Live polling during an online event is a great way to get your audience engaged and give them a chance to provide feedback on specific topics. However, the questions you ask and the way you ask them matters! You also need to make it as easy as possible for your audience to contribute.
This blog article lists some best practices that can make your live polling experience a success, with an excited and engaged audience willing to give instant feedback.
#1: Map out interaction points
Rather than just “winging it”, be thoughtful about where to include live poll interactions within your presentation or event. Consider adding audience interaction every 10-15 minutes or so to keep your viewers engaged. If you map it out beforehand and have the polls handy, it will help with the flow of your event.
#2: Choose the right poll type
You have several options when it comes to polling, and you want to consider your objective when it comes to choosing what to use.
Multiple choice: Use this type when you want your audience to choose one or multiple answers from a pre-determined set. It can be good for quizzes, or voting on preferences.
Example:
“Which working model do you prefer:
1. Working in office
2. Working from home
3. Hybrid of both”
Word cloud: This option is good for when you want a visual representation of one-to-two word answers that describe your question.
Example: “What words come to mind when I say ‘work from home’?”
Ranking: These types of questions let your audience rate predetermined options, which is good feedback for you.
Example: “From 1-10, how important is the following statement: I should be able to determine my own hours at work.”
Open text: Try this option when you want your audience to submit their own answers and ideas, rather than you supplying options. Note that this works best for smaller audiences, because going through tons of answers will take time.
Example: “What do you think the future of work from home looks like?”
#3: Keep the questions simple
The last thing you want to do is stymie your audience with a head scratcher of a question. Live polls are meant to be quick and easy, and that requires simple questions. Think of what you want answers to, and figure out how to put it in the simplest terms possible.
#4: Make sure the audience gets value, too
Polls give you, the presenter, invaluable real-time feedback that you can use later to make even more content. But your audience will be able to tell if you questions are only self-serving.
When constructing your poll questions, make sure that the audience will also come away with something valuable that has to do with their interests.
#5: Use polls to further discussion
Live polls can be very useful for triggering a discussion. At each interaction point, plan at least 5-10 minutes afterwards to discuss the results with the audience. Be open to slightly diverging on your plan depending on the poll results – after all, this is real time feedback and what your audience wants to hear about most!
#6: Give instructions for voting
Be clear when giving instructions on your audience submits their answer, whether it’s through a poll software, their phone, or via the Zoom or WebEx chat. Having a plan in place beforehand to collect and sort the answers helps. You can even consider enlisting a friend or coworker to help.
#7: Share the results after the event
After the event concludes and you have had time to sort through and dig deeper into the poll results, share your findings with attendees via an email or even a wrap-up blog post. This indicates you were listening to their feedback, are in-tune with their interests, and want to provide valuable information. Plus, it’s an extra touch-point for you. Win win!
I hope these best practices help in your live polling efforts. An effective live poll during an event helps you engage with and entertain your audience, which in turn will help you get your message across and make a good impression. For beautiful and customizable live polls, try Digital Joy Engage software free for 30 days at https://www.digitaljoy.media/engage/.
