Live poll
A live poll is a multiple-choice question your audience answers from their phones, with the bars growing on screen as the votes arrive.
It replaces the show of hands. Everyone answers, not only the confident ones, and the result is a number on screen rather than an impression of the room.
Participants join with a six-digit PIN or a QR code - no account, no app. You decide whether they see the result while they vote, or only once everyone has answered.
How a live poll works
01
Write the question and the options
Any number of options, minimum two. Each gets its own colour and keeps it on both the phone button and the bar, so nobody has to match them up.
02
The room votes
Participants pick one option and can change their answer while the question is open. A counter shows how many have answered.
03
Show the result when it suits you
Reveal the bars live, or hold them back until everyone has voted so the first answers do not steer the rest.
The limits that apply
- At least two options, with no upper limit.
- One optional correct answer, revealed when you choose to.
- Results can stay hidden until everyone has answered.
- The question can be closed so no further votes are counted.
- No points are kept and no leaderboard is shown - a poll is not a quiz.
What to ask a live poll
A poll is the right tool when you already know the possible answers and want to see how they are distributed.
Deciding what to cover next
Put three topics on screen and let the room pick. It takes thirty seconds, and the rest of your session is about what people actually came for.
Checking that a message landed
Ask a question with a correct answer after explaining something. You find out immediately whether to move on or go back over it.
Taking a decision in a meeting
Everyone votes at once, which surfaces a split that a round of spoken comments tends to smooth over.
Gauging confidence
How ready are we to ship? Four options from "not at all" to "completely" tell you more than asking whether anyone has concerns.
Breaking up a long session
A question every fifteen minutes holds a room's attention in a way no amount of slide design does.
Live poll, or another slide type?
Choose a live poll when the options are known and you want the proportions. Choose a scale when the answer is a degree rather than a category - how strongly, how well, how confident. Choose a word cloud when you cannot predict the answers and want to see what the group has in common.
Common questions about live polls
Can a live poll have a correct answer?
Yes. You can mark one option as correct and reveal it when it suits you; it is highlighted on the big screen and on participants' phones. No points are counted, so a poll with a correct answer is still not a quiz with a leaderboard.
Can participants change their vote?
Yes, while the question is open. Close the question and no further votes are counted.
Can I hide the results while people vote?
Yes. Keeping them hidden until everyone has answered stops the first few votes from steering the rest, which matters when the question is a decision.
How many people can vote at once?
A poll is built for a full room voting at the same time. Participants need no account, so joining is a PIN and nothing else.
Can I download the answers afterwards?
With Plus the results are kept after the session and can be downloaded as CSV.
Run a live poll in your next session
Free covers all six slide types, live polls included, with no limit on how many people join.