How to Create Breakout Rooms in Teams

Breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams are a fantastic feature that allows you to divide your meeting participants into smaller groups for more focused discussions or activities. Whether you’re a teacher looking to facilitate group work or a project manager organizing brainstorming sessions, breakout rooms can greatly enhance collaboration and engagement. In this step-by-step guide, we’ll walk you through the process to create breakout rooms in Teams.

Step 1: Schedule a Meeting

The first step is to schedule a meeting in Microsoft Teams. Open the Teams app and navigate to the calendar tab. Click on the “New Meeting” button and fill in the meeting details such as the title, date, and time. Once you’ve entered all the necessary information, click on the “Send” button to invite participants to the meeting.

Step 2: Start the Meeting

On the day of the meeting, open the Teams app and go to the calendar tab. Locate the scheduled meeting and click on it to open the meeting details. Then, click on the “Join” button to start the meeting.

Step 3: Enable Breakout Rooms

Once you’re in the meeting, you’ll see a toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Click on the “…” (more options) button and select “Breakout Rooms” from the menu that appears.

Step 4: Create Breakout Rooms

A breakout rooms panel will open on the right side of the screen. Click on the “Create Rooms” button to create breakout rooms for your meeting. You can specify the number of rooms you want to create and assign participants manually or automatically.

Step 5: Assign Participants

If you choose to assign participants manually, you can drag and drop their names from the participant list into the breakout rooms. Alternatively, you can select the “Automatically” option, and Teams will randomly assign participants to the breakout rooms.

Step 6: Open Breakout Rooms

Once you’ve assigned participants to the breakout rooms, click on the “Open Rooms” button to open the rooms. Participants will then be automatically moved into their respective breakout rooms.

Step 7: Manage Breakout Rooms

As the meeting organizer, you have the ability to join any breakout room to monitor or participate in the discussions. To do this, click on the “…” (more options) button and select the desired breakout room from the list.

Step 8: Close Breakout Rooms

When it’s time to end the breakout sessions and bring everyone back to the main meeting, click on the “Close Rooms” button in the breakout rooms panel. Participants will be notified and automatically brought back to the main meeting.

Step 9: Debrief and Share

After the breakout sessions, it’s important to provide an opportunity for participants to share their insights and findings with the entire group. As the meeting organizer, you can facilitate this by inviting participants to share their experiences and takeaways from the breakout rooms.

Video Tutorial to Create Breakout Rooms in Teams

Conclusion

Breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams offer a seamless way to facilitate smaller group discussions and activities within a larger meeting. By following this step-by-step guide, you can easily create breakout rooms in Teams to enhance collaboration and engagement in your Teams meetings.

So, why wait? Start leveraging the power of breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams today and unlock the full potential of your virtual meetings!