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Leverage Zoom Breakout Rooms

Leanna Lindquist, DTM

Does Your Club Take Advantage of Zoom Breakout Rooms? If you have attended a contest, you know Zoom has a breakout room feature. Evaluation contestants, judges, and ballot counters “zoomed” there.

There is another way we can use a Zoom breakout room. Remember a year ago when we met in person? If a visitor walked through the door, one of us greeted him and started a conversation. A conversation that others could join if they so desired.

At the end of the meeting, the VP Membership reengaged with the visitor. Took him aside at the back of the room and offered information. Thanked him for visiting. Another member or two joined in. We invited him to visit next week. We exchanged smiles. We made a connection. Those were the good old days. Hey they will return soon, we hope.

In the meantime, we can use Zoom breakout rooms to simulate the back of the room. It is my experience, in the world of Zoom, that the visitors contact the club in advance. That gives a club the opportunity to create a visitor’s plan. • Let the prospective visitor know they 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 • Welcome the guest and let him know how the meeting proceeds

When the meeting is over, if your club is like mine, several members will hang around and chat. It’s important that our desire to converse with our friends does not overshadow our guests. We don’t want them to “end” their attendance at our meeting before we have a chance to talk with them. To see if they have questions. To see if our club might be a good fit. To convince them that Toastmasters is a great place to grow. That our club can fulfill their needs.

This is where a breakout room is invaluable. Last week at my club meeting we had two guests. One was on his third visit, the other on her first. The meeting came to an end and several members started a conversation. A conversation that did not include our guests. As the Zoom master, I invited them to a breakout room. The Club President followed. Our other members continued with their conversation. The President and I chatted with our guests. A conversation among four people seemed exactly right. We talked about Pathways, dues, Club meetings, our website, and opportunities. They had the space 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