How do people vote in a live poll?

Depending on the tool, they tap an answer on a web page or app, press a button on a clicker, or reply by text. With Textiful, people text in and reply with a letter or the answer itself.

Can I show live poll results on the screen?

Yes. Textiful has a public results page for projecting that updates in real time and shows counts and percentages only, never names or numbers.

Can a live poll collect emails too?

On Textiful, a poll is a step inside a capture flow, so you can ask for a vote and an email in the same conversation.

Can people change their vote?

On Textiful it's one answer per person by default, and you can turn on vote changes if you want them.

What is a live poll?

A live poll is a question put to an audience in real time. People answer from their phones or other devices, and the results update as votes come in, usually on the screen behind the speaker or on the stage display. Live polls are used to get the room involved, take a quick read on opinion, gather feedback, or let the audience decide something, like which song comes next or which topic the Q&A covers.

Live polls are one feature of a broader category called an audience response system.

How does it work?

The basic pattern is the same in every tool. The presenter asks a question with a few answer choices. People respond from where they're sitting. The tool counts the answers and shows the totals, and at some point the poll closes and the result is final.

Tools differ in how people respond. Some use a web page or app the audience opens, some use handheld clickers handed out at the door, and some use text messages, which work on any phone that can text and need nothing installed.

In Textiful, a poll is a step inside a capture flow:

People text a keyword or scan a QR code, then reply with a letter, the answer text, or a near miss. One-letter typos are forgiven.
It's one answer per person by default; letting people change their vote is optional.
You close a poll by hand or at a set time, and results freeze when it closes. Closing reminders, texting voters the result, and a closed message are optional.
Because the poll sits in a flow, the same conversation can ask for a vote and an email.

The public results page is built for projecting. It updates in real time, shows counts and percentages only (never names or numbers), comes in a dark or light theme, and can show a countdown, a closing time, or neither. When the poll closes it shows a winner or tie banner, with optional confetti. It carries a small "Powered by Textiful" link.

Why it matters at live events

A poll gives the audience a reason to pick up their phone during the talk instead of after it. A workshop leader asks "Which of these is your biggest problem?" at the start and adjusts the next 40 minutes. A band lets the crowd vote on the encore. A church asks which Sunday-afternoon event people would come to. A conference session collects a quick rating before people leave the room.

When the poll is part of a flow, the vote can also be the first step of a sign-up: someone answers the question, then gets asked for their email to receive the results or the slides. For setup tips, see How do I show live poll results on screen? or the live polls page.

Key takeaways

A live poll asks an audience a question in real time and shows results as they come in.
People vote by web page, app, clicker, or text, depending on the tool.
On Textiful, a poll is a step inside a flow, so a vote and an email can come in the same conversation.
Projected results show counts and percentages only, never names or numbers.

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