join peer groups organically
Weigh the pros and cons of each approach based on your meeting goals.
For example, random assignment encourages new connections while manual sorting prevents lopsided rooms.
Broadcasting Messages to Active Rooms
Even after opening breakout rooms, hosts maintain a communication channel to all participants through Broadcast Messaging:
To send a broadcast announcement:
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Click on Breakout Rooms in your meeting controls
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Select the blue Broadcast Message button
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Record a voice announcement or type a text alert
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Confirm to push the message to all active rooms
Voice broadcasts create an "intercom" style effect. Text broadcasts display an on-screen notification identifying the host.
This allows you to share time checks, special instructions and more!
Visiting Breakout Rooms to Assist Participants
As the host, you can join different breakout rooms to check-in and help guide discussions.
To visit rooms:
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Under Breakout Rooms, click Join for the specific room session
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Interact via audio, video or chat for a few minutes
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Click Leave when done to return to the main meeting
Quietly visiting lets you provide assistance and encouragement as needed.
Participants will receive a notification when you join their room or exit.
Ending Breakout Rooms and Reconvening
Eventually your small group discussions must end and the full meeting reconvene.
To close all rooms simultaneously:
-
Go to Breakout Rooms controls
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Select the red Close All Rooms button
A 60 second countdown warns participants to wrap up conversations and return to the Main Session automatically.
Once closed, the original meeting persists with all attendees present.
Breakout Room Use Cases
Beyond basic small group discussions, breakout rooms unlock a myriad of meeting formats:
Ideation Sessions – Iterate on ideas then share out
Training Workshops – Enable beginner / advanced groups
Group Projects – Split teams into specialized subgroups
Reunion Mixers – Facilitate networking by region / year
Classrooms – Randomly assign student pairs for analysis
Virtual Events – Allow speakers to prep before going live
The opportunities are endless! Let your imagination run wild.
Now, let‘s cover some room troubleshooting tips.
Troubleshooting Breakout Room Issues
Generally, breakout rooms run smoothly. But problems occasionally arise:
Can’t Join Room – Have the user fully exit Zoom and rejoin to reset permissions
Wrong Room – Hosts can manually reassign participants between active rooms
No Audio – Leaving and re-entering a room typically resolves glitches
Blank Screen – Switch between video sources to reset the feed
Testing rooms pre-session allows you to catch hiccups. Also build buffer time into agendas to fix problems.
Comparing Zoom to Microsoft Teams and Google Meet
Breakout rooms originated with Zoom, but competitors later introduced their own versions. So how do alternative platforms compare to Zoom?
| Zoom | Teams | Meet | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Room Flexibility | Dynamic rooms Naming Up to 50 rooms |
Static rooms Set by plan |
Static rooms Up to 100 rooms |
| Assignments | Automatic Manual Self-select |
Automatic only | Manual only |
| Host Management | Join rooms Broadcast messages |
No host controls | Knock to notify room |
| Whiteboarding & Polling | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Reporting & Metrics | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Zoom provides finer controls for advanced breakout room scenarios. But Teams and Meet offer solid integrations if already using their business apps.
Understand differences between platforms to pick the best fit.
Recent Innovations Expanding Capabilities
Breakout room capabilities grow richer every year thanks to Zoom’s commitment to product investment:
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Detailed Metrics – Usage reports highlight participation times and roles
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Whiteboarding – Share whiteboard templates with each room
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Polling – Gather responses and aggregate data across rooms
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Enhanced Customization – Add room names, color themes and sorting tags
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Scheduling Integrations – Automate room creation for meetings booked through Calendly or other services
These innovations showcase how Zoom continues advancing breakouts as an embedded meeting platform, not just a static bolt-on tool.
Expect even more enhancements soon as community feedback guides development!
Best Practices for Breakout Room Success
Hopefully you now feel empowered to enable and manage Zoom‘s breakout room feature. Here are my top tips:
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Thoroughly prepare objectives and guiding questions before sessions
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Explain expectations and instructions prior to splitting rooms
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Actively participate by visiting rooms andbroadcasting updates
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Moderate chats and assist with technical issues promptly
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Share useful templates like slides, whiteboards and polls
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Review detailed usage reports afterwards to improve future meetings
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Have fun watching the conversations unfold organically!
Breakout rooms spark creative insights that elude traditional large-group meetings. Unlock the power of small teams to drive productivity and connection in your next Zoom session!
I‘m Chuck, a certified Zoom expert with over 5 years consulting enterprises on effective video communication. I hope this comprehensive guide to managing breakout rooms helps you lead impactful meetings! Have more questions? Let‘s chat.
