36 Live Poll Ideas for Streamers, Grouped by Show Type

What Makes a Good Live Poll

A live poll earns its place on a stream when it does one of three things:

It changes what happens next. Viewers pick the next game, the next song or the next topic, and then they see it happen. This is the strongest kind of poll.
It asks for a prediction. "How many attempts will this take?" Everyone has a stake until the answer arrives.
It asks for an opinion. Hot takes, debates and quick check-ins. Easy to run and good for getting chat talking.

Whichever kind you run, one rule matters more than the rest: do what the poll says. If viewers vote for the horror game and you play something else, they stop voting.

Below are 36 poll questions, six for each type of show, with suggested options. Swap in your own names and titles.

Gaming Streams

Which game do we play next stream? Up to six titles from your backlog.
Fight the boss now or farm first? Fight now / Farm for 20 minutes.
How many attempts will this level take? 1 to 2 / 3 to 5 / 6 to 10 / More than 10.
Pick my challenge for the next match. No HUD / Pistols only / Inverted controls / No challenge, play to win.
Ranked or casual tonight? Ranked / Casual.
Which character do I main this week? Three or four from the roster.

Talk Shows and Podcasts

Who won that argument? Guest / Host / Nobody.
Which topic do we take next? Three from your run of show.
Hot take: [your statement]. Agree? Agree / Disagree / Depends.
Which question should I ask our guest first? Three questions, written short.
Where are you watching from? Europe / North America / Latin America / Africa / Asia / Oceania.
Should we do a part two on this? Yes / No / Only with another guest.

Music Streams

Which song do I play next? Three or four from the setlist.
Acoustic or full band for the closer? Acoustic / Full band.
Which decade for the next set? 70s / 80s / 90s / 2000s / 2010s.
Pick next week's cover. Four shortlisted songs.
Speed it up or slow it down? Faster / Slower / Keep it as is.
Which unfinished original should I finish first? Two or three working titles.

Church and Faith Streams

How are you joining us today? On my own / With family / With a small group / In the building.
Which hymn should we close with? Three or four options.
Which theme for next month's series? Three themes.
Would you join a midweek online study? Yes / Maybe / Not right now.
Youth night: which game first? Three games the leaders are ready to run.
Which part of today's message would you like to hear more about? The main points of the message as options.

Education and Classes

How confident are you with today's topic? Got it / Mostly / Not yet / Lost.
Predict before we test it: which ball lands first? The heavy one / The light one / Both together.
Am I going too fast? Too fast / About right / Too slow.
Which example should we work through next? Two or three problems.
What should we review before the test? Up to six topics.
Exit poll: what was hardest today? The day's main topics as options.

Brand and Business Streams

Which product should we demo next? Three products.
Which color should the next edition come in? Three or four colors.
Pick the name for our new flavour. Four shortlisted names.
What stops you from trying [product]? Price / Time / Not sure it is for me / Something else.
Which question should our team answer first? Three questions collected before the stream.
Would you join a monthly live Q&A like this one? Yes / Maybe / No.

If a poll fits a whole format rather than a single segment, 12 show formats you can run on Live Studio has more ideas for building a show around audience choices.

Tips on Writing Options

Two to four options is usually right. A playout.video poll takes 2 to 6 options of up to 80 characters each, but long lists take time to read on screen. Save six options for things like regions or a backlog of games.
Keep options short and different from each other. Chat voters can type the letter or the option's text, so "Fight now" and "Farm first" are easier to type than two long options that start with the same words.
Give people an honest way out. "Not sure" or "Something else" lets viewers who do not fit the other options still vote.
Use ranges for predictions. "3 to 5 attempts" is easier to vote on than an exact number.
Do not trick people. A poll is not a quiz. If you want right and wrong answers with points, run a quiz instead.

Tips on Timing

Match the voting time to the moment. Voting can run from 10 seconds to 10 minutes, with 60 seconds as the default:

Moment	Voting time
A snap decision in the middle of a game	15 to 30 seconds
Most polls	60 seconds
A decision you take while you keep playing or talking	3 to 5 minutes, so late arrivals can vote

Do not open a poll in the first minute. Wait until people have arrived and settled in. The start of your second segment is a good spot.

Hide results when you want honest answers. With Results while voting off, the board shows only the vote count until voting closes, so early votes do not sway later ones. Leave it on when watching the bars move is half the fun, like a head-to-head between two guests.

Tell viewers they can change their mind. Each person gets one vote, but they can change it until voting closes. A close race keeps moving right up to the end.

Plan for a tie. At the close, the board lights the winner, and a tie lights every tied option. Decide before the show how you break one: you choose, a guest chooses, or you run a quick two-option runoff.

Run the same poll twice. After the result, Vote again sets the same poll up fresh; press Open voting to start the second round. Ask "Hot take: agree?" before a debate and again after it, and see if anyone changed sides.

Where Viewers Vote

On YouTube, Twitch and Facebook, viewers can vote in chat by typing the letter (A, B, C) or the option's text. Anyone can vote by phone: the Poll board shows a QR code, and voting needs no app and no account. Viewers on Kick, TikTok and LinkedIn vote by phone, because chat is not read there. Phone answers vs chat answers goes into the trade-offs.

YouTube and Twitch also have their own poll tools, and they are fine for a quick question to that platform's chat. A board poll is for when you want the poll on screen in your own colors and font, with votes from every platform you stream to. If YouTube is your main platform, how to run a live poll on YouTube compares the two.

How to Run One

In the Live Studio, add the Poll board from the built-in samples, select it, open its inspector and choose Content: Poll.
Type the question and options, set the voting time and choose whether results show while voting.
Press Use this poll.
In the Control panel, press Open voting. Close it with Close voting, or let the timer close it.

The full steps are in run a live poll.

What to Try First

Pick three ideas from your show type and write them before you go live.
Run one at the start of your second segment, one mid-show and one near the end.
Use 60 seconds for the first one and adjust from there.
Act on every result, and say so on air: "You picked it, so here it is."

For more ways to get your audience involved, see interactive live streaming.