Beyond polls and word clouds
Live audience slides beyond polls and word clouds.
Polling and word-cloud tools show a room what the room thinks, in one shared view. LiveSlide.Pro gives each person a slide built from their own goal, and a 7-day follow-up at their own link. This page explains the difference so you can pick the right tool for each part of your session.
Side by side
A general comparison of the two categories. Individual products vary.
| Question | Typical polling and word-cloud tools | LiveSlide.Pro |
|---|---|---|
| What appears on screen | One chart, ranking, or word cloud for the whole room | A slide for each person, plus group themes |
| What each attendee gets | A view of the group result | Their own slide and a 7-day follow-up link |
| Best moment to use it | Quick votes, check-ins, and energizers throughout a talk | The opening, to shape the session around the room |
| After the session | Often a results summary for the presenter | Prompts, a workflow, and a 7-day plan for every attendee |
| Where the output lives | Varies by tool | A live deck in your browser, with exports to PowerPoint, PDF and Google Slides |
When a poll is the better choice
If you want a quick show of hands, a vote on which topic to cover next, or a word cloud to warm up the room, a polling tool is fast and fun. Answers are short, results are instant, and you can run many polls in one talk.
When a slide per person is the better choice
When your audience is mixed and each person came with a different question, one shared chart flattens that difference. A personal slide answers the question each person actually brought. It works best in workshops, training, and breakouts, where the goal is for people to leave able to do something new.
LiveSlide.Pro also looks at the room as a whole. It groups goals into themes and suggests how to adapt your agenda, so you keep the shared view as well.
An example: the same room, two ways
Illustrative example · fictional people
A 30-person workshop on writing with AI
With a poll: you ask “How often do you use AI for writing?” The chart shows most people use it “sometimes.” Useful, and everyone sees the same bar chart.
With LiveSlide.Pro: each person answers “What do you want to get out of today?” Sam, a grant writer, wants help with first drafts. Lena, an editor, wants to spot AI-written submissions. Each gets a slide with a mini-lesson, three teaching points, and a prompt for their own situation, and a follow-up link with a 7-day plan.
Many presenters would run both: a poll for a quick temperature check, and LiveSlide.Pro to make the session personal.
How it works in 3 steps
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Open the projector screen
Sign in, title the session, and click Create session. The projector screen opens with the QR code.
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People scan and share a goal
A name, what they want to get out of today, and consent. No app and no account.
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Present, then follow up
Click Start presenting, and the deck fills in live in your browser. Close with Send follow-ups & close session.
Privacy, briefly
Personal slides need personal input, so we keep it to a minimum. Only a name and a goal are required, with consent on the form. Email is optional. IP addresses are stored only as one-way hashes, and submissions are anonymized 30 days after the session by default. The privacy policy has the full detail.
Common questions
Is LiveSlide.Pro a polling tool?
It serves a different job from a poll. A poll collects one answer from many people and shows the total. LiveSlide.Pro collects each person’s goal and writes a slide and a follow-up for that individual. Many presenters will use both.
Can I still show the room as a whole?
Yes. Alongside the personal slides, LiveSlide.Pro analyzes the room as a group and suggests themes and an adaptive agenda, so you can speak to the whole audience and to individuals.
Do attendees need an app?
No. They scan a QR code with their phone camera and fill in a single web page: a name, what they want to get out of today, and consent. Other questions are optional.
Where do the slides appear?
In a live deck that presents right in your browser and fills in as each person’s slide finishes. Export it to PowerPoint, PDF or Google Slides any time. If you prefer to present from Google Slides, set the session to build a Google Slides file.
What does it cost?
LiveSlide.Pro is free while we’re in beta. Founding presenters keep $29/month when billing starts, and we email at least 14 days before any charge. See pricing.
Give every person in the room their own slide.
Free while we're in beta. You need a laptop with a web browser, and attendees need only a phone camera.