Meetings & events
Live polling
Run live polls in a presentation, from the first warm-up question to results on the big screen.
Plan the questions, set up the room, run it from the stage and use what the audience said, in a lecture hall, a classroom or a video call.
Plan where the room joins in
Live polls work best as part of the talk, not an add-on. Write one question for each moment you want the room to take part, and put them all in one poll: each question becomes its own slide.
- Opening: a word cloud or an easy question, so everyone has voted once in the first two minutes.
- Middle: a question that checks or extends what you just said. Hide the results until everyone has answered, then reveal.
- Throughout: an Audience Q&A people can use any time.
- End: a quick rating or one-word takeaway, while people are still in the room.
Set up the room
- Set Duplicate check to Browser session. Everyone in a hall shares one Wi-Fi, and with IP address only the first person could vote.
- Download the QR code from the Share tab or create a join code, and put it on your first slide.
- In the Results tab, click Present and press F for full screen.
- Scan the code with your own phone, ideally on the venue’s Wi-Fi, then reset the poll.
Run it from the stage
- →, Space or your clicker: next question. ←: previous.
- H: hide the results so the room answers before seeing how others voted, then show them.
- Q: hide the QR code once everyone is in.
- C: switch a choice question between bars, columns, a stacked bar, a donut or a pie.
The QR code and join code stay beside every question, so latecomers join at the slide you’re on. Present mode runs in a browser tab: switch between it and your PowerPoint or Google Slides deck with Alt+Tab or ⌘+Tab.
Video calls and hybrid sessions
Share the browser window with present mode in Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, and paste the poll link into the meeting chat for people on the same device as the call. A fully remote audience can use IP address, since everyone is on their own network; in a hybrid session with part of the team in one office, stay with Browser session.
Use what the room said
The answers are the point. Read out a surprising result, ask someone to explain their vote, then move on. Afterwards, export the results as a CSV or share a link to them with attendees. Questions from the Q&A you didn’t get to make a good follow-up email.
Tip: Ask the first question before you introduce yourself. Once people have their phones out, they keep answering.