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What is a Breakout Session?

Breakout Session

A breakout session, or breakout group, allows participants to break away from the main meeting and to chat and collaborate in smaller groups.
Definition
Daniel Wirtz
Co-Founder, Facilitator School
Last updated
June 14, 2024

A breakout session enhances interaction by dividing participants into smaller groups, which focus on specific topics or challenges under discussion in a larger meeting. This method provides a platform for deeper conversation and exchange of ideas among smaller sets of individuals, making it easier to manage and more comfortable for participants to express their thoughts openly.

Breakout sessions are often used in workshops, seminars, or conferences to maximize engagement and ensure diverse viewpoints are explored. They also allow a more focused and foster a high degree of collaboration and engagement since the group is smaller.

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Breakout Session

What are the benefits of breakout sessions?

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Breakout sessions enhance discussions by allowing participants to explore topics in more detail in a smaller group setting. This intimacy can increase interaction and engagement, making it easier for each participant to contribute their ideas and insights. By reducing the group size, these sessions also help manage different opinions and maintain focus, which enhances decision-making and problem-solving efficiency.

When should you use breakout sessions?

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Breakout sessions are particularly useful in large meetings, workshops, or conferences where maintaining everyone’s attention and participation becomes challenging. They work well for brainstorming sessions, problem-solving discussions, or when a complex issue requires varied input from multiple experts or stakeholders.

What are examples of breakout session use cases?

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Breakout sessions can be employed in many scenarios, such as during corporate strategy meetings, or tech conferences. For example, a company might break its employees into groups based on various departments to brainstorm department-specific goals. In a conference, attendees might be divided by interest areas to discuss the latest trends and technologies in their respective fields.

What are great activities for breakout sessions?

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Effective activities for breakout sessions can include brainstorming, role-playing, and problem-solving exercises tailor made to advance the objectives defined by the main meeting. Creative activities such as brainwriting or mind mapping also suit the breakout format and can dynamically engage participants in generating solutions or ideas.

How do you facilitate a breakout session?

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To effectively facilitate a breakout session, it's important to clearly define objectives and deliver concise instructions before the session begins. Providing guiding questions or specific topics can help maintain the group's focus. It's crucial for facilitators to actively monitor the sessions, ensuring all participants have the opportunity to contribute, while also managing time effectively to cover all intended aspects of the discussion.

How can you set up a breakout session online?

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Setting up an online breakout session involves using virtual meeting tools that support small group functionality, like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Organizers should pre-plan the grouping of participants based on their objectives, and prepare digital shared spaces such as Google Docs or Miro for collaborative activities.

Clear instructions and time management are critical, ensuring all participants are aware of the session's focus and time limits. Providing digital facilitation tools and techniques can enhance interaction even in a virtual setting.

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