# Live polls, word clouds and quizzes in Slaide

Slaide Help · Create and edit · Last checked: 2026-11-11 · 8 min read
URL: https://help.slaide.de/live-polls-and-quizzes
Documentation index for agents: https://help.slaide.de/llms.txt

> 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 |

> **Note:** One slide holds one live poll. Inserting a poll by hand works on 16:9 slides.

## 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.

> **Note:** A poll slide takes the design of your deck. You change its text and look the way you change any other slide.

## 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.

> **Note:** Rehearse with **Present without live**. Nobody can join, so nothing is collected.

## 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**. |

> **Tip:** Open the moderator view on your phone or in a second window, so you can approve questions without leaving the slides.

## 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.

> **Note:** **Start over** sets all answers back to zero for a new round. The earlier answers stay saved.

## 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.

1. Scan the QR code on the join screen or open slaide.de/live.
2. Enter the 8-digit code. Spaces and dashes in it do not matter.
3. Answer the question on screen. The page updates by itself when you move on.
4. Change the answer while the voting is open with **Update answer**.
5. In a quiz, pick a nickname for the leaderboard.

> **Note:** Slaide asks your audience for no name and no email address. A random device ID in a cookie lets each device vote once and change its answer. More in [Privacy and data protection](https://help.slaide.de/privacy-and-data-security).

## 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](https://help.slaide.de/powerpoint-export).
- 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.

> **Limit:** On the free plan the closing screen of your audience carries a small note "Made with Slaide". Plans are explained in [Plans and pricing](https://help.slaide.de/plans-and-pricing).

## 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](https://help.slaide.de/powerpoint-export).

### 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](https://help.slaide.de/privacy-and-data-security).

### 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](https://help.slaide.de/how-credits-work).

## Related articles

- [Present your slides and add speaker notes](https://help.slaide.de/present-and-speaker-notes.md): Present your slides, add speaker notes by hand or with the assistant, see them while presenting, and share a public link that never shows your notes.
- [What stays editable in the PowerPoint export](https://help.slaide.de/powerpoint-export.md): What you can edit in an exported .pptx: text, shapes, pictures, tables and notes, how charts and effects arrive, and which animations come along.
- [Privacy, GDPR and data protection](https://help.slaide.de/privacy-and-data-security.md): Where Slaide stores your data, what goes to AI providers in the USA, what is excluded by contract, what you control yourself and where to read the full policy.
- [Plans and pricing: Free, Plus, Pro and Max](https://help.slaide.de/plans-and-pricing.md): What Free, Plus, Pro and Max include and cost, how to upgrade or switch to yearly billing, and the one-time option for a single document.