Setting up breakout groups for a scheduled Teams meeting

TL;DR

Learn how to create breakout groups in Microsoft Teams for individual discussions within a meeting without members being part of a team.

Transcript

hello I'm James Clark from the department of physiology at King's College London and in this short tutorial I'm going to show you how you can set out virtual breakout groups or breakout discussions within Microsoft teams without the members of those discussion groups being part of any team arranged for the meeting so for instance a scenario might b... Read More

Key Insights

• 👥 Virtual breakout groups in Microsoft Teams allow for individual discussions within a meeting without participants being part of a specific team.
• 👥 To set up breakout groups, create chat groups and add participants' names prior to the meeting.
• 👥 During the meeting, search for the chat group names to activate separate meetings for each breakout group.
• 🤙 Participants can have video calls and discussions within the separate meetings, then return to the main meeting when needed.
• 👥 Multiple breakout groups can be created and managed during the meeting, enabling simultaneous discussions on different topics.
• 👥 The process of setting up breakout groups in Teams involves creating chat groups, adding names, and initiating separate meetings.
• 😤 This method provides a practical solution for organizing breakout sessions without the need for participants to be part of a specific team.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can I set up breakout groups in Microsoft Teams without inviting members to a specific team?

To achieve this, create chat groups in Teams before the meeting, add desired names, and save them as drafts. During the meeting, search for the chat groups and activate separate meetings for individual discussions.

Q: Can I have multiple breakout groups in a single meeting?

Yes, you can create multiple chat groups prior to the meeting and initiate separate meetings for each group during the meeting. This allows for multiple simultaneous breakout discussions.

Q: Is it possible to switch between breakout groups during the meeting?

Yes, you can easily switch between different breakout groups by searching for their chat group names and activating the separate meetings. This allows you to participate in multiple discussions during the breakout session.

Q: Can participants return to the main meeting from a breakout group?

Yes, participants in a breakout group can easily return to the main meeting by clicking on the "unpause" or "return to meeting" button. This allows for seamless transition between breakout discussions and the main group.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• This tutorial teaches how to set up virtual breakout groups in Microsoft Teams for ad hoc meetings.

• To create breakout groups, set up chats in Teams prior to the meeting and add the desired participants.

• During the meeting, search for the chat group names to activate the separate meetings and have video calls with specific participants.