(Playbook) Use Kahoot! for an event where your audience is active and can provide feedback, and you can collect their opinions

This event format is perfect for workshops, discussions, and feedback collection.

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. Interactive event “icebreaker” questions to consider: Does your audience know each other or not? What kind of audience information could be relevant for the host and the participants (age, country or city they come from, department they work in, title)? This is relevant for creating the best “get to know you” brief icebreaker introduction question in your kahoot.
2. What level of live interaction and collaboration would you like your audience to have with the host throughout the event? Should they be able to provide live feedback on their mobile devices throughout the event, or ask questions, or give their opinion via live polls? Would you like to allow your audience to provide it multiple times throughout the event or just once?
3. Why do you need the input and opinions from your audience? What’s the goal or purpose of gathering it (nice to know feedback or relevant for making decisions, creating a debate or providing a better understanding for the audience)? Make sure you ask all your internal stakeholders what opinions they need from the audience!
4. Should the audience's suggestions be anonymous or not? Anonymity can provide more honest responses.
5. Is it an all-day event or a short event? Depending on the length of your event, we recommend you to use kahoot multiple times throughout an event if it’s an all day event (Play kahoot in the beginning of your event as an icebreaker so people can get to know each other, use kahoot to create discussion in the middle part of your event, and use kahoot in the end of your event, to capture feedback from your audience), and one time or throughout the whole event, if it’s a shorter event.

Once you have planned your event, considering the above, you’re ready to start creating your kahoots.

Creating feedback kahoots for 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, choose the “Icebreaker kick-off” template, and just follow the kahoot structure and update each quiz element with your questions and visuals.
   

   💡 If you choose “Blank canvas” you will see that there’s already a default quiz question added to your kahoot.
    

5. Click the dropdown menu on the right side labeled “Quiz”, then choose one of the “Collect opinions” question types: Poll, Scale, NPS scale, Drop pin, Word cloud, or Open-ended.
   💡 We suggest you choose the "Word cloud" question type and prepare an icebreaker question* for your audience. 
   Here are some examples you can use: "Where have you travelled from to get here?", "How long did you travel to get here?", "What department do you work in?", "What’s your job title?", etc.
    

6. Click the blue “Add questions” button on the left side and choose one of the “Collect opinions” question types, depending on what engaging question you want your audience to answer. Examples:
   
    a.  Poll: "What is your preferred method of communication?" (Options: Email, Slack, In-person).
    b.  Scale: "On a scale of 1 to 5, how well do you feel this topic was explained?".
    c.  NPS Scale: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this event to a colleague?".
    d.  Drop Pin: “Place the pin on the map where you travelled from to get here".
    e.  Wordcloud: “Type in the word you think of, when I say Customer Service”.
    f.   Open-ended: "What is one key takeaway you have from the first session?".
    g.  Brainstorm: “Key in 2 ideas for making our customers more satisfied”.
    

   💡 If you include Brainstorm question type in your kahoot, you can choose that participants can                earn points based on peer feedback (voting for best ideas). If you want a session without points or          a podium, remember to select no points for Brainstorm.
          
   
   ☝️ Note:
   The availability of specific features may depend on your account type and subscription plan.
    

7. Continue adding “Collect opinions” questions to your kahoot according to your event plan.
8. Don’t forget to set the time limit for each question. If it’s a question that requires group discussion or consideration, add more time so your audience has more time to answer.
   
    
9. We recommend you add slides in between your questions to provide essential context and information to support your questions. This will allow you to elaborate on audience feedback and moderate the any discussions or survey results.
   
   
   💡 You can create slides directly in kahoot creator or upload and sync your own Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint slides into your kahoot. If you use your own slides, remember to drag and drop them in the correct order between your questions.
    
10. Remember to add a title to your kahoot and include a cover image to make it visually appealing and easy to identify.
    
     
11. Consider adding your own theme, if your plan allows it. Adding a theme to your Kahoot! quiz boosts engagement by making it visually appealing and consistent with your branding.
    
12. When you have added all the “Collect opinions” questions and slides to your kahoot, then you’re ready to test it. See example below:
    

We strongly recommend you test and practice hosting your kahoot presentation before the event. Here’s our 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 the question.
• Answering Time: Allocate sufficient time for participants to consider the options and select their answer, especially for more challenging questions.
• Image/Video Load Time: Factor in any potential delays in loading media, especially if participants have varying internet speeds.

💡 Adjust the above accordingly in the kahoot editor.

3. Slide transitions and media

• Transitions: Check that transitions between questions, as well as transitions to other questions or slides, are smooth and not jarring.
• Media Integration: Verify that all images and videos play correctly and are synchronized as intended.
• Platform Consistency: If you're presenting via screen sharing, ensure the kahoot displays correctly on your screen and how it will appear to participants.

💡 Tip! Run the kahoot in "Preview" mode within the editor. This simulates the participant’s view and allows you to see how everything flows.

4. Participant's perspective when joining and playing

• Joining Process: Test the process of joining the kahoot using a separate device (phone, tablet, or another computer).
  Ensure the game PIN is displayed clearly and the nickname selection is straightforward.
• Answering Experience: Check if the answer buttons are responsive and easy to tap or click.

5. Internet connection

A stable internet connection is crucial for a lag-free experience for both the host and the participants.

• Host connection: Ensure your device has a strong and reliable wired or Wi-Fi connection.
• Participant connection: While you can't directly control participant connections, be mindful that variations can occur.
  Keep media files optimized for faster loading.

💡 Run a speed test on your internet connection before your event.
💡 If possible, test your kahoot from the location where you will be hosting it during the actual event.
💡 Advise participants to ensure they also have a stable connection for the best experience.

6. Hosting settings

• Test if the lobby music is appropriate and not too loud.

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

Start and host live your 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. 

• Presentation mode/Lecture mode (recommended for live kahoots without points): This game mode gives you full control over the game flow. Each question is displayed to your audience on a pre-slide, and you manually advance to the next step to allow them to provide feedback or answers. In this mode, the scoreboard won't appear automatically during the game - you decide if and when to show it. Similarly, the final podium won't be shown by default, but you can display it at the end. Learn more about Presentation mode here.
• Classic mode: 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.

Discover all Kahoot! game modes and find the best fit for your session.
👉 Read more about different Kahoot! game modes here.

Things to remember when starting your live kahoot

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

✔️ Start your kahoot with a slide or a few icebreacker questions, so everyone has time to join, before your real presentation starts, and you move on to your main content.

✔️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 collecting opinions:

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!