---
title: "run breakout rooms in your meetings"
description: "Learn how to split your meetings into smaller group discussions and access our step-by-step instructions, FAQs, and everything you need to know!"
url: https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13631457-run-breakout-rooms-in-your-meetings
collection: "client portal"
updated: 2026-11-05
language: en
---

# run breakout rooms in your meetings

Learn how to split your meetings into smaller group discussions and access our step-by-step instructions, FAQs, and everything you need to know!

## before you dive in

Breakout rooms let you split a live meeting into smaller groups for focused discussions, activities and collaboration, without anyone leaving your Meeting Room. You stay in control the whole time, from deciding who works together to bringing everyone back to the main meeting.

Use case examples

Breakout rooms are ideal for:

-   Training sessions and interactive workshops, where attendees practise in small groups
    
-   Coaching programs, where you create smaller groups for focused conversations
    
-   Brainstorming and team discussions, where each group works on a different idea or topic
    
-   Community conversations and peer collaboration
    

This guide is perfect if you want to:

-   Split a group session into smaller groups
    
-   Choose who works together, or let participants pick their own group
    
-   Keep group activities on time, then bring everyone back together
    
-   Record or transcribe only the group discussions you need
    

> **Warning:** **Prerequisite:** Breakout rooms are created from inside a live meeting where you're the host. If you haven't set up your personal room yet, please refer to our [create your meeting room](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13631456-create-your-meeting-room.md) guide first.

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## step 1: create and open your breakout rooms

Set up your rooms and choose how participants are grouped before anyone moves. Nothing changes for your participants until you open the rooms.

Click here for the written steps

1.  From the main ivorey menu, go to **Portals** \> **\[Meeting Room\]** > **\[My Room\]** > click **\[Start room\]** \> and click **\[Start now\]** to begin your meeting
    
2.  In the meeting toolbar, click the **\[Breakout Rooms\]** four-square icon to open the Breakout Rooms panel on the right-hand side
    
3.  Enter the number of rooms you want to create. You can create up to 100 breakout rooms per session (this is the number of rooms, not a limit on participants)
    
4.  Under **Assign people**, choose how participants are grouped:
    
    1.  **Automatically** \- participants are assigned to rooms for you, ideal for quickly splitting a large group
        
    2.  **Manually** \- you choose which room each participant goes to, ideal for specific teams, coaching groups or workshop groups
        
    3.  **Let participants choose** - participants select the room they want to join, ideal for topic-based discussions
        
5.  Click **\[Create rooms\]**
    
6.  Review your room plan:
    
    1.  Expand a room to see its participants
        
    2.  Rename rooms and adjust assignments as needed
        
    3.  Click **\[Add room\]** to create another room
        
    4.  Check the **Not assigned** section for anyone who still needs a room  
          
        **Note:** creating rooms doesn't start your breakout session. Participants stay in the main meeting while you prepare, and the panel shows a **Draft** label until you open the rooms.
        
7.  Click **\[Options\]** to choose how participants move between rooms, and how the session ends:
    
    1.  **Auto-move people to rooms** \- moves participants into their assigned rooms automatically when the rooms open. When this is off, participants receive an invitation to join their room instead  
          
        **Note:** this is separate from assigning people Automatically. Assigning decides which room each person goes to, while auto-move decides whether they're moved without needing to click Join.
        
    2.  **Let people switch rooms** - allows participants to move between breakout rooms
        
    3.  **Allow return to main room** \- allows participants to return to the main meeting while breakout rooms are open
        
    4.  **Close after** - sets how long the rooms stay open before closing automatically
        
    5.  **Countdown** - sets a countdown before the rooms finish closing and participants return to the main meeting
        
8.  Return to your room list > and click **\[Open all rooms\]** to start your breakout session
    
9.  To check in on your groups, go to the **\[Rooms\]** tab > expand a room to see who is in it, or use the **Search people** **or rooms** bar to find a specific person or room > and click **\[Join\]** next to a room to enter that discussion
    
10.  To share instructions or reminders with every room at once, click **\[Broadcast\]** at the bottom of the panel > enter your message under **Message to all rooms** \> and click **\[Send\]**
     
11.  To record or transcribe a room, click the **\[⋮\] three dots** next to that room, and select:
     
     1.  **Recording**\- use the room's recording control to start recording. While a room is recording, a **REC** indicator shows next to it, and the menu shows **\[Stop recording\]**
         
     2.  **Transcribe this room** - starts live transcription for that room. Click **\[Stop transcribing\]** to stop the transcription
         
12.  If you set a **Close after** time, the remaining time shows in your panel
     
13.  When you're ready to wrap up:
     
     1.  To close one room, click the **\[⋮\] three dots** next to that room > and select **\[Close room\]**
         
     2.  To bring everyone back, click **\[Close all rooms\]**. If you set a countdown, participants see it before returning to the main meeting
         

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## step 2: manage your open breakout rooms

Once your rooms are open, you can check in on each group, share instructions with everyone at once, and bring people back when it's time.

Click here for the written steps

1.  From the main ivorey menu, go to **Portals** \> **\[Meeting Room\]** > **\[My Room\]** > click **\[Start room\]** \> and click **\[Start now\]** to begin your meeting
    
2.  In the meeting toolbar, click the **\[Breakout Rooms\]** four-square icon to open the Breakout Rooms panel on the right-hand side
    
3.  To check in on your groups, go to the **\[Rooms\]** tab > expand a room to see who is in it, or use the **Search people** **or rooms** bar to find a specific person or room > and click **\[Join\]** next to a room to enter that discussion
    
4.  To share instructions or reminders with every room at once, click **\[Broadcast\]** at the bottom of the panel > enter your message under **Message to all rooms** \> and click **\[Send\]**
    
5.  To record or transcribe a room, click the **\[⋮\] three dots** next to that room, and select:
    
    1.  **Recording**\- use the room's recording control to start recording. While a room is recording, a **REC** indicator shows next to it, and the menu shows **\[Stop recording\]**
        
    2.  **Transcribe this room** - starts live transcription for that room. Click **\[Stop transcribing\]** to stop the transcription
        
6.  If you set a **Close after** time, the remaining time shows in your panel
    
7.  When you're ready to wrap up:
    
    1.  To close one room, click the **\[⋮\] three dots** next to that room > and select **\[Close room\]**
        
    2.  To bring everyone back, click **\[Close all rooms\]**. If you set a countdown, participants see it before returning to the main meeting
        

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## what your participants will see

What your participants see depends on how you assigned them and the options you chose.

-   **Assigned room -** a **Join breakout room** pop-up shows them which room they're in. They can click **Join** to enter, or **Not now** to dismiss it for the moment. If **Auto-move people to rooms** is on, they're moved automatically instead  
    
-   **Choosing a room -** when you let participants choose, they open **Breakout Rooms** from their meeting toolbar to see the **Choose a room** pop-up. They can expand a room to see who's in it, then click Join. They can switch rooms if you've turned on Let people switch rooms  
    
-   **Returning to the main meeting -** if you've turned on **Allow return to main room**, they can return at any time. When rooms are closing, they see the countdown and can click **Return now**, or they'll return automatically when the rooms close
    

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## Need Help?

Hit the support chat widget inside ivorey - we can:

-   Walk you through any of the steps
    
-   Troubleshoot anything that’s not working
    

We’re here and ready to help via the chat widget in the bottom right of your ivorey account. Or if you are looking for done-for-you support, you can browse our current services [here](https://ivorey.io/services) 🤍

## Related

- [all about client portals: a master help guide](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/11430362-all-about-client-portals-a-master-help-guide.md)
- [client portal custom domain](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13285810-client-portal-custom-domain.md)
- [customise your client portal branding](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13285949-customise-your-client-portal-branding.md)
- [client portal permissions](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13286039-client-portal-permissions.md)
- [client portal notifications and automated login emails](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13286720-client-portal-notifications-and-automated-login-emails.md)