Presentation or Survey
Before you add a single slide, Slidea asks one question that shapes everything else: will you be there when people respond, or not?
That question is really about pacing, not features. Both formats use the exact same slide library, the same scoring, and the same results report at the end. The only real difference is who decides when the group moves from one slide to the next. Get this choice right early, and the rest of building your deck barely needs to change even if you switch later. Get it wrong, and you may end up rebuilding a live icebreaker as a take-home form the night before it’s due.
A good rule of thumb: if you can picture yourself standing in front of the room (or on a call) advancing slides while people react in real time, you want a Presentation. If you’re picturing a link landing in someone’s inbox that they’ll get to whenever suits them, you want a Survey.
| Presentation | Survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Who controls the pace | You. One slide advances for everyone at once. | Each person, on their own |
| Good fit for | Meetings, classes, talks, workshops | Feedback forms, take-home quizzes, async check-ins |
| How people get in | A join code or QR code, shown the moment you present | A link you send whenever you like |
| Live-only features | Remote, live Annotations, response locking | Not applicable. There’s no live room to control. |
| Start it from | New Presentation | New Survey |
The live-only row is worth explaining. Features like Remote (which turns a phone into a clicker), live Annotations, and locking responses only make sense when someone is actively running the session, so they don’t apply to a Survey. Reactions work the same in both formats. People can react to a slide whether it was presented live or opened on their own.
You’re not locked in. Switch a deck between the two from the format selector at the top of the editor, any time before you run it. This is useful when plans change. A session you built as a live team workshop can become a take-home survey with no rebuilding if the meeting gets cancelled, and the other way around.
The format selector sits at the top of the editor. Use it to switch between Presentation and Survey any time before you run the session.
Frequently asked questions
Can the same deck be run once as a Presentation and once as a Survey?
Yes. The format selector just changes how the deck is delivered. You can run it live with your team, then reuse the same deck as a Survey link for anyone who missed the session.
Do participants need different instructions for each format?
Not really. Either way, they go to the join URL and enter a code or scan a QR code. The only difference is timing. A Presentation code only works while you’re actively running the session, while a Survey link stays open until you close it.
Which format should I pick for a take-home quiz?
Use New Survey. Quiz Slides like Select Answer and Lineup still score responses the same way. You just won’t be there advancing slides in real time.
Are results combined if I run the same deck multiple times?
Each run is tracked separately in Reports & Results, so you can compare sessions rather than have them blend into one dataset.