Run a live poll
Create a session, add a poll, open the room, and watch results tally live on the big screen.
A poll is one activity inside a session — the live, presenter-run event type. Here's the shortest path from nothing to a room voting in real time.
1. Create a session
From the dashboard, type a title into New event title… and click
Create event (or use one of the starter templates — Hackathon kit, Team
retro, Quick poll — on an empty dashboard). You land on the session page in
draft status.
2. Add a poll activity
Under Activities, click a poll card in Add an activity — single or multiple choice, results tally live. Fill in the question and options in the composer, then save it. The activity now shows up in your activities list, waiting to be presented; add as many as you like before or during the event.
3. Open the event
Click Open event. The session status moves to open, and the join code
panel switches from draft to live: your join code is displayed large, and a
join at URL (oratora.live/play/<code>) appears underneath.
4. Share the join code
Read the join code out, put it on a slide, or share the play URL directly.
Participants who open oratora.live/play/<code> on their phones land in the
lobby and appear in the roster as they join — no login required.
5. Open the big screen
Click Open big screen ↗ to open oratora.live/screen/<code> on the
projector or shared display. This is the room's shared view — the roster
while people are joining, then whatever activity you present.
6. Present the poll
Back in the host console, click Present on your poll activity. It goes live to every participant's phone and to the big screen simultaneously — the Present button is only enabled once the event is open.
7. Watch results tally live
As responses come in, the host console and the big screen update in real time (pushed over Oratora's realtime tier, not a page refresh). When you're ready to lock it, click Close & reveal to close the poll to new responses and reveal the final tally.
8. Wrap up
Present more activities the same way, then click End to close out the session once the room is done. If AI summaries are enabled for your plan, a summary generates from the session's activity afterward.
Same fields, different delivery
A poll here uses the same field engine as a form — the difference is delivery. A session is live and host-driven; a form collects responses asynchronously at its own published link.