Create and edit
Live polls, word clouds and quizzes in Slaide
In short
In Slaide a live poll is a designed slide in your presentation. You insert a poll, word cloud, scale, open wall, questions slide or quiz, click Present live, and your audience joins on their phones with a QR code or an 8-digit code, with no app and no account. The results grow on your slide while people answer, and afterwards you can keep them as result slides.
What can I ask my audience?
A live poll is a normal slide with a part that your audience fills in on their phones. Slaide offers seven kinds. You can insert them one by one or let Slaide build them into a new deck.
| Type | What your audience does | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Poll | Picks one answer or several. The bars grow while the votes come in. | Quick votes and decisions |
| Word cloud | Types a few words. Frequent words get bigger. | An opening question, collecting terms |
| Scale | Rates statements from 1 to 5 by default, or any range you set. | Agreement, feedback, mood |
| Open wall | Posts short answers that appear as cards. | Ideas and opinions on a topic |
| Questions | Asks questions to the speaker and upvotes the ones of others. | Q&A with a larger group |
| Quiz | Answers against the clock. A correct answer scores between 500 and 1,000 points, more the faster it comes. | Training, workshops, icebreakers |
| Leaderboard | Nothing: it shows the podium of the whole quiz. | The end of a quiz round |
How do I add a live poll to my presentation?
Two ways lead to a poll slide: ask for it when you create the deck, or insert it into a presentation you already have.
Step 1: Switch on Live when you write your brief
In the box where you describe your presentation, turn on Live. It carries a New badge. When it is on, the label reads "Live is on: your audience joins on their phones", and Slaide can build poll, quiz or question slides into the deck. Check the result: you decide which slides stay.
Step 2: Or insert a poll by hand
Open the … menu of a page and choose Insert live poll, or click Live poll in the page rail. Pick the type, and Slaide adds the slide after the current one.
Step 3: Write the question and the answers
Click the text and type, as on any slide. A poll or quiz needs a question and at least two answers, and a quiz needs one answer marked Correct. Missing parts are flagged on the slide, for example "Question missing" or "Correct answer missing".
Step 4: Set the rules
The settings chip on the slide offers what fits the type: Answers per person, Words per person, Time per question, Scale, Show result (Instantly or On click) and Show posts or Show questions (After approval holds each entry until you approve it).
Step 5: Leave the join area on the slide
Each poll slide has an area for the QR code, the address and the code. Slaide fills it in for you, so you do not type the code anywhere.
How do I run a live poll while I present?
Step 1: Click Present live
The button sits in the editor header and appears once the deck contains a poll. Slaide opens a live room for the document and the presentation starts. Other ways to present offers With moderator view and Present without live.
Step 2: Show the join screen
Press Q or choose Join screen (Q) in the Live menu (L). Your audience scans the QR code or opens slaide.de/live and enters the code. For a call, Copy invite for the Teams/Zoom chat copies a line with the link and the code.
Step 3: Step through the slides
Use the arrow keys. On a poll slide the right arrow first reveals the result if you chose On click. On a quiz it starts the question, reveals the answer and shows the leaderboard before it moves on.
Step 4: Close the voting
Choose Close voting in the Live menu when you have enough answers. Reopen voting lets people answer again, and Hide results takes the bars off the big screen without closing the vote.
In a quiz the Live menu also holds Start question, Reveal answer, Show leaderboard and Restart question. Answers count only while the timer runs, plus a short buffer for slow connections.
How do I moderate posts and questions?
The moderator view is a second window or a phone that controls the live session while the slides run on the big screen. Open it with Open presenter view in the Live menu, or start with With moderator view. It shows your notes, the running order and the answers. Short texts and nicknames pass a simple word filter: a hit stays hidden until you approve it, whatever setting you chose.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| On phones now | Shows which question the audience sees and how many people have joined and answered. |
| Next | The big button for the next step: reveal the result, start or reveal a quiz question, or switch to the next question. |
| Approve, Hide, Mark answered | For posts and questions: let an entry appear, take it down, or mark a question as answered. Show again brings a hidden entry back. |
| Delete responses | Removes all responses to the current question after a second tap. |
| Join at | Shows the address and the code, with Copy invite, Test as audience and QR code. |
| Live options | Questions from the audience, Reactions, Pause, Resume, End live and Start over. |
How do I keep the results?
While a poll runs, the result grows on the slide. When the live session is over, Slaide asks whether to bring the results into the document.
- Insert as result slides adds slides with the results to the document and saves the table in the document's sources.
- Only save as source table keeps just the table.
- Not now closes the question without adding anything.
What does my audience have to do?
Your audience needs a phone or laptop with an internet connection and nothing else: no app and no account. Only you need a Slaide account.
- Scan the QR code on the join screen or open slaide.de/live.
- Enter the 8-digit code. Spaces and dashes in it do not matter.
- Answer the question on screen. The page updates by itself when you move on.
- Change the answer while the voting is open with Update answer.
- In a quiz, pick a nickname for the leaderboard.
What are the limits of live polls?
These limits apply to every live session. The audience page tells people when a limit is reached.
| What | Limit |
|---|---|
| People per live session | 50 on the free plan, 500 with a paid plan |
| Options in a poll or quiz | up to 8 |
| Statements in a scale | up to 6 |
| Words per person in a word cloud | up to 3, each up to 25 characters |
| Posts on an open wall | up to 5 per person, each up to 200 characters |
| Questions to the speaker | up to 5 per person, each up to 280 characters |
| Time per quiz question | 5 to 120 seconds, 20 by default |
| Nickname in a quiz | up to 20 characters |
| Storage of answers | 30 days after the session |
- Voting works only while you present from Slaide. In a downloaded file, for example a .pptx, poll slides are ordinary slides, and Slaide asks before you download. See Export to PowerPoint.
- You and your audience need an internet connection. If the live connection breaks, the phones check for updates at regular intervals instead.
- One live session runs per presentation, and one slide holds one poll.
Frequently asked questions
Do my participants need an account or an app?
No. They scan the QR code or open slaide.de/live, enter the 8-digit code and answer in the browser on their phone or laptop. Only you need a Slaide account.
How many people can join a live poll?
Up to 50 people per live session on the free plan and up to 500 with a paid plan. Once the limit is reached, further people see "This session is full".
Can I use live polls in an exported PowerPoint file?
Not for voting. You can download the deck as .pptx, but the poll slides are ordinary slides there, and your audience can only vote when you present from Slaide. Slaide asks you before the download. See Export to PowerPoint.
Can I run a live quiz with a leaderboard?
Yes. Insert a quiz slide, mark the correct answer and set the time per question (5 to 120 seconds). A correct answer scores between 500 and 1,000 points, more the faster it comes. A leaderboard slide shows the podium at the end.
Can I approve questions and posts before the audience sees them?
Yes. Choose After approval in the settings chip of the slide, and each post or question waits until you approve it in the moderator view. A short word filter holds back rude entries in any case.
How long does Slaide keep the answers?
Answers, posts, votes and nicknames are deleted 30 days after the session, reactions one day after it. Results you bring into the document stay part of the document. Details are in Privacy and data protection.
Do live polls use credits?
Starting and running a live session does not use credits. Building or changing slides with Slaide does, as with any other request. See Credits explained.