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How to Use the Q&A Feature in Google Slides

2 minute read

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It’s common knowledge that Google Apps is a great cloud-based tool for collaboration, but the recent Q&A feature in Google Slides really kicks it up a notch.

The benefits of the cloud are real. In fact, a 451 Research report we recently commissioned found that, for end users, the major benefits of cloud applications included enhanced data synchronization, improved collaboration, and less dependence on email.

Google Slides is no exception. With this interactive Q&A feature, you can collaborate with your audience by allowing them to submit questions and vote on them during Slides presentations. Here’s how to use this handy feature.

  • In Slides, click the dropdown arrow next to Present in the top-right corner, and click Presenter view. 

Google Slides QA Presenter view

  • Click on Start new to start a presentation session.
  • You’ll see a URL displayed as a header across the top of your presentation. This is the URL that attendees can use to submit questions based on your presentation.

Google Slides QA 1

  • When audience members visit that URL, they’ll see a very simple interface where they can type a question into a box at the top of the screen. They have the option to ask the question anonymously if they don’t want to be identified.

Google Slides QA 2

  • Audience questions will appear on your (the presenter’s) screen in real-time. If you want to show a question to the audience, you can click on Present and the question will be displayed in your presentation for everyone to see. This really creates engagement between you and your audience.

Google Slides QA 3

  • Audience members can also vote up or down (using the thumbs up and down icons) for questions. This is useful for very large presentations where a presenter might only have time to answer a few questions, and can focus on the ones that receive the most votes.

A few notes from Google on this feature:

  • The Slides Q&A feature works on desktop computers, Android mobile devices, and iOS mobile devices.
  • You can only use Slides Q&A if you have edit or comment access to that Slides presentation.
  • By default, any user in your domain can submit a question. If your organization permits external sharing, you can allow external users to submit questions as well.

Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

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