Running a live poll

Live polls let you ask your audience a question mid-event and watch the answers roll in — all displayed on your projector in real time. You build the poll in the director controls, open it to guests in the room, and the results appear on screen automatically.

Before you start

Two things need to be on before polls will work:

1. Guest hub enabled. Guests need a way to participate. In your event settings, make sure the guest hub is turned on. When it is, guests can join your event on their phones at nextset.ca/<venue>/<event> or by scanning the QR code shown on the projector.
2. Polls module enabled. In your event's experience settings, confirm that the polls module is switched on.

Step 1 — Create the poll

1. Open the director controls for your event.
2. In the interactions panel, select Polls and click New poll.
3. Type your question — keep it short enough to read from across the room.
4. Add your answer options. You can have two or more choices.
5. Click Save. The poll is saved as a draft and won't be visible to guests yet.

You can create several polls in advance and launch them one at a time during the show.

Step 2 — Launch the poll to guests

When you're ready to open the poll:

1. Find the poll in your interactions list and click Launch.
2. The poll becomes live instantly. Any guest who has joined the event on their phone will see it appear in the guest hub.
3. Guests tap their answer — they submit once per poll.

Only one interaction can be live at a time. Launching a new poll automatically closes the previous one.

Step 3 — Show results on the projector

Results don't have to go on the projector the moment the poll opens — you control the timing.

1. In the director controls, find the results visibility toggle for the active poll.
2. Switch it on when you want the audience to see how the votes are stacking up.
3. The projector updates within a few seconds. The audience sees the live tally without anyone having to reload anything.
4. When you're done, click Close to end the response window, or launch the next poll to move on.

Step 4 — Close or move on

• Close the poll when you want to stop accepting new votes. Results stay visible on the projector until you hide them or launch something new.
• Launch the next poll whenever you're ready — the previous one closes automatically.

Tips for a smooth poll

• Share the QR code early. Put the join QR on the projector a few minutes before you run your first poll so guests are already connected.
• Keep answer options short. They need to read well on both a phone screen and the projector.
• Prepare your polls in advance. Draft all your questions before the show so you're just tapping "Launch" on the night.
• Check the guest count. The director controls show how many guests have joined. If it's lower than expected, remind the audience to scan in.

Common problems

Guests don't see the poll. Make sure the guest hub is enabled for the event. If it's off, guests can't join and the interaction panel won't appear on their phones. Also confirm the poll is actually in Live status — a draft poll is invisible to guests.

Results aren't showing on the projector. The results visibility toggle needs to be turned on in the director controls. Results don't appear on the projector automatically when the poll opens — you decide when to reveal them.

Results are slow to update. The projector refreshes on a short interval. If you've just seen a flurry of votes come in, give it a few seconds and the counts will catch up. There's nothing to reload.

A guest says they can't submit an answer. They need to have joined the event first — just scanning the QR code and entering a display name. If they skipped the join step, direct them to the event's join link or the QR code on the projector.

The poll launched but no one responded. Check that the room knows the poll is open. The projector shows the QR code and join prompt by default — make a verbal announcement and give guests 20–30 seconds to respond before you reveal results.