BACK TO BASICS
Leverage Zoom Breakout Rooms Leanna Lindquist, DTM
Does Your Club Take Advantage of Zoom Breakout Rooms? If you have attended a contest,
• Welcome the guest and let him know how the meeting proceeds
you know Zoom has a breakout room feature.
When the meeting is over, if your club is like
Evaluation contestants, judges, and ballot
mine, several members will hang around and
counters “zoomed” there.
chat. It’s important that our desire to converse
There is another way we can use a Zoom
with our friends does not overshadow our guests.
breakout room. Remember a year ago when
We don’t want them to “end” their attendance
we met in person? If a visitor walked through
at our meeting before we have a chance to talk
the door, one of us greeted him and started a
with them. To see if they have questions. To
conversation. A conversation that others could
see if our club might be a good fit. To convince
join if they so desired.
them that Toastmasters is a great place to grow.
At the end of the meeting, the VP Membership
That our club can fulfill their needs.
reengaged with the visitor. Took him aside at
This is where a breakout room is invaluable.
the back of the room and offered information.
Last week at my club meeting we had two guests.
Thanked him for visiting. Another member or
One was on his third visit, the other on her
two joined in. We invited him to visit next week.
first. The meeting came to an end and several
We exchanged smiles. We made a connection.
members started a conversation. A conversation
Those were the good old days. Hey they will
that did not include our guests. As the Zoom
return soon, we hope.
master, I invited them to a breakout room. The
In the meantime, we can use Zoom breakout
Club President followed. Our other members
rooms to simulate the back of the room. It is
continued with their conversation. The President
my experience, in the world of Zoom, that the
and I chatted with our guests. A conversation
visitors contact the club in advance. That gives
among four people seemed exactly right. We
a club the opportunity to create a visitor’s plan.
talked about Pathways, dues, Club meetings, our
• Let the prospective visitor know they
website, and opportunities. They had the space
should arrive a few minutes early • Determine who will arrive early to welcome the guest • Have the designated member “take” the guest to the breakout room
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ONE COMMUNITY
to ask us questions. We had a chance to connect with our potential new members. It felt more personal than remaining in the meeting room with everyone else. Our third-time guest? He joined the next day. Our first-time guest will be
