Here is a quick overview of adding & presenting your polls with the Office 365 Add-in.
In this article we cover:
- How to poll your question in PowerPoint
- How to re-open your poll
- How to run your presentation automatically
- PowerPoint short cuts
How to poll your questions to your participants:
To present your polls, enter slideshow mode and run your presentation as usual. The Office 365 Add-in is compatible with PowerPoint Presenter View, allowing you to see your notes while presenting.
If you have previously used the legacy Vevox PowerPoint Add-in, remember to manually turn on the PowerPoint Presenter view (enabling you to see your notes and next slide).
Each poll in your slide deck consists of:
- A question slide
- A results slide
Do not delete either slide, as they function as a pair.
When in slideshow mode, simply press Enter to advance through the slides. The control box in the top-right corner will indicate the poll's status.
Example of a Powerpoint slide deck going into slide show mode and advancing with the 'Enter' button with real time results.
Key Presentation Notes
In normal PowerPoint view, result slide placeholders disappear but will display correctly in slideshow mode.
- Advancing from a regular slide to a poll slide automatically opens the poll.
- Once the control box shows that the poll is open, participants can start submitting responses.
- The response counter (top-left) shows how many participants have voted.
- Press Enter again to close the poll and display results.
- The control box will update from "Open Poll" to "Showing Results" (you may briefly see "Preparing Results"—this is normal).
- After displaying results, advance to the next slide by pressing Enter.
- Depending on your settings, the results will show on poll close (this is the default setting) or toggle the button to display real-time results .
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If you wish to conceal your results entirely from participant view, make sure to disable the option to 'Display results on poll close'. However, these results will still be accessible in your data report.
Re-open a poll
If you accidentally close a poll too soon or need to revisit a question:
- Use the left arrow key to return to the previous question slide.
- The poll will reopen automatically for participants to submit responses.
- Press Enter (or arrow/spacebar) to close it again. The updated results will be saved in your dashboard and data report.
Running polls automatically:
To automate your polling sequence and let your presentation run on its own: Add poll slides to your presentation.
Go to the Transitions tab in the Advance Slide settings in PowerPoint.
Select the slides for timing adjustments (e.g., title and joining instructions slides gets a 5 sec delay before advancing).
Uncheck Advance on Mouse Click and check Advance Slide After, setting the desired duration.
Choose None as the transition effect.
Set polling slides to advance automatically after the preferred time (e.g., 10 seconds).
Start slideshow mode, and the slides will progress automatically.
Note:
You must manually set timing for each slide, as there is no default setting.
PowerPoint short cuts
Enhance your presentation with these handy shortcuts:
- B – Blackout the screen
- W – Whiten the screen
- Enter slide number + Enter – Jump to a specific slide (useful for hidden or ad hoc polls)
These shortcuts allow you to maintain audience focus and navigate smoothly without exiting slideshow mode.
With these tips, you can confidently engage your audience and gather insights effortlessly using PowerPoint polls!