It can be really tough keeping things interesting and lively in virtual meetings. But some features make it possible, like polls. There’s nothing too extraordinary about them, and yet they are rather effective in making a meeting more engaging.
Google Workspace users everywhere now have access to this tool in their arsenal. Whether you want to make your meetings or classes more immersive, or you’re looking for fun ways to break the ice in new meetings and get to know the people, polls will quickly become your go-to.
Creating Polls in Google Meet
Only users with a Google Workspace Business, Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise plus, and teachers and students with a G Suite Enterprise for Education license will have access to poll creation in Google Meet. There’s no word on whether free account users will have access to the feature in the future.
Also, only the meeting moderator with an eligible account, i.e., the person who started or scheduled the meeting, can create polls in Google Meet.
To create a poll, go to meet.google.com from your computer. You cannot currently create polls if you’re using the mobile app. Log in with your Google Workspace eligible account and start a meeting.
Then, go to the toolbar on the top-right corner of the screen, and click the option for ‘Activities’ (third icon from the left).
The meeting details panel will appear on the right with the activities tab open. Click the ‘Polls’ option.
Then, click the ‘Start a Poll’ button.
Enter the question and options for the poll. You have to add a minimum of two options to all polls. But to add more, click the ‘+’ icon. There can be a maximum of 10 options for a question. You can only add a single question at a time.
Now, you can either launch the poll right away or save it for later. Click the ‘Launch’ button, and all eligible participants will be able to see and respond to the poll. Click the ‘Save’ button to launch it later.
All saved polls are available from the Polling panel for the duration of the meeting unless you delete it. You can also edit a saved poll before launching it.
Click the ‘Create a new poll’ button to launch additional polls in the meeting. You can only add one question to each poll, but there can be as many new polls as you want.
Managing Polls in Google Meet
Once you launch the poll, you can manage or moderate it from the same panel. You can also see the responses to the poll from here. Initially, only you can see the results of the poll. To share the results with participants at the end or anytime during the poll, turn on the toggle for ‘Share results with everyone’. You can turn it off at any time.
The poll results within the meeting are limited. You (the meeting moderator) and other participants (if you share the results with them) can only see how many votes each option got and not each participant’s individual response. The meeting moderator receives an email at the end of the meeting containing a more detailed report. The report will include the names of participants and their answers.
To end a poll, click the ‘End the Poll’ button.
After you end the poll, participants will no longer be able to submit a vote. But they’ll still be able to see the poll. Click the ‘Delete’ button to delete it.
Using Google Meet Polls as a Participant
Participants don’t need an eligible Google Workspace account to vote in Google Meet polls. In fact, unlike Breakout Rooms, even participants who are attending the meeting as a guest, i.e., without logging in to a Google account, can submit responses in a poll.
But the participants, too, need to attend the meeting from their computer. If you’re attending the meeting from the mobile app, you won’t even know if and when the meeting moderator launches a poll, let alone submit a response.
When the moderator launches a poll, you’ll get a notification on your screen. Click it to launch the poll.
But if you miss the notification, the ‘Activities’ icon on the top-right corner will have a small dot to indicate there’s something new. Click it.
The Polls option will have a similar dot to show that “something new” is a poll. Click the ‘Polls’ option, and you’ll be able to see the poll.
To submit a response, select the option and click the ‘Vote’ button. You cannot change your response once you submit it.
The moderator will be able to see your name and response in the detailed report. Once the poll ends, you won’t be able to submit a response. If the meeting moderator shares the results with you, you’ll also be able to see the combined results of the poll.
Polling is a quick and fun way to make a meeting more engaging. With Google Meet’s easy to use interface, they’ll quickly become your favorite. And a quick tip: if you’re presenting in the meeting, start the meeting early and create and save polls. Then, you can launch them later at the right time. Even if you launch a poll early, participants who enter the meeting later will still be able to see and participate in them.
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