To create a poll, open a free AhaSlides account, add a new slide, choose the Poll slide type, type your question and answer options, then hit Present and share the code — your audience can start voting from their phones in under 30 seconds. Below, we'll walk through every step, plus how to add images, change the chart style, and collect responses asynchronously.
Why is Creating a Poll Important?
Using a poll during before, during, and after an event can boost audience engagement and gather valuable insights. Research shows that 81.8% of virtual event organisers use event polling to improve interaction, while 71% of marketers use polling to make sure that their audience doesn't lose attention.
49% of marketers say that audience engagement is the biggest contributing factor to having a successful event. The effectiveness of polling extends beyond just keeping attention—it drives meaningful participation. Studies indicate that 14% of marketers are focused on creating interactive content in 2026, including polls, recognising their power to engage audiences and gain insight into their needs.
Beyond engagement, polls serve as powerful data collection tools that provide real-time feedback, enabling organisations to make data-driven decisions and create more targeted, relevant content that resonates with their specific audience needs.
How to Create a Poll that Engage Live Audiences
Need to whip up a quick poll? AhaSlides' live polling software is the easiest way to make the process hassle-free. You can choose different types of poll from the usual multiple-choice to word cloud, present the poll in front of the audience to gather instant responses, or let them do it asynchronously, all in under 1 minute preparation.
Step 1. Open your AhaSlides presentation:
- Create a free AhaSlides account and open a new presentation.
Step 2. Add a new slide:
- Click the "New Slide" button in the top left corner.
- From the list of slide options, choose "Poll"
Step 3. Craft your polling question:
- In the designated area, write your engaging poll question. Remember, clear and concise questions will get the best response.
Step 4. Add answer options:
- Below the question, you can add answer options for your audience to choose from. AhaSlides allows you to include up to 30 options. Each option has a 135-character limit.
5. Spice it up (Optional):
- Want to add some visual flair? AhaSlides allows you to upload images or GIFs for your answer options, change the chart colors as well as altering between bar chart, donut chart and pie chart, making your poll more visually appealing.
6. Settings & preferences (Optional):
- AhaSlides offers different settings for your poll. You can choose to allow multiple answers, enable a time limit, close submission, and hide the result, or change the layout of the poll (bars, donut, or pie).
7. Present and engage!
- Once you're happy with your poll, hit "Present" and share the code or link with your audience.
- As your audience connects to your presentation, they can easily participate in the poll using their phones or laptops.
In settings where you need the participants to response in an extended period of time, go to 'Settings' - 'Who takes the lead' and switch to Audience (self-paced) option. Share this poll survey and start getting responses anytime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a poll in a PowerPoint presentation?
Yes you can. The easiest way is to use the AhaSlides add-in for PowerPoint, which will add a poll slide directly to the PPT presentation and enable the participants to interact with it.
Can I create a poll with pictures?
It's doable in AhaSlides. You can insert image next to your poll question, and include image in each poll option for a more robust and visually-appealing poll.
Once you've nailed the basics, here's where to go next: compare more free polling tools, see how AhaSlides stacks up against Poll Everywhere, explore polling in the classroom, browse the best classroom response systems if you need clicker-style tools with LMS integration, or check out alternatives if you're coming from Mentimeter.
For the full survey creation process from objective-setting to analysis, see: How to create an online survey: the complete guide.
