The Zoom breakout feature allows the assigned host of the Zoom meeting to split the attendees into smaller groups and assign them into separate rooms, allowing that group to focus into a particular topic or discussion. The attendees would be able to go back to the main session once the host closes the breakout room.
In this article you'll learn how to do the following:
Navigating Zoom's Breakout Room Feature
Enable the Zoom Breakout Feature
The first thing you need to do is to ensure that the Zoom breakout feature is enabled in your Zoom account.
Login to your Zoom account
Go to Settings
Select In Meetings (Advanced)
Enable Breakout room
Select Allow host to assign participants to breakout rooms when scheduling and then click Save.
Once that's done, you can start creating your Zoom breakout rooms. You can create a breakout room while setting up your meeting or you can do it directly during the meeting.
Create Breakout Rooms in Settings
If you've already created a meeting, go ahead and edit that meeting. If not, just click Schedule a Meeting to create one.
Scroll down to Meeting Options
Select Breakout Room pre-assign.
Click + Create Rooms
Click the + sign to add breakout rooms, then click Save.
Note: If you add participants through this setting, they will not be automatically assigned to that breakout room unless they log in to their Zoom account. Adding them in advance in the breakout room will make it more complicated for the attendees as they are not required to log in to Zoom to join the session in Accelevents. We suggest to manually assigned them to breakout rooms while the session is happening.
Create Breakout Rooms During the Meeting
Start your Zoom Meeting
Click Breakout Rooms. If you can't see it, click More to see the other options.
Select whether to assign attendees manually or automatically, then click Create.
Note: If you choose to assign automatically, participants will be automatically and randomly assigned to the breakout rooms you created. If you choose assign manually, you will need to assign each participant manually to a breakout room.
To see if this will work on your Accelevents session, you will need to test this with a couple of attendees that will be moved from the main session to the breakout rooms.
Opening the Breakout Rooms
Once you are done setting up your session, you can start broadcasting in Zoom and have your attendees join the session through the virtual event hub. And when you're ready, you can start opening your breakout rooms.
Click Breakout Rooms
Select Open All Rooms
Once the rooms are opened, the attendees will see a pop up notification indicating that the host had opened the breakout rooms.
Host View
Attendee View
Joining the Breakout Room
The host will assign the attendees to each breakout room. Once assigned, the attendee will receive a popup notification on the screen.
Once the attendee clicks the Join button, they will see a "Joining Breakout Rooms" message while being redirected to the breakout room.
Attendee View
They will know that they are already inside the breakout room when they see a notification on top of the screen that says "You have been assigned to a Breakout Room: (breakout room name)" and the button on the lower right corner of the screen says "Leave Room"
Attendee View
Leaving the Breakout Room
If an attendee leaves the breakout room by clicking the Leave Room button, they will be redirected to the main session. They will know that they are in the main session when they see the notification on top of the screen that says "You are now in the main session" and the button on the lower right corner changes to "Leave"
Attendee View
Closing the Breakout Room
Once you close the breakout rooms, all the attendees will be redirected to the main session.
Click Breakout Rooms
Select Close All Rooms
Host View
Frequently Asked Questions
Can speakers create, open, close, and assign attendees to breakout rooms?
Yes, they will have to be added as Alternative Hosts in the Zoom meeting settings by adding their email addresses.
Can hosts move the attendees from one breakout room to another?
Yes, hosts can move attendees from one breakout room to another. The attendee will receive a notification that they have been assigned to a breakout room.
Can hosts go in and out of different breakout rooms?
Yes, they can choose any breakout room they want to join. There is no need to assign themselves to a breakout room.
Can attendees move from one breakout room to another?
No, they can't. They may only leave the breakout room to be redirected to the main session. Only hosts can move them from one breakout room to another.
Can hosts view what's happening on other breakout rooms at the same time?
No, they can't. They will see how many people are in each breakout room but they would have to join the room in order to see what's happening in the session.
Who can initiate chat and share their screen while in a breakout room?
Both attendees and the host have the capability to chat and share their screens.
Is there a separate chat for each breakout room?
Yes, there is. Each breakout room has its own chat box.
How many breakout rooms can be created?
You can create up to 50 breakout rooms. This can be increased depending your Zoom account.
Will the "Broadcast Message to All" feature work?
Yes, once the message is sent, attendees will see a notification on top of the screen.
Attendee View
Will the "Allow participants to choose room" feature work?
No, only hosts can choose and assign which breakout rooms can attendees join.
Will the "Allow participants to return to the main session at any time" feature work?
Yes, if enabled then attendees can leave the breakout room anytime. They can either go back to the main session or leave the session completely.
If not enabled and the attendee leaves the breakout room, their only option is to leave the session completely, they won't have the option to go back to the main session. If they decide to leave, they will be redirected to the Lobby.
Will the "Automatically move all assigned participants into breakout rooms" feature work?
No, once the breakout room is opened, the attendees will be asked if they want to join the breakout room.
Will the "Auto close breakout rooms after ( ) minutes" feature work?
Yes, once the breakout rooms are closed, the attendees are redirected back to the main session.
Will the "Countdown after closing breakout room" feature work?
Yes, if this is enabled then attendees will see a pop up notification before they are redirected back to the main session.
What's the maximum number of participants that can enter each breakout room?
This would depend on the number of attendees, the number of rooms created, as well as your account type. Please see Zoom's support center for more information.