January 20, 2025
Businesses have come a long way in adapting to virtual meeting environments. Since the pandemic, tools have improved, and platforms are more accommodating. However, we are still seeing outcries of virtual meeting fatigue and a call for more collaborative experiences online.
Creating successful breakouts seems like the answer, but too many people still aren’t executing them correctly. Moving from a large, virtual conference or informational meeting to a breakout room is a big transition. Management expectations are very real, whether the groups are assigned or self-selected. But employees often view breakout sessions as an undue burden (or a chance to step away).
Complaints about breakouts run the gamut from being a waste of time to painfully awkward and confusing. The problem is, breakout rooms are not mini-conferences. If you think about it, there are distinct differences between a large meeting room with a single facilitator/speaker and the humbler breakout room that attendees get funneled into. Breakouts need to be conducted differently.
Ideally, the social environment of breakouts should be collaborative and intimate. The benefits of physical face-to-face time that support participation are difficult to create virtually, especially in larger groups. Participation in some form is expected. Feedback, learning, and problem solving can all be part of the breakout’s agenda, but people often feel awkward and reserved. Feedback is not always as insightful or as impactful as you would like. Creativity is hampered. Breakout rooms put the spotlight on everyone; there is no hiding in the crowd. Some employees are fine with entering a discussion while others are uncomfortable participating.
Improving virtual breakouts is central to motivating teams and making them more productive. It will also improve the level of creativity and job satisfaction. But how can businesses better manage this issue? Let’s start with the basics…
When teams share a physical space, they maintain a professional appearance common to their workspace and share the ritual of commuting to work and having casual conversations. This all creates a bond with fellow workers and reveals a common commitment to the work at hand. Once you’re at work, the focus is on the job in front of you and how your team will move forward.
When you’re working from a home office, virtual meeting etiquette may seem burdensome and unnecessary. However, professional dress and a presentable virtual office space create an impression and sense of shared experience—just as it does in a physical office. Whether the meeting is a breakout session or a standalone event, always make the effort to improve the team experience. It will be noticed and appreciated. Business culture is the result of a thousand shared actions. Good meeting etiquette in any situation creates a sense of equity, commitment to a project, and connection with other team members that improves the work culture you share.
Here are some virtual meeting etiquette guidelines for breakout sessions connected with a large conference or informational event. (Some of these also apply to small, standalone virtual meetings.)
1. In the main conference presentation—and in the meeting invitation—define clear and specific goals for the breakout room or session.
2. “One virtual, all virtual.” Hybrid events can be difficult. When you have some participants in-person and some virtual, plan your breakouts to be all virtual participants together and all in person participants together. DO NOT mix and match, it creates audio challenges. If there is a reason you have to mix and match, call a virtual event production company to help you! This is the only way to create equity and sense of fairness in small meetings.
3. Test all equipment beforehand, make sure your webcam, microphone, and speakers are operational, and that you have a strong Wi-Fi (or, better still, wired internet) connection.
4. Facilitators and team leaders: Organize your materials beforehand.
5. Dress for work, just as you would in a shared office space.
6. Check your office. Clear the clutter, quiet the noises, and be aware of your background. Make sure you are well-lit, with no windows behind you.
1. Follow the same considerations as you would for an in-person meeting, like starting on time, respect, good manners, avoiding interrupting others, and keeping the breakout short and to the point.
2. It is strategically better to assign a facilitator to guide the breakout session, ask questions and use tools wisely to improve workflow.
3. Look at the camera often when speaking to the group. To better focus on others in the session, choose the “hide self-view” option, if possible.
4. Avoid typing or other tasks and devices. It’s a false notion that you can do two things at once. You’re merely toggling between different activities, and not paying full attention.
5. Respond to speakers with your ideas but also with nods, smiles, and response buttons if appropriate.
6. If there is a presentation, new insights, or data to share with the main conference (also known as a “teach-back”), plan who will present and how.
After a breakout room’s business is concluded, and as time allows, ask questions, and stay open to voluntary chat and informal conversations before returning to the main conference or informational meeting. Whenever possible, provide written feedback and summaries of the session’s results.
These guidelines will enhance the feeling of mutual respect and improve team cohesion. For small, self-contained virtual meetings, no additional support is needed. But for breakouts associated with large conferences, trainings, or informational events, the capabilities and platform options for virtual meetings are overwhelming. Technical allies are indispensable.
The solution is often a virtual event production team that can use platform tools well and marry them with other software to create breakouts that facilitate your goals. Designing a virtual event involves understanding all the rapidly-evolving virtual event platforms. Working with production specialists can enrich the virtual experience and simplify the process. It can also minimize glitches and interruptions that distract and frustrate employees in the live virtual event.
Moving participants from conference rooms to breakouts rooms and back again is logistically difficult. Managing meetings in the virtual environment is a highly skilled craft. Consider consulting with a virtual meeting production specialist—to better plan and run your large virtual events.
