Presenters in BigBlueButton are able to initiate polls throughout the live session; users can reply when prompted and contribute to the poll.
As a presenter you can use polling to engage students, perform test/exam reviews or pop quizzes, or use polling informally to collect information about your users.
- To start a poll
- Polling verbally
- Using a custom poll
- Using smart slides
By default, the first Moderator to enter the BigBlueButton session is allocated the presenter role capabilities; if you are a viewer you will need to request presenter status from the moderator.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-11_at_4.49.05_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221121/60619c17a5a1b.png)
When a user has the presenter role, the presenter icon will appear over their avatar in the users list.
Starting a Poll
![Screen_Shot_2019-04-03_at_10.48.07_AM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221141/60619c17ed153.png)
Select the Actions menu [1] in the lower left hand corner of the presentation window, then Start a poll [2].
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_4.09.21_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221161/60619c185f7af.png)
The polling menu will open with several options. Use the Quick or Custom Poll [5] options to initiate a poll.
As users respond to the poll, the results are visible to the presenter in the polling menu.
BigBlueButton displays the polling results in two ways: Anonymized results [1] and Individual user responses [3].
The anonymized results can be Published [2] to the presentation area.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_11.53.24_AM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221201/60619c194c372.png)
Once published, response options will no longer be available to users. Results will publish to the bottom right hand corner of the screen; published results appear as annotations and will be viewable in the recording playback.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_4.12.41_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007066842/60619c19a7a7a.png)
Select " to minimize the polling menu or "X" [2] to close.
To continue with another poll select Back to polling options [3] .
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_11.42.51_AM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221221/60619c1a18a50.png)
When minimized, the polling menu will appear under messages and above the users list. Select to reopen/continue polling.
Quick Polling
The most basic form of polling is a Quick Poll where the presenter asks the intended polling question verbally.
Quick polls are a great way to obtain "Yes/no" information or pose questions on the fly during the live session.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_4.18.36_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221241/60619c1a698e4.png)
Once the question has been asked you can then select the appropriate response from the list of quick polling options.
Custom Polling
A presenter has the option of creating a custom poll while in a live session to input specific polling options that are not listed in the quick polling list.
The presenter would still ask the intended polling question verbally.
Custom polling is a great way to ask more specific questions or provide more tailored response options.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_4.29.02_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221261/60619c1ab4daf.png)
Select the Custom Poll [1] option from the polling menu.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-13_at_4.26.33_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007066862/60619c1b13417.png)
Enter up to five custom response options into the Input Fields [2], then select Start Custom Poll [3] to initiate.
Smart Slides
Smart slides enable a presenter to prepare a polling slide deck in advance or include polling questions in their regular content.
With smart slides, BigBlueButton detects when a question is being posed and provides a quick polling option to the presenter.
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-14_at_3.03.17_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007066882/60619c1b60631.png)
To create smart slides, ensure you are using the the format: "question" followed by "reply options".
We recommend using the following reply options for best results:
- True/False
- Yes/No
- Multiple Choice
![Screen_Shot_2019-03-14_at_3.11.23_PM.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007066902/60619c1bc989c.png)
When questions and reply options are displayed, the BigBlueButton detects the intended poll and provides the presenter with a Quick Polling button [1].
![mceclip1.png](https://support.bigbluebutton.org/hc/article_attachments/1500007221281/60619c1c4fd05.png)
Select the quick polling button to initiate the poll without navigating through the action menu or using the polling menu.