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A breakout session is a one-hour session that is a standard feature at Trellis events. Done well, they can be powerful opportunities for attendees to interact while learning new things and reframing problems to help overcome obstacles.
Our best-rated sessions are those that feature new ideas, tangible knowledge, frameworks and actionable skills — in a highly interactive format.
Session Formats
The following are different formats that can be used for breakout sessions. Tap into the Run of Show templates for examples of how to set up the flow of the session.
Ask an Expert
Ask an Expert
Focused on one speaker and their deep expertise on the subject matter. Attendees will get plenty of time for Q&A.
Experiential Panel
Experiential Panel
The focus of this session type is attendee engagement and opportunities for experiential discussion. Panelists will supplement expertise with moderated questions and attendee Q&A.
Panel Conversation
Panel Conversation
Traditional panel format with 3-4 panelists, moderated questions by topic and an opportunity for attendee Q&A.
Pecha Kucha with Workshop
Pecha Kucha with Workshop
How Pecha Kucha works: 15 slides each, 20 seconds per slide, images only. This highly interactive, unique presentation style is known for telling stories through images rather than words on a slide to encourage discussion.
Workshop
Workshop
Workshops come in many formats and leave attendees with tangible experience to solve a problem.
Slides + AV
Slides + AV
Slides: The moderator creates the title slide for your session so you're not sitting in front of a blank screen. Beyond that, you and the other speakers can decide to use them or not. You can find the slide deck template here.
AV: We will have a monitor or screen projector and HDMI chord in each breakout room. You must bring your own computer to run your presentation. If you have a Mac, please bring your own Mac HDMI adapter.
Sharing slides with attendees: Use this form if you want to share them with attendees post-event.
Other Logistics
Other Logistics
Speaker seating: There will be 5 tall stools at the front of the room for you to use along with 4 microphones to share. If you need something different, please let us know: jessica@trellis.net.
Room setup: Your room will be set in either rounds or theater style.
What Makes a Great Breakout?
What Makes a Great Breakout?
Here are six tips intended to help you conceive and develop a successful breakout.
💍 Engage your audience. The best breakouts are those that are interactive and participatory. Including a hands-on exercise in your breakout enables your breakout participants to meet one another and work collaboratively, and helps them get to know you. At the very least, include plenty of time for Q&A and feedback during the breakout.
🧠 Focus on tangible knowledge and skills. The most effective sessions are those that present data, metrics and case studies to help us ground an aspirational circular economy in the reality of what’s actually happening today, uplifting actionable insights and success stories (and failures we can learn from.)
🎯 Set a specific outcome. Participants appreciate knowing they’ve used their time well, especially when they have other options on how to spend it. Give them a specific goal or outcome — “Today, you will learn how to make smart choices in choosing energy-efficiency projects.” That will give everyone a clear vision of what success looks like for the hour.
❌ Don’t sell. breakouts fail when they are preachy or sales-y. If you’re trying to promote something — yourself, your company, a product or service — you’ll lose the audience. Instead, share an idea, framework or set of tools. If you do it well, it will give you far more credibility, and will invite conversations that will allow you to make your pitch later on.
🦉Use slides wisely. Slides can be very helpful in presenting your ideas to your audience, but it's important to keep them visual rather than text-based. Make sure you're not distracting attendees by using text-heavy slides that they'll try to read as you speak. Visual slides are a great way to support your presentation and guide the audience.
🥳 Have fun! Okay, it may seem hard to do after all these tips, but if you can make it happen, you're well on your way. Audiences appreciate breakout presenters who truly enjoy what they're talking about. It can be contagious.
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