How to create breakout sessions for interactive meetings?
Breakout sessions are perfect for smaller, more interactive meetings, such as roundtables, workshops, or collaborative discussions. These sessions allow up to 20 participants, and every attendee can engage with video and audio. They are designed for active discussions, presentations, and activities, where participants can share their screens and interact with each other.
This guide will walk you through the process of setting up a breakout session for your event, ensuring that all the necessary details are configured correctly for an engaging and seamless experience.
What is a breakout session?
A Breakout session is a type of presentation, discussion, or collaborative activity that involves a group of participants engaging in dialogue, sharing their screen, or participating in various activities. During these sessions, screen sharing is switched across all participants to keep the session interactive. These sessions are smaller in size (up to 20 people) and allow for greater engagement and interaction compared to larger presentations.
Where to Access Breakout Sessions
To create a breakout session, you will need to navigate to the Event hub > Virtual sessions section of your event dashboard.
Steps to create breakout sessions
Choose the meeting room / streaming provider
The first step is to select the platform where your breakout session will be hosted. Depending on your needs and preferences, you can choose from the following options:
Eventzilla: Use this for smaller roundtables and interactive meetings for up to 20 participants.
Zoom: One of the most popular platforms for virtual meetings, presentations, and interactive sessions. Great for small group discussions.
YouTube live: Perfect for streaming your session to a wider audience via YouTube, making it easy to access for those not directly attending the event.
Vimeo live: Another robust platform for streaming, providing a professional setup for live events.
Choose the platform that best suits your session’s requirements.
Configure session details
Once the platform is selected, you will need to fill out the session details. Below are the key fields you will encounter when configuring your breakout session:
Session title
Enter a clear and descriptive title for your session. The title should give attendees a good understanding of what the session will cover, making it easy to decide whether to attend.
Session description
Provide a detailed description of what the session is about. This should include the main goals of the session, the topics to be covered, and any additional information that will help attendees understand what they can expect. Be specific and engaging to generate interest.
Cover image
Upload a cover image for your session. This image will be used across various event materials and on the session page itself. Accepted file formats are JPG and PNG. Choose an image that visually represents the theme or focus of the session.
Session date and time
Select the date and time for your breakout session. Be mindful of the time zone and ensure that it aligns with your event's schedule. Make sure to double-check the time to avoid any confusion among participants.
Session duration
Specify the duration of your breakout session. This helps attendees plan their time effectively and ensures that the session stays on track.
Speakers / presenters
Add the names and roles of any speakers or presenters who will be leading the session. If there are multiple presenters, make sure to include their details. You can update this later if more presenters are added.
Customize Additional Session Settings
The next step is to customize additional settings for the session, based on your event's requirements.
Track (optional)
If your event includes multiple tracks (themes or categories), assign your session to the relevant track. This helps attendees filter sessions by topic and ensures the content is categorized correctly.
Track theme (0ptional)
Customize the look of your tracks by selecting a track theme. You can choose a color for your theme to visually differentiate between sessions in the same track.
Feature this session
If you want to highlight this session on your event’s homepage, toggle the Feature this Session option. Featured sessions are prominently displayed, making them more visible to attendees and increasing engagement.
Restrict attendance to specific Ticket/Registration Types
If you want to limit access to the session based on attendee ticket type or registration group, you can configure this restriction. For example, you can allow only VIP ticket holders or members of a certain group to join the session.
Send individual reminders for this Session
- Enable the reminder feature to send notifications to attendees. You can set reminders to be sent:
- 1 day before the session starts
- 1 hour before the session starts
This helps ensure that attendees are reminded of the session, which increases attendance and participation.
Additional Instructions for Reminders (Optional)
- You can provide extra instructions or relevant notes to be included in the reminder emails. For example, you could provide guidelines on how to participate in the session, any materials that should be prepared in advance, or specific tools to use during the session.
4. Save the Session Settings
Once you’ve filled out all the necessary information, review the session details to ensure everything is accurate. Once you are satisfied with the setup, click Save Settings to finalize the session.
Your breakout session is now configured and will be live for attendees to join! You can edit the session details or make adjustments at any time before the event.