Use Zoom Polls During Meetings

Quick Links: | Prerequisites | Instructions | Troubleshooting | Next Steps |

Launching polls during your Zoom meetings allows you to engage participants in real-time and gather immediate feedback. You can launch pre-created polls or create new ones on the fly during your meeting. Once launched, participants can respond to your questions, and you can share results with the group.

Prerequisites

Before launching polls during meetings, ensure you have:

  • Created polls for your meeting (optional - you can also create polls during the meeting)
  • Started your scheduled Zoom meeting
  • Host or co-host permissions (transferred hosts can only launch existing polls, not create new ones)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Launching Pre-Created Polls

To launch a poll you created before the meeting, do the following:

  1. Start your scheduled meeting
  2. From the Zoom toolbar, select Polls/Quizzes (this option may be within the More menu)
  3. If you have multiple polls, use the dropdown arrow at the top right next to Edit to select which poll to launch
  4. Select Launch to make the poll visible to participants and begin gathering responses

Note: Participants cannot see the poll until you select Launch.

  1. Monitor responses as they come in
  2. When you're satisfied with the response rate, select End Poll
  3. Optional: Select Share Results to display the poll results to all meeting participants

Creating Polls During the Meeting

You can also create polls on the fly during your meeting:

  1. From the Zoom toolbar, select Polls/Quizzes
  2. Select Create to build a new poll
  3. Add your question and answer options
  4. Select Save
  5. Follow the launch steps above to deploy your new poll

Now your poll has been successfully launched and completed, and participants have had the opportunity to respond.

Troubleshooting

If participants report they cannot see the poll, ensure you have selected Launch rather than just opening the poll interface.

If you cannot find the Polls/Quizzes option, check the More menu in the Zoom toolbar, or verify that polling is enabled in your account settings.

Alternative hosts can only launch polls that were created before the meeting. If you need to create new polls during the meeting, the original meeting host must do so.

Next Steps

After launching polls during your meeting, you can:

Still need help? If you run into problems or still need help, reach out to the Technology & Learning Program. 

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