Ten Ways To Use Polls In Your Next Virtual Town Hall That You Never Thought About
For organizations striving to keep the focus of their employees during virtual events and corporate livestreams, creative use of poll questions can maintain or even boost engagement levels. A lot of companies already know that… but they can get stuck trying to think of good questions or applications for this tool.
Here are ten different styles of polls that can keep your viewers hooked!
1. CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE
This style of poll intentionally puts some control into the hands of your audience–– which can be a bit scary at first, but can be a great gauge for what your employees are currently fixated on or concerned about. In short… you ask them what they want to hear about first!
What topic are you most interested to hear about?
- New PTO and
- Personal Time
- Policies
- New Maternal/Paternal Leave Policies
- Our Latest Acquisition
- Our New Logo & Slogan
- Our Pay Rate Changes to Address Inflation
Now keep in mind, you still need to have a planned and ordered Run of Show for your live event. The last thing you want to do is switch which of your presenters is speaking first, because that can create a high-stress situation of confusion and uncertainty backstage. However, if you have one speaker or one panel that is going to be covering all of the available topics (without presentation slides) listed in the poll, then by all means let the audience pick which subject gets addressed first!
If you can’t really allow your audience to steer a single meeting’s topics, though, you can still ask them other questions to determine the focus of future meetings or events! (And remember, you can control what these options are, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with arbitrary submissions that you don’t actually want to talk about).
Which topic do you want our next meeting to focus on?
- New Healthcare Policies
- Our New Media Department
- Our New Product In R&D
- Our Upcoming Hybrid Work Schedule
What should our first post-covid company celebration be?
- Big Family-Friendly Picnic
- Ski Trip
- Potluck Movie Night
- State Fair visit
2. TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE/NEVER HAVE I EVER
This is an especially fun style of poll to employ, either as a getting-to-know-you exercise with new staff, or seeing how well your employees know one another if they’ve all worked together for several years!
Nick has done all of the following except…?
- Ridden an elephant
- Fished in Alaska
- Worked in the Olympic Games
- Flown a Crop Duster
3. STAFF SUPERLATIVES
In the same vein as the previous topic, another fun bonding activity for company staff is to award funny titles to one another (like the High School Superlatives you might see in a yearbook)!
Who on our team is most likely to own a pet tarantula?
- Jerry
- Sunny
- Tommy C
- Agnes
Which quote would be under BJ in a yearbook for 2022?
- “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.”
- “Life’s too short not to have dessert.”
- “Shoutout to the sidewalks for keeping me off the streets!”
- “Be excellent to each other… and party on, dudes!”
Which title is the best fit for Benny?
- Most Likely to Go Skydiving
- Most Likely to Get a Hollywood Biopic
- Most Likely to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
- Most Likely to Get Invited to the Oscars
If Dominic got a secret tattoo, what would it be?
- A cartoon character
- A word or quote in another language
- Someone’s name
- Something from nature (plant, animal, planet, element etc.)
4. VACATION AND TRAVEL
From here, your poll topics can begin to stray away from the strictly-corporate… but you can still use some of these questions to brainstorm future company events! Say you want to surprise your staff with a big company retreat, but you want to pick a location. Look no further than your livestream polls!
What makes the best vacation spot?
- Breathtaking Mountains
- Refreshing Oceanside
- Vibrant Cities
- Historic Cultures
What makes the most relaxing vacation?
- Fast Wifi
- No Wifi
- Outdoor Activities
- Guided Tours
- Spa Treatments
Or, let’s say you’ve got a trade show coming up. What better way to nail down some ‘extracurricular’ activities for your employees than to gauge what they’d be the most excited about!
What’s your Number-One experience for first-time visitors in Atlanta?
- Aquarium/Zoo
- Botanical Gardens/Centennial Park
- Clubs & Nightlife
- Hikes and Greenspace
- CNN & Coke
- International Cuisines
5. CURRENT TRENDS/BINGES
If you don’t mind giving your viewers a brain-break from company activities altogether, give them space to talk about their current pastimes!
Which TV shows are you currently binge-watching?
- True Crimes
- Marie Kondo
- Bridgerton
- Star Wars
Which Covid hobby did you take up in 2020 (even if you’ve stopped now)?
- Sourdough baking
- Kombucha brewing
- Gardening
- A new exercise
- More books/podcasts
6. CHILDHOOD HOBBIES
Another good way to give viewers a nice brief distraction from the present… is to hit your staff with a blast from the past!
As a kid, you were signed up to practice…?
- Soccer
- Baseball/Softball
- Basketball
- Football
- Swimming
- Gymnastics
- Ballet/Dance
- A Musical Instrument
What did six-year-old-you want to be when you grew up?
- Detective
- Veterinarian
- Superhero
- Doctor
- Music Star
- Movie Star
7. BEST VS. WORST
Another fun way to induce some harmless competition in an entertaining arena is to open the door to some arbitrary, opinionated debates…
Which food group would be the hardest to stop eating for life?
- Bread
- Dairy
- Sweets
- Coffee & Tea
What is objectively the worst vegetable ever?
- Eggplant
- Okra
- Lima Beans
- Peas
- Brussel Sprouts
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
One sport gets banned forever. Which do you choose?
- Curling
- Dressage (Horseback Riding)
- Regatta (Boat Races)
- Skateboarding
8. EITHER/OR
If you need your polls to stay on the short side, just introduce shorter and more polarizing options!
Pick One:
- Big Breakfast
- Big Dinner
Which one are you?
- Early Bird
- Night Owl
Which do you use?
- Vacuum
- Roomba
9. WOULD YOU RATHER
Alternatively, you could offer some very simple questions that induce a lot of deep thinking! There are even board games centered around this style of questions.
Would you rather fight…
- A single horse sized duck
- An army of duck-sized horses
Would you rather live the remainder of your life in…
- The Arctic
- The Sahara
Would you rather lose…
- Your sense of sight
- Your sense of taste?
Would you rather…
- Pay off one house
- Never pay for a car again?
Would you rather…
- Sing Karaoke
- Give a Speech/Monologue
The options are virtually endless.
10. HOME HABITS
Lastly, one final and valuable way to help your team members bond is to let them share a little bit about themselves and who they are outside of the office–– which is especially more relevant as remote work becomes a common practice throughout the world.
What is the ideal thermostat temperature? (Make sure to include both Fº and Cº if you have international employees!)
- Below 60ºF / 15ºC
- 60-65ºF / 15-18ºC
- 66-70ºF / 18-21ºC
- 71-75ºF / 21-23ºC
- Over 75ºF / Over 24º
When last-minute guests drop in, where do you hide the mess?
- Closets. All the closets.
- Key kitchen and bathroom drawers.
- Behind/under select pieces of furniture.
- I actually have a special basket/box to dump that stuff into.
- Around a corner that I pray they don’t walk past.
- Hide it? I display it.
Before loading dirty dishes in the dishwasher, you should…
- I dunno. Eat off of them?
- Scrape the larger food chunks off.
- Rinse or soak them a bit.
- Wash them, obviously! The machine is just for sanitation.
What are your Zoom habits?
- Walking Around the House
- Cooking/Cleaning
- Camera Always Off
- Camera Always On
- Napping Right Beforehand/After
- Always Got a Kid/Pet In My Lap
- Wearing Pajamas
- Wearing Half-Pajamas
Whether you’re looking to keep your employees focused on the meeting at hand, build up their relationships, or just give them permission to laugh and relax a little… it’s hard to go wrong with a handful of poll questions during your virtual town halls. We think you’ll find before long that it becomes one of the most valuable parts of your gatherings!
HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?
Here Are Some of the Top Questions We Get Asked About Virtual Events:
- What Should I Include In My Virtual Event’s Agenda?
- Which Is Better: Live, or Pre-Recorded?
- Should A Voice Of God Be Used In Our Virtual Town Hall?
- Should Our Presenter Use a Teleprompter?
- Should We Allow Open Chat And Emojis In Town Hall Meetings?
- Should We Include a Live Q&A Segment During Our Virtual Town Hall?
- What Kinds of Contests Can We Use to Get Staff Excited For Our Virtual Meetings?
- What Production Equipment Should We Use to Make Sure Our Presenters Look Great?
- How Can Our Company Better Recession-Proof Our Town Halls?
- How Much Would Going Virtual Help Our Sustainability Initiatives and Reduce Our Carbon Footprint?
- Is There a Way to Collect Data From Our Livestreams to Get Analytics on Engagement?
- What Are Best Practices for Coming On-Camera?
- What Are the Best Wifi Settings for Our Next Virtual Meeting?
- Which Virtual Event or Streaming Platform Should We Use?
If you’d rather not wait for us to release our next blog article answering each of these questions in turn, feel free to reach out to us at optimumproductions.com/contact-us and we can help you plan the virtual event that’s right for your company!
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