Create and Manage Polls in Microsoft Teams

Want to run polls in Microsoft Teams? Here’s everything you need to know in 30 seconds:

Teams polls let you collect feedback and make decisions during meetings. You can create polls before or during meetings, and participants can answer from any device.

Feature	Details
Poll Types	Multiple choice, word cloud, rating, ranking
Who Can Create	Meeting organizers and presenters only
Where It Works	Scheduled meetings, meeting chats, group chats
Limits	Up to 400 polls per meeting, 15 questions each
Results	View live or export to Excel

To create a poll right now:

1. Click ”+” in your Teams meeting
2. Search for “Polls”
3. Add the app and launch your poll

Key things to know:

• Starting August 2024, Teams is switching from Forms to a new Polls app
• Polls don’t work in channel meetings or 1:1 calls
• You can make polls anonymous
• Responses work on mobile, web, and desktop

Want to save time? Set up your polls before meetings by adding the Forms tab when scheduling.

When to Use	Poll Type	Example
Quick Decisions	Multiple Choice	”Which project next?”
Feedback	Rating	”How was the training?”
Ideas	Word Cloud	”What should we focus on?”
Priorities	Ranking	”Rate these features”

Setting Up Polls in Teams

What You Need Before Starting

Here’s what you need to create polls in Teams:

Requirement	Details
Role	Meeting organizer or presenter
Apps	Polls app installed in Teams
Meeting Types	Scheduled meetings, meeting chats, group chats
Storage Limit	Up to 400 polls per meeting

“The Polls app is now the go-to tool for Teams meeting polls, taking over from the Forms app” – Microsoft Teams Product Documentation, 2024

There are two ways to set up polls:

1. During Meetings

Click ”+”, type “Polls” in the search box, and add it to your meeting. That’s it.

2. In Chats and Channels

Find Forms at the bottom of Teams. Can’t see it? Click “Messaging extensions” and pick Forms from the list.

Here’s where each poll type works best:

| Poll Feature | Location | Use Case | | — | — | | Quick Polls | Message bar (three dots) | Chat feedback | | Meeting Polls | Meeting tab (+) | Meeting feedback | | Forms | Channel messages | Team surveys |

Polls work in:

• Scheduled meetings
• Meeting chats
• Group chats

But NOT in:

• Channel meetings
• 1:1 calls

Want to save time? Add the Polls tab when you set up your meeting in Calendar. It’ll be ready to go when your meeting starts.

Making Your First Poll

Here’s how to create and set up polls in Microsoft Teams:

Opening Forms in Teams

Getting to Forms takes just 4 clicks:

1. Teams in the left sidebar
2. New conversation
3. Three dots menu (Messaging extensions)
4. Forms

Writing Poll Questions

Your questions need to be clear and specific. Here are some examples that work:

What You Need	What to Ask
Meeting Feedback	”Did this training help you?”
Team Decisions	”Which project comes next?”
Scheduling	”Pick your preferred meeting time”
Task Updates	”Where are you with your tasks?”

Setting Answer Options

Teams gives you these ways to collect answers:

Type	When to Use It
Multiple Choice	Simple picks between options
Word Cloud	Getting ideas and thoughts
Rating	Measuring satisfaction
Ranking	Setting what matters most

To set up answers:

• Write each option
• Hit Add option for more
• Switch on Multiple answers if needed

Poll Privacy Settings

Pick how your poll handles responses:

Setting	What It Does
Share results automatically	Everyone sees answers right away
Keep responses anonymous	No names shown
Record names	Shows who picked what

For tough topics? Go anonymous. Need to track who’s responding? Turn on name recording.

Quick Tip : Double-check your settings before sending – they’re permanent once the poll starts.

Want to speed things up? nBold helps you make poll templates you can use again and again in Teams meetings and channels.

Using Advanced Poll Options

Teams gives you different ways to create polls. Here’s what you need to know:

Poll Question Types

Here’s a breakdown of Teams poll options:

Question Type	Best For	Features
Multiple Choice	Quick decisions	Up to 12 options, single/multiple answers
Rating	Satisfaction surveys	Scale of 1-5, stars or numbers
Word Cloud	Brainstorming	Open responses shown as visual cloud
Ranking	Priority setting	Up to 5 items to order
NPS	Customer feedback	Score calculated from promoters/detractors

You can customize each poll with these settings:

Setting	What You Can Do
Answer Limits	Set max responses per person
Result Display	Show/hide results during voting
Time Limits	Set poll duration
Comments	Allow/disable participant comments

Making Polls Anonymous

Want to keep responses private? Here’s how:

Step	Action
1. Setup	Turn off email collection
2. Privacy	Enable “Keep responses anonymous”
3. Results	Choose whether to show live results
4. Access	Set who can view responses

About Anonymous Polls:

• You can change your vote after submitting
• Team owners can’t see who voted for what
• Exports don’t include user data
• You control if others see results in real-time

Pro Tip : Need extra privacy? Third-party tools like Vevox offer more security features than Teams’ built-in polls.

Want to save time? Use nBold to create poll templates with your favorite settings ready to go.

Running Polls in Team Meetings

Here’s how to run effective polls in your Teams meetings:

Starting Polls in Meetings

Want to launch a poll? Here’s what to do:

Step	Action
1	Click ‘+’ in the top nav bar
2	Type “Polls” in the search
3	Add Polls to your meeting
4	Hit “Launch” to start

A few key things to know:

• Only organizers and presenters can run polls
• Works in scheduled meetings and group chats
• Won’t work in channel meetings or 1:1 calls
• Your team sees a pop-up when the poll starts

For big meetings (50+ people):

• Update the group at 75% response rate
• Count down the final 10 seconds
• Close the poll to stay on schedule

Showing Poll Results

Here’s what you can do with your poll data:

Action	Steps
Show Results Live	Turn on “Share aggregated results”
Get the Data	Export to Excel post-meeting
Find Old Polls	Check Forms.microsoft.com > “My Forms”
Team Updates	Post results to Teams channels

What works best:

• Read questions out loud
• Display results after voting
• Open the floor for discussion
• Keep the data for later

“Once we were set up with a paid Teams business account… we were able to try out the polls option in Teams Meetings.” – Teams Poll User

Pick the right poll for your needs:

Goal	Type	Question Example
Start Talks	Multiple Choice	”What’s your take on our meetings?”
Test Knowledge	Quiz	”What makes a good interview question?”
Get Feedback	Rating	”Did this help you?”
Quick Calls	Yes/No	Simple two-option votes
Team Ideas	Word Cloud	Open-ended brainstorming

Want to move faster? nBold lets you create poll templates with your go-to settings and questions.

Understanding Poll Results

Here’s how to find and make sense of your poll data in Microsoft Forms and Teams:

Getting Poll Data

You can grab your poll results in 3 ways:

Where to Look	How to Get There	What You’ll See
Forms App	App Launcher > Forms	Every response
Teams Channel	‘+’ > Search ‘Polls’	Channel poll overview
Forms Website	forms.microsoft.com	Full poll history

Want to dig deeper? Here’s what each tool gives you:

Tool	Where to Find It	What It Does
Response Summary	Forms > Responses	Shows totals and timing
Individual Results	Click More Details	Breaks down each question
Excel Export	Export button	Raw data for deep dives
Summary Link	Options menu	Quick way to share results

Making Sense of Results

Forms shows you these numbers that matter:

What to Look At	What It Tells You	Why It Matters
Response Count	Who participated	Shows how many people joined in
Time Stats	How long it took	Helps you plan better polls
Question Details	What people answered	Shows you the patterns
Active Users	Who’s engaging	Tells you who’s involved

Here’s what to do with big teams (50+ people):

Do This	Why It Helps
Look at all responses	See the big picture
Use ID numbers	Track who said what
Make summary links	Share fast with the team
Save to Excel	Keep your records safe

Remember: Forms and the Polls app share the same data. Want quick access? Just bookmark forms.microsoft.com and check “My Forms” often.

Tips for Better Polls

Here’s how to create polls in Teams that people actually answer:

Writing Good Questions

The best poll questions are short and focused. Here’s what works:

Do This	Don’t Do This	Why
One clear topic	Multiple topics mixed	People skip confusing questions
Max 4 options	Long option lists	Quick decisions = more answers
Short, direct questions	Paragraph-style questions	People read and respond fast
Clear, exact words	Fuzzy language	You get data you can use

Want quick meeting feedback? Here’s what to ask:

Question Type	Perfect For	Real Example
Yes/No	Fast calls	”End meeting now?”
Multiple Choice	Scheduling	”Pick meeting time: 2PM or 3PM?”
Rating	Speaker feedback	”Rate today’s demo: 1-5”
Word Cloud	Team ideas	”One word about Q1 goals?”

Getting More Responses

Here’s what gets people to answer:

Action	How	Results You’ll See
Add deadlines	”10 min to answer!”	+5-30% responses
Drop it in chat	Share during calls	Half the team answers
One follow-up	Tag missing votes	85% will answer
Keep it tiny	2 questions max	Done in 7-8 min

When to launch polls in big meetings:

Time	Poll Type
Meeting start	Quick ice breakers
Post-main points	Knowledge checks
Pre-break	Quick pulse check
Wrap-up	Next action votes

Pro tip : nBold lets you save poll templates. Build them once, use them often.

Key numbers to remember:

• Stop at 15 questions
• Give 2-3 minutes in live meetings
• For async? Check back in 24 hours

Using nBold with Teams Polls

Making Poll Templates

nBold makes it simple to create poll templates for your team check-ins. Here’s what you get:

Template Type	What to Include	Best For
Daily Stand-up	• Progress updates
• Blockers check
• Priority votes	Morning team sync
Project Feedback	• Task completion status
• Resource needs
• Risk assessment	Weekly project reviews
Meeting Pulse	• Engagement rating
• Topic relevance
• Next steps voting	Regular team meetings

Teams is switching from Forms to the Polls app in August 2024. With nBold, you can:

• Copy Forms tabs between teams
• Create ready-to-use poll layouts
• Add new tabs with poll options

Connecting Polls to Other Apps

Here’s how nBold + Power Automate makes your polls work harder:

Action	What It Does	Time Saved
Auto-launch	Sends polls at set times	5-10 min per poll
Data Export	Moves answers to SharePoint lists	15-20 min per dataset
Response Tracking	Tags missing team members	3-5 min per follow-up

Setting up is fast:

1. Pick your template in nBold
2. Set sharing rules
3. Link to Microsoft 365
4. Start polling from Teams

You can use Polls on any device – phone, web, or computer. Only meeting owners and presenters can control polls. Everyone else just answers them.

Remember these limits:

• Each poll can have up to 15 questions
• You’ll see results in the meeting chat
• Active polls show up as “LIVE”

Summary

Here’s a clear look at Microsoft Teams polls:

Poll Feature	What You Get	How to Use
Question Types	Multiple Choice Poll, Multiple Choice Quiz, Word Cloud Poll	Pick what fits your meeting
Access Control	Meeting owners and presenters create polls	Right-click meeting, select “Chat with participants”
Results View	See updates live (except anonymous polls)	Click Forms icon at top
Storage	Data sits on U.S. or Europe servers	Based on where your team is

What works for different meetings:

Meeting Type	Best Poll Type	Launch Time
Daily Check-ins	One quick question	Meeting start
Project Reviews	Several questions	Middle of meeting
Team Decisions	Hidden names for honest feedback	After group talk

You’ve got two ways to make polls:

• Forms app : It’s built into Teams
• Polls app : Shows up August 2024

“Want to prep polls early? Add the Forms app as a meeting tab”, says Christian Buckley, Microsoft Regional Director and M365 Apps & Services MVP.

Here’s what you CAN’T do:

• Make more than 15 questions
• Hide results from chat
• Let regular attendees run polls
• Let people edit their answers

Tips for better polls:

• Set them up before your meeting starts
• Ask simple, direct questions
• Show everyone the results while meeting
• Do something with what you learn

One last thing: Your team can answer polls on any device – phone, computer, or web browser.

FAQs

Here’s how polls work in Microsoft Teams:

Question	Answer	What You Need to Know
Can you make Teams polls before meetings?	Yes	– Create in Microsoft Forms
– Launch during meetings
– Works on all devices
Can I start collecting answers before the meeting?	Yes	– Add Forms tab to meeting
– Set up your questions
– Get responses right away
Do all Teams versions have polls?	No	– Not in GCC High/DoD
– Works in regular Teams
Does it work on any device?	Yes	– Mobile phones
– Web browsers
– Desktop apps

“You can build your polls in Microsoft Forms before your Teams meeting starts. Then just launch them during the meeting – everyone can answer, no matter what device they’re using.” – EngineTyme, Independent Advisor

Want to set up a poll before your meeting? Here’s how:

1. Go to Teams calendar
2. Click your meeting
3. Add Forms tab
4. Make your poll
5. Save it

This helps you:

• Keep meetings on track
• Start getting answers early
• Plan better
• Track responses easily

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