How do I run a live quiz in SlideSpeak?

Host a live quiz so your audience can join on their own devices and answer while you lead the session. You can open a lobby from the quiz tool or add a joining slide to a presentation.

Before you start

• Hosting requires a paid plan: Premium, Premium Plus or Lifetime. Participants can join without a SlideSpeak account.
• Use a quiz you own in your personal or active team workspace. Hosting from a presentation also requires owner access to that presentation; an invitation to edit someone else’s deck is not enough.
• Prepare a quiz with complete questions, answer options and the correct answers. See how to create a quiz from a presentation.
• Review the timing and result visibility before opening a new session. Changes to those settings apply to new sessions.

Step 1: Set the time per question

Open the quiz in the dashboard’s quiz tool. Click Quiz settings, or open the three-dot menu next to the quiz title and choose Quiz settings.

Under Time per question, choose a preset from 5 to 120 seconds. The setting applies to every question in a new live session. Choose enough time for participants to read the question and its options.

If you’re editing the quiz inside a presentation, use the time-per-question selector in the quiz editor. On a phone, look under Live quiz timing.

Step 2: Choose Host live and result visibility

From the quiz page, click Use quiz and choose Host live. From a presentation’s Quiz panel, click Add quiz on the quiz card, then choose Host live.

Set Show results to participants before continuing:

• Turn it on to show answers, scores and leaderboards during the live session.
• Turn it off to keep those results hidden from the live quiz screens. You can still review responses in your saved results.

The choice applies to new live sessions. To use a different setting, prepare a new session with the option you want.

Step 3: Open a lobby or add a joining slide

Host from the quiz tool

Click Open live lobby to host without a presentation. The lobby displays a QR code and join code for your audience.

If you want a joining slide instead, click Add joining slide, choose a presentation, then click Add live quiz slide. SlideSpeak adds the slide to that presentation. Open the destination presentation, click Present and advance to the joining slide to open the lobby.

Host from a presentation

Choose After current slide or At the end, then click Add live quiz slide. Click Present and advance to the joining slide to open the lobby.

Adding a joining slide does not start the questions. You start the session from the lobby after participants join.

Step 4: Let participants join and start the quiz

Participants scan the QR code, or go to app.slidespeak.co/join and enter the join code. They choose a nickname, which identifies them in the live results.

Wait for participants to appear in the lobby, then click Start quiz. At least one participant must join before you can start.

Step 5: Lead the questions

Each question has a countdown. It closes when time runs out or everyone has answered. To close it sooner, click Reveal answer when results are visible, or Close question when they’re hidden.

With results visible, review the correct answer and explanation, then click Show leaderboard and Next question. After the final question, click Show podium.

With results hidden, click Next question after each question closes. After the last one, click Complete quiz. Participants see a completion message without answers or scores.

You can click End quiz to stop a session early. Its results will show that the session ended early, so treat them as incomplete.

Step 6: Review the saved results

On the final screen, click Finish when hosting from the quiz tool, or Finish & back to slides when hosting from a presentation. This closes the session and records it as finished. From the quiz page, open Results. From a presentation, open the Quiz panel and click View quiz results.

Choose Live, then click View results beside the session. You can read participants’ accuracy, points and individual answers. Live points also reward response speed; they are not a percentage score. See how to review quiz results.

Frequently asked questions

Can participants join after I start the live quiz?

Yes. They can use the same join code while the session is open. Late arrivals can answer the current question if it is still open, then continue with the group. They cannot go back to questions you have closed.

How do tied scores affect the leaderboard?

Participants with the same points share a rank. If two participants tie for first place, both rank first and the next participant ranks third.

Troubleshooting

Host live asks me to upgrade. Hosting live quizzes requires a paid plan. Your participants don’t need a paid plan or account.

Participants are waiting for the quiz to start. Open the lobby, let them join and click Start quiz. Adding the joining slide alone does not start the questions.

The timer or visibility setting didn’t change in my session. Those settings apply to new sessions. Finish the current session and prepare a new one with the revised settings.

I can’t see answers or a leaderboard on screen. Check whether you turned off Show results to participants. Your creator report still contains the responses.

I want people to answer at different times. Use a self-paced quiz inside a shared presentation instead.