Broadcast a message to Zoom breakout rooms
This is how you, as a host, can broadcast a typed or voice message to participants in Zoom breakout rooms.
First ensure you are running the latest version of the Zoom desktop app.
In Zoom, once you have set up your breakout rooms, select ‘Open All Rooms’.
A new window will give you the option to ‘Close Rooms’ or ‘Broadcast’.
Select ‘Broadcast’.
You will be presented with two further options: ‘Broadcast Message’ and ‘Broadcast Voice’.
To send a typed message to everyone in the breakout rooms, select ‘Broadcast Message’.
A text window will appear in which you can type your message to all participants.
When you have finished typing your message, click on the blue Broadcast button to send the message to all breakout rooms.
Note: Messages only broadcast for about 5 seconds to participants in the breakout rooms, so you are advised to keep them very short. If you are sharing important details with the breakout rooms, use the chat window instead or relay the message several times.
Return to the Broadcast menu.
To speak to the participants in the breakout rooms select ‘Broadcast Voice’.
A new ‘Broadcast Voice’ window will appear.
Click the speaker icon to speak to the participants.
When broadcasting, the speaker icon is replaced by a waveform.
Hovering your mouse over the waveform icon will present a new ‘stop’ option. Press this to end the broadcast.
Note: If you do not switch off the broadcast option, your microphone will continue to broadcast any sound or conversation you have!
A message will also appear on screen giving you the option to hold the ‘B’ key down whilst speaking, rather than clicking on the speaker icon.
Note: the B key on the keyboard works slightly differently to using the speaker icon. If you press B, you must continue to hold the key until you finish speaking. When you remove your hold on the B key the participants will no longer hear you.
To remove the B key button message select ‘Got It’.
An additional window will appear notifying you that you are currently broadcasting to all rooms.
You may decide to alert participants if you are going to speak to them during a breakout room, otherwise it might come as an unexpected surprise!
Did this answer your query? If not, you can raise a ticket on the online Helpdesk or email: its-helpdesk@qmul.ac.uk . Alternatively you can also request a particular guide or highlight an error in this guide using our guides request tracker.
Produced by the the Technology Enhanced Learning Team at Queen Mary University of London.