How to Use Webinar
Breakout Rooms Effectively:
Best Practices
Let’s be real – large webinars can be pretty dull.
But what if we told you there’s a way to make webinars more engaging, more interactive, and dare we say, even fun? Enter webinar breakout rooms.
These virtual spaces allow attendees to connect and collaborate with each other, creating a more personalized and effective learning experience. Think of it as a virtual coffee break, but with the added benefit of gaining new knowledge and skills.
In this article, we’ll show you how to use webinar breakout rooms effectively, so you can add a personal touch to your next virtual event and leave your attendees feeling engaged, connected, and even a little bit entertained.
What is a Breakout Room?
Webinar breakout rooms are virtual spaces that allow attendees to gather into separate sessions with smaller groups during a webinar.
A more personalized and engaging experience is offered in these rooms that might not be possible in the main room.
In breakout rooms attendees can engage in a range of activities, including networking with each other, brainstorming sessions, and group discussions. It’s similar to a small meeting held inside a bigger event where participants may interact and work together more closely.
In a breakout room, attendees can send chat messages to each other, have a conversation with the meeting host and co-hosts in a more meaningful way. After the breakout session, the participants can receive a local recording of their session.
Simply said, webinar breakout rooms allow participants to engage in more meaningful connections and interactions.
Benefits of Using Webinar Breakout Rooms
Are you wondering what the benefits of using webinar breakout rooms are? Here are a few reasons why you should consider incorporating them into your next virtual event:
- More personalized interactions: Attendees can communicate with one another more directly and meaningfully in smaller groups in breakout rooms.
- Enhanced engagement: By allowing participants to take part in conversations, brainstorming sessions, and other interactive activities, breakout rooms make the experience more engaging.
- Improved collaboration: By giving participants a place to work together on certain activities or projects, breakout rooms can encourage collaboration amongst attendees.
- Better networking opportunities: Participants can build deeper relationships and networking opportunities by getting to know one another in smaller groups which they might not be able to do in a bigger session.
- Flexibility and customization: The meeting host can manage breakout rooms to offer flexibility and customization that can be tailored to their specific needs and event goals.
Overall, using webinar breakout rooms can enhance your attendees’ experience and add value to your virtual events.
Best Practices for Using Webinar Breakout Rooms
Now that you know the benefits of using webinar breakout rooms, it’s important to understand best practices for creating effective breakout sessions.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Plan ahead: Make sure each breakout session's goal is consistent with your event's overall objectives by identifying its purpose. The host can pre-assign breakout rooms to specific attendees as part of the planning.
- Assign a facilitator: Each breakout session should have a pre-assigned facilitator to lead talks, keep people on track, and handle any technical difficulties.
- Set clear instructions: Provide clear and concise instructions to attendees on how to access breakout rooms, what activities they will be doing, and how much time they have.
- Keep it small: To guarantee that everyone has an opportunity to participate in and participate in conversations, keep the size of each breakout group small.
- Encourage participation: By posing open-ended questions and fostering a warm and friendly environment, you may encourage participants to join in and contribute to discussions.
- Provide resources: Provide guests any tools, links, or documents they might need to do their tasks or have productive discussions. These can be prepared in the meeting settings.
You can establish productive and interesting breakout sessions that improve the experience of your guests and add value to your virtual events by adhering to these best practices.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During Breakout Sessions
Even with the best intentions, mistakes can happen during breakout sessions that can negatively impact your attendees’ experience. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:
- Poor Planning: Breakout sessions that are not well-organized and leave attendees confused might be a result from poor planning.
- Technical Difficulties: The flow of conversations might be disrupted and aggravated by technical problems.
- Neglecting to Assign a Facilitator: Breakout sessions may become disorganized and unproductive in the absence of a dedicated pre-assigned facilitator.
- Lack of Engagement: Some participants may not participate in conversations or feel left out if they are not given the right guidance and encouragement.
- Inadequate Time Management: Ineffective time management can result in rushed talks, incomplete tasks, and dissatisfied participants.
You can make sure that your breakout sessions go well and offer all participants a valuable experience by being aware of these typical mistakes and taking efforts to avoid them.
Examples of Successful Webinar Breakout Rooms
Looking for inspiration on how to use webinar breakout rooms effectively? Here are a few examples of successful breakout sessions:
Apple WWDC 2021
Apple has used breakout rooms during virtual events to provide attendees with hands-on workshops and small group discussions on their products and services.
For instance, Apple utilized breakout rooms to promote hands-on sessions on programming and app development during their yearly Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Based on their interests and ability levels, attendees were divided into breakout rooms where they could get specialized training and advice from Apple professionals.
This strategy not only improved the learning experience but also gave participants the ability to connect and cooperate with others who had similar interests.
Adobe MAX Virtual Conference
Breakout rooms have been utilized by Adobe to offer attendees individualized coaching and feedback during online training events.
For instance, Adobe employed breakout rooms at their Adobe MAX virtual conference to offer tailored coaching sessions to registrants wishing to advance their design abilities. Participants were placed in breakout rooms with instructors who offered tailored feedback and mentoring on certain design projects.
This strategy made it possible for participants to get teaching that was more targeted and concentrated, which improved the learning process.
Other Real-World Examples of Effective Breakout Sessions
Breakout sessions are an excellent way to encourage engagement and interaction during virtual events. Here are some real-world examples of effective breakout sessions:
- Networking sessions: Several online meetings include networking opportunities for attendees to get to know one another and interact. Breakout rooms may be a useful tool for these events since they allow for more intimate connections and in-depth discussions.
- Interactive workshops: Breakout rooms may also be utilized for interactive seminars that allow attendees to check out a product or service firsthand. By placing participants in breakout rooms with competent instructors, attendees may receive individualized teaching and feedback, making learning more effective.
- Roundtable discussions: Roundtable discussions on certain topics might be included in virtual events. This method encourages new partnerships and more in-depth encounters.
You can provide your participants more interactive and engaging experiences by including breakout rooms in your virtual events. Breakout rooms may be a useful tool for promoting participation and engagement, whether they are used for networking events, interactive workshops, or roundtable discussions.
Meeting and Webinar Software with Breakout Room Functionality
If you’re looking for a webinar platform that offers breakout room functionality, there are several great options to choose from. Most best webinar platforms have the break-out features built in.
Livestorm
With Livestorm, you can create up to 6 breakout rooms, which is great for smaller webinars. Moving participants between breakout rooms is also easy, and you can do it with just a few clicks. You can also assign participants to breakout rooms manually or randomly, depending on your preference.
Additionally, Livestorm allows you to share files and messages with each breakout room, making it easy to communicate and collaborate with participants. Overall, Livestorm is a great choice if you’re looking for a newer platform with reliable breakout room functionality.
LiveWebinar
LiveWebinar offers several fantastic features for breakout rooms. With LiveWebinar, you may create up to 100 breakout rooms, providing you the freedom to separate people into smaller groups for discussions or activities.
Moving participants between breakout rooms is very simple, and you can even set a timer to automatically bring everyone back to the main room after a specified time. Furthermore, LiveWebinar lets you exchange files and messages with each breakout room, making it easy to interact and cooperate with participants.
Zoom
With Zoom Meeting, you can create up to 50 breakout rooms, giving you the flexibility to divide participants into smaller groups for discussions or activities. You can also assign participants to breakout rooms manually or randomly, depending on your preference.
You can simply pick participants from your main Zoom meeting and assign them to a particular room that you have prepared for them. Attendees just have to click “Join” as they are joining the assigned room.
Moving participants between breakout rooms is also easy, and you can do it with just a few clicks. Additionally, Zoom allows you to set a timer for breakout sessions and automatically bring everyone back to the main room when the time is up.
Google Meet Breakout Room
Google Meet is an extremely popular video conferencing service that is used by millions of people worldwide for virtual meetings, webinars, and online classes. Nevertheless, until recently, Google Meet lacked a native breakout room feature.
This limited users’ ability to organize engaging and interactive virtual events that integrated the benefits of breakout rooms.
Fortunately, software engineer Robert Hudek discovered a solution to this difficulty with his Meet Breakout extension for Google Meet.
Meet Breakout adds breakout room capability to Google Meet, allowing users to build separate rooms and assign attendees to them. During Google Meet sessions, this functionality allows users to better engage their participants, boost collaboration, and facilitate meaningful discussions.
Overall, Google Meet Breakout Rooms by Robert Hudek is an excellent tool for anyone looking to add the benefits of breakout rooms to their Google Meet sessions.
GoToWebinar
You may create up to 20 breakout rooms with GoToWebinar, which is ideal for separating attendees into smaller groups for discussions or activities. You may also broadcast messages to certain breakout rooms, which is useful for delivering directions or announcements.
Moving participants between breakout rooms is very simple and may be done manually or randomly. Overall, GoToWebinar is an excellent pick if you’re searching for a platform with strong breakout room features.
Key Takeaways for Using Webinar Breakout Rooms
In conclusion, webinar breakout rooms are a critical tool for organizing engaging and interactive virtual events. Attendees may interact and discuss in smaller groups in breakout rooms, giving a more personalized learning experience. You can boost participant engagement, cultivate new connections, and create a more immersive virtual event experience by properly utilizing breakout rooms.
To use breakout rooms effectively, best practices such as defining clear objectives, designing well-structured sessions, and providing attendees with the required tools and resources must be followed. It’s also critical to prevent frequent blunders like not preparing properly, failing to manage time efficiently, and not following up with participants after the event.
If you’re planning a virtual event, consider implementing breakout rooms to enhance attendee engagement and interaction. Breakout rooms may be a strong tool for generating a more immersive and productive virtual event experience, whether for networking sessions, interactive seminars, or roundtable discussions.
Finally, by incorporating webinar breakout rooms into your next virtual event, you can provide your participants with a more engaging and individualized experience. So why not give it a shot and see what kind of difference it can make? Breakout rooms may help you create an amazing virtual event experience that guests will enjoy with the proper preparation and execution.