How to Arrange Breakout Rooms in Zoom: A Step-by-Step Guide for Effective Virtual Meetings

Arranging breakout rooms in Zoom is a feature that enables hosts to split participants into separate smaller sessions during a meeting, making it ideal for workshops, group discussions, and collaborative activities. To start, ensure that you’re the host or co-host of the meeting. Once inside your Zoom session, look for the “Breakout Rooms” button on the bottom control panel. Clicking this opens a dialog where you can specify the number of rooms you want to create. You have the flexibility to assign participants automatically (randomly divided into rooms by Zoom), manually (where you choose exactly who goes where), or let participants select their rooms if “self-select breakout room” is enabled in your account settings. After setup, click “Open All Rooms” to begin the session, and each attendee will receive an invitation to join their designated room.

From a designer’s perspective, maximizing the efficiency and flow of your breakout room assignments is crucial. Consider structuring groups based on project roles or expertise to foster better collaboration. If you’re envisioning a virtual workshop space beyond simple video calls, utilizing a room planner allows you to map out “zones” for different tasks much like you would in a physical environment—improving participant engagement and organization in hybrid or remote events.

Tips 1:

Plan breakout sessions in advance. Use Zoom’s pre-assign feature if you know participant groupings ahead of time, and communicate the flow of activities clearly. Encourage participants to use screen share and whiteboard tools within rooms to enhance collaboration.

FAQ

Q: Can I assign people to breakout rooms before the meeting starts?

A: Yes, Zoom allows pre-assigning participants to specific breakout rooms when scheduling the meeting in your Zoom web portal settings.

Q: How many breakout rooms can I create in a single Zoom meeting?

A: Zoom lets you create up to 50 breakout rooms per meeting, but the number of participants per room may vary depending on your subscription plan.

Q: Can co-hosts manage breakout rooms?

A: Yes. Co-hosts can join and move between breakout rooms but only the primary host can create and assign breakout rooms.

Q: Can participants choose which breakout room to join?

A: If the “self-select breakout room” feature is enabled in your account, participants can select and move between rooms as needed.

Q: Are breakout room chats seen by everyone in the meeting?

A: No, messages sent within a breakout room are only visible to participants in that specific room and not to the entire meeting.