To make a Zoom presentation interactive, give participants a specific task in each section, such as posting a response in chat, raising a hand, or working out a solution in a breakout room. Test the feature you plan to use in your own meeting beforehand; if it is unavailable or does not work, prepare another way to run the same activity. The steps below focus on planning interaction in a live Zoom meeting.
1. Clarify the participation task
Before preparing your presentation, answer this question for each section: What will participants do, and what will you do with their responses? “I’ll ask a question” is not, on its own, an activity plan. Decide whether responses will come through chat, verbally, or by raising hands, and determine how you will use them.
For example, after explaining a concept, ask participants to write a one-sentence example in chat. Read the responses and summarize their common themes. This way, participation genuinely shapes the flow of the presentation. Polls, chat questions, raising hands, and breakout activities are among the forms of interaction that can be used in online classes (University of Illinois instructor guide).
2. Check the features in your meeting
Try the options you plan to use before the meeting starts. The availability of Zoom tools such as chat and raising hands may differ from that of polls and breakout rooms; account settings, meeting setup, and the interface participants use may all matter. If you plan to use polls, check the requirements in Zoom’s current guide to meeting polls. For example, this guide lists having a licensed meeting host and enabling the polling feature among the requirements for meeting polls. Do not assume a poll will be available until you have confirmed the settings in your own account and checked how it appears in the meeting.
For breakout rooms, also rehearse to confirm that the feature is enabled in your meeting and that participants can see the invitation. Guidance on ways to participate can vary over time: an older general guide from the University of Illinois reports a restriction related to the web client and some devices, while Zoom’s current guide to joining breakout rooms also lists joining through the web app among the supported ways to participate. So rather than saying that participants using a particular device or interface definitely cannot join, test your meeting in the format your participants will use. If the feature does not work, prepare a chat-based alternative for the main room.
3. Build interaction into the presentation flow
Do not treat interaction as a Q&A section added at the end. Place each activity where participants can use what they have learned up to that point. Include a brief instruction and the expected response format on the slide: “Write an example in chat” or “Raise your hand to indicate your choice.” Allow time for responses, then continue your explanation in light of the contributions.
Setting aside a place in your presentation file for each question, poll, or exercise can help you work the activities into the flow. For sessions longer than an hour, plan a break as well; the University of Illinois guide recommends breaks during long sessions. Set the break duration according to your audience and session flow.
4. Example of a live session flow
Hypothetical example: You are giving your team a 15-minute presentation on “assigning responsibilities in a meeting.” The durations have been chosen for this example.
- Opening: Ask participants to write in chat one example of a task mix-up they encounter most often in meetings. Choose one response and use it to define the topic.
- Brief explanation: Explain how to identify the task, the person responsible, and the due date. Then show two short scenarios.
- Decision point: Ask, “What is the first piece of information you need to clarify in this scenario?” Have participants respond in chat or raise their hands. Explain why the responses differ.
- Practice: If breakout rooms are available in your meeting, ask participants to assign a person responsible and a due date to the scenario. If the rooms do not work, run the same exercise with chat responses in the main room.
- Closing: Ask everyone to write one step they will put into practice in chat, then summarize a few responses.
Each activity in this flow has a clear purpose: first to gather experiences, then to put the method into practice, and finally to turn what participants have learned into an action. If you are looking for another activity format, you can also read how to create an interactive presentation that involves the audience.
5. Rehearse sharing and moderation
Check that you have selected the correct application or window for screen sharing. If you are using a presentation file, try the layout you will use in advance so you can see your notes. Yale’s guide to teaching strategies in Zoom describes choosing “Browsed by Individual (window)” under “Set Up Slide Show” so the PowerPoint slide show does not fill the entire screen. This step is specific to PowerPoint; do not assume other presentation applications have the same setting.
It can be difficult to monitor chat and the participant list at the same time while presenting. If possible, ask someone to monitor chat and pass questions on to you. If that is not possible, explain at the beginning how and when participants should send questions. Monitoring chat and the participant screen is among the moderation recommendations in the University of Illinois guide.
6. Prepare alternatives for disruptions
If no one responds: Make the question narrower and easier to answer. Instead of asking, “What do you think?”, offer two options; repeat the response format and allow time for participants to answer.
If an option is unavailable: Do not spend a long time searching through settings during the presentation. Continue the same activity using a method that works in your meeting, such as chat, verbal responses, or raising hands. In particular, prepare a plan for running breakout-room activities in the main room.
If shared content is not visible or there is no audio: Stop sharing and check that you have the right window and the relevant audio option selected. If the problem persists, briefly describe the content verbally or share the link through the channel you chose in advance. Trying out the video, audio, and participation steps beforehand makes it easier to switch approaches if a problem occurs.
7. Final checklist
- Each section has a clear task for participants.
- The response format and how I will use the responses are clear.
- I have tested the options I plan to use in my own meeting.
- I have an alternative for the main room if breakout rooms do not work.
- Screen sharing, the microphone, and, if needed, computer audio have been tested.
- It is clear who will monitor chat and what to do if technical problems arise.
- I will connect participants’ responses to what comes next in the presentation.
If you want to prepare a recording after the presentation, see the guide to recording a Zoom presentation. A recording alone does not show that participation took place; check separately for the outputs you plan to use, such as chat responses or activity results.
Frequently asked questions
Can a presentation be interactive if participants do not turn on their cameras?
Yes. Do not make the camera the only way to participate. Offer options such as responding in chat, raising a hand, or contributing verbally, and explain how the activity will work.
What should I do if I cannot find the poll or breakout-room option?
Check whether the feature is available in your account and meeting settings. If you cannot find it, switch to a method that works in your meeting, such as having participants answer the same question in chat. Do not assume that a particular menu is available to everyone without confirming that the feature is available.
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