(Playbook) Use Kahoot! for an event where you can test the knowledge of your audience, while keeping them active and engaged, with quiz questions and points, adding a competitive element to your event

This event format is perfect for high audience engagement, fun and emphasising key knowledge and takeaways from your presentation

Disclaimer: The number of participants that can join your live kahoot and the availability of specific features may depend on your account type and subscription plan. Always check your subscription availability before you start creating or hosting your kahoot.

Shortcuts:

• Preparation
• Creating your kahoot
• Start and host your live kahoot

Preparation

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet”.

Make sure you plan your event thoroughly and in good time. Consider the following for your event planning:

1. What kind of knowledge would you like to test your audience on? What kind of key learnings or information should your audience remember? Do you have stakeholders with key information? Make sure you acquire this information from them in advance so you can add relevant questions to your kahoot.

2. Should there be prizes for the winners? If yes, what kind of prizes, and for whom?

• At the end of a live kahoot, a final podium will be shown with the top 3 players in Classic mode.
• In Presentation mode, the podium won’t appear automatically - you’ll need to reveal it manually.
• It’s recommended to give prizes or awards to the top 3 podium finishers.

3. Can your audience use mobile phones or laptops? Is your internet infrastructure stable and reliable enough for the number of participants expected?

4. When should you run kahoot? Beginning, middle, end of the event - or throughout the entire event?

• If it’s an all-day event: we recommend you use kahoot multiple times throughout the day (to create excitement in the beginning, engagement in the middle of the event, and as a peak end experience at the end of your event).
• If it’s a short event: Use kahoot at the beginning and end, or possibly throughout the entire event.

5. Should the audience participation be anonymous or not? Anonymity can provide more honest responses.

Once you have planned your event, how many times you’d like to host kahoots and when, you can start creating your kahoots.

Creating kahoots for testing knowledge and gamified quizzes at your event

1. Log in to your Kahoot! account.

2. In the top left corner, use the dropdown option to choose which workspace you want to create your kahoot in.
   

   Note:
   ☝️ Individual plans only have one private workspace, so skip this step if you only have one workspace.
   ☝️ If you choose to create your kahoots in your team workspace, your kahoots will be available for other team members for collaboration. 
   ☝️ If you choose your private workspace, your kahoots will only be available to you, and you might lack some features that are only available in your team space. 
   ☝️ You can move the kahoot from a private workspace to a team workspace later. (Read more about workspaces).
    

3. Click the “Create” button at the top right corner and select Kahoot.

4. Choose “Blank canvas” or choose “Templates”.
    
    

   💡 If you choose Templates, click “Event energizer” template and follow the kahoot structure. Update each quiz element with your questions and visuals.
   

   💡 If you choose “Blank canvas”, you will see that there’s already a blank default quiz question added to your kahoot. Use this blank quiz question element later in your kahoot.
   
   💡 Want to use AI to help build your kahoot? Read this guide.
    

5. We recommend you start creating your kahoot with a slide (or two) with the title of your event or kahoot, and information about the prizes the lucky winners can win or practical event or Kahoot! game information. This will allow extra time for participants to join your live kahoot, before starting the gamified element of your kahoot where participants can earn points.
   
   💡 You can drag and drop your slide to the top of your kahoot to make it the first thing participants see.
   
   
   💡 Want to use existing slides? You can add or upload Google Slides or PowerPoint slides directly into your kahoot. Learn more here.
   
    

6. After your first slide(s), it's time to add your first quiz question.
   💡 We recommend using the “Slider” question type and selecting the Maximum answer margin (if available in your subscription).
   This setting gives all participants some points, even if their answer isn’t close to the correct one.
   💡 Giving everyone points early on helps boost engagement and motivation right from the start.

   
    

   💡 Click here to learn more about each of the  “Test knowledge” question types.
    

7. Continue building your kahoot by clicking the blue “Add question” button on the left side. Then, choose one of the “Test knowledge” question types based on the kind of answers you want from your audience.

   💡 Use a mix of different question types to keep the quiz engaging and dynamic.

   💡 Keep your questions and answers short and concise to help participants stay focused.

   💡 For the best experience, add 10 to 20 quiz questions to maintain audience attention throughout the session.
   
    

8. Don’t forget to set a time limit for each quiz question. If a question is more difficult, consider giving your audience more time to think.

   💡 For more complex question types like Type answer, Slider, Pin answer, and Puzzle, it's best to set at least a 30-second time limit to ensure participants have enough time to respond thoughtfully.
   
    

9. Also, don’t forget to set the point level for each quiz question. You can choose between standard points, double points, or no points.

   💡 We recommend adding one double-points question in the middle of your kahoot and one at the end. This gives lower-ranking participants a chance to catch up and keeps the scoreboard dynamic.
   Curious about how the point system works? Learn more here.
   
    

10. We recommend you add supporting images or videos to your quiz questions to make them more engaging.

    💡 To add an element of surprise and excitement, use the “reveal image bit by bit” option.
    
     

11. Consider adding a few slides between quiz questions to provide important context or background information that helps explain the correct answers.
12. Remember to add a title to your kahoot and include a cover image to make it visually appealing and easy to identify.
    
     
13. Once you’ve added all your “Test knowledge” quiz questions and slides, you’re ready to test your kahoot to make sure everything runs smoothly. (Example)
    

We strongly recommend you test and practice hosting your Kahoot! presentation before the event. Here’s our step-by-step testing guide:

1. Double-checking your questions and answers is paramount

• Accuracy: Are your facts straight? Is there only one correct answer?
  Even a small error can lead to confusion and frustration.
• Clarity: Are the questions and answer choices easy to understand?
  Avoid jargon or overly complex phrasing that might trip up participants.
• Visuals: Do your images and videos load correctly and enhance the question?
  Are they relevant and appropriate?

2. The rhythm of your kahoot

• Reading time: Ensure participants have enough time to read and understand each question.
• Answering time: Give participants enough time to think through the options—especially for more complex questions.
• Image/Video load time: Factor in any possible delays in media loading, especially for those with slower internet speeds.

💡 Adjust all timing settings directly in the Kahoot! editor.

3. Slide transitions and media

• Transitions: Check that all transitions between questions, leaderboards, and slides are smooth and not distracting.
• Media Integration: Make sure all images and videos display correctly and are timed properly with your content.
• Platform Consistency: If screen sharing, confirm how Kahoot! appears to participants and test the display on your presentation setup.

💡 Tip: Use Preview mode in the editor to simulate the player experience and ensure everything flows well.

4. Participant perspective: joining and playing

• Joining process: Try joining your Kahoot! from a second device. Check that the game PIN is clearly visible and nickname entry is simple.
• Answering experience: Make sure answer buttons are responsive and user-friendly across devices.
• Leaderboard display: Confirm that the leaderboard updates accurately (especially in Classic mode).

5. Internet connection

A stable internet connection is essential for a smooth Kahoot! session—for both the host and the players.

• Host Connection: Use a reliable Wi-Fi or, preferably, a wired connection.
• Participant Connection: You can’t control their setup, but keep media optimized for fast loading.
  💡 Run a speed test and try hosting your kahoot from the actual event location ahead of time.

Advise participants to join from a stable connection for the best experience.

6. Hosting settings

Before you go live, check:

• The lobby music volume - make sure it’s not too loud or distracting.
• Your game options and hosting preferences.

🎯 In the next section, you’ll find our tips for hosting a successful live kahoot.

Start and host your live kahoot

Key considerations and recommendations before choosing your kahoot live format and hosting your kahoot.

Before you start your live kahoot session, you should update your settings. Click on the settings icon in the down right corner, and choose your live game settings.

Here’s what you should consider:

• Show questions and answers (recommended): This will show the questions and answers on the participants' own devices so they do not have to rely on the main screen only and act faster.
• Identifying the participant: If you need to identify each participant in your report following your kahoot, then you need to enable Player identifier (provide their email).
  
• Characters (recommended): Let the players add a personal touch by creating custom characters.
• Nickname generator (recommended). When participants join your kahoot, they have to choose a nickname, which can be shown in your kahoot. You have two options, but we recommend you choose the pre-defined anonymous nickname generator for big events, to avoid showing any inappropriate nicknames on your screen.
  💡 If you disable the nickname generator, participants can create their own nicknames.

Explore other live Kahoot! game settings such as theme customization, increase contrast, randomize the order of answers, lobby music options, autoplay, and more.
👉  Read the full guide to live game settings here.

Once you have selected your preferred live settings, you must choose which live mode you want to host:

What live mode should I choose? Live hosting offers a few options. 

• Classic mode (recommended for kahoots with quiz questions): This game mode will show a points scoreboard after every question. It will be displayed even if no one received any points – there are specific no-points question types. Classic mode also finishes off the live session by automatically showing a podium, regardless of whether anyone has any points. The classic game mode is recommended for live kahoots where the audience can quiz and score points during the game. Learn more about Classic mode here.
• Accuracy mode (great for kahoots with quiz questions where points are irrelevant): This game mode will not show any points or leaderboards, but will show players who answer questions correctly. Accuracy mode is designed to reward correct answers - the time participants took to answer is not a factor. It will not show one player at the top of the podium (the winner), but a podium of all players with the highest number of correct answers. Learn more about Accuracy mode here.
• Presentation or Lecture Mode (recommended for live kahoots without points): This game mode is more controlled by you as a host. Every question will be shown to your audience on a pre-slide, and you have to click next to allow your audience to provide feedback and answers. This game mode will not automatically show a scoreboard during the game, so you control this. This game mode will also not show any final podium at the end of the game, but you can choose to show the podium. Learn more about Presentation mode here.
• Team mode can add engagement and competition between groups and teams. Participants will join your kahoot and will be automatically assigned to your predefined teams. This will allow them to compete against each other. It’s a bit more complicated than classic mode, and you can learn more about team mode here.
• Game modes: We don’t recommend using game mode for events with more than 40 participants because they have a lower level of maximum participants.

When to start your live kahoot, remember this!  

✔️ Wait until at least half of your audience has joined before you click “Start”.

✔️ Start your kahoot with a slide or two, so everyone has time to join, before your real quiz starts

✔️Make sure the Kahoot! PIN will always be visible, so latecomers can still join.

Here are some hints and tips to maximize engagement when using Kahoot! for testing knowledge:

Ready to transform your events into engaging, interactive experiences and gather valuable audience feedback? Give this playbook a try for your next workshop, discussion, or feedback session and see the difference!