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Conditional Polling

Apply conditions to polls so each attendee segment only sees the questions relevant to them.

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Written by Patience Dorman
Updated this week

Polling in MeetingPulse now includes powerful conditional logic. Organizers can apply conditions to entire forms or individual polls, so each attendee only sees the questions that matter to them.

Conditional polling is sometimes called flow-chart polling because it guides participants down different paths based on their answers or on custom data provided by the organizer. Below you can see how the conditional polling can create a flow-chart structure.

Why Conditional Polling Matters

A long list of polls can overwhelm attendees. Conditional polling streamlines the experience by ensuring participants only see the questions that apply to them.

For example:

  • If someone selects “Sales” in a parent poll, they’re asked about the sales campaign.

  • If they select “Support”, they receive questions about support updates and a free-text box for suggestions.

This makes surveys shorter, personalized, and relevant.

How to use Conditional Polling

Conditional polling can be applied in 2 ways: based on poll answers or based on custom data, showing each attendee only the questions relevant to them.

Option 1: Condition on Poll Answers

  1. Create a Parent Poll

    • Parent polls must be Single Answer or Yes/No.

    • Example: “Which department are you in?” or "Do you need transportation to the event?"

  2. Create a Child Poll

    • Add the follow-up poll you want to show conditionally.

    • Example: “Which approach should we use to reach a larger sales audience?” or "Would you like to be included in carpool coordinations?"

  3. Apply Conditional Logic

    • In the child poll’s settings, toggle “Make conditional.”

    • Select “Condition on poll answer.”

    • Choose the parent poll and the specific answer(s) that should trigger the child poll.

    • Example: If the attendee selects “Sales” in the parent poll → show the child poll: “Which approach should we use to reach a larger sales audience?”

3. Preview

  • Presenter view: conditional polls show a link icon. Hover to see the condition.

  • Attendee view: Each participant only sees the follow-up questions relevant to them. In the example below, three attendees answer the first question differently, and each is shown different follow-up questions.


Option 2: Condition on Custom Data

Before you begin

  • Make sure you have custom data uploaded in your attendee list (via CSV).

  • Your CSV must include at least one custom data column (e.g., Level, Role, Region).

  • If you didn’t upload attendees via CSV but want to use this type of conditional logic, download your attendee list, add the custom data column, and re-upload the CSV.

  • Example: "level" is the custom data column in the CSV below.

  1. Create a Poll

  • Add the poll you want to show conditionally.

  • Example: Example: “What leadership skills are most important at your level?”

2. Apply Conditional Logic

  • In the poll’s settings, toggle “Make conditional.”

  • Select “Condition on custom data.”

3. Select Custom Data

  • Choose the data column from your attendee CSV (e.g., Region, Level, or Role).

  • Select one or more values that should trigger the poll.

  • Example: Attendees with level = Mid-level will see the poll about leadership skills.

  • 💡 Tip: You can select multiple answers or data values to target more than one group at once. Example: choose Mid-level, Senior, and Executive so all three groups receive the same question.

4. Preview

  • Presenter view: Conditional polls are marked with a link icon. Hover to see which data values they target.

  • Attendee view: Only attendees with matching custom data will see the poll.That way, the steps don’t force a “parent poll” structure when it’s not needed, and readers can quickly see which path applies to their case.


Tips for Success

  • Keep parent polls Single Answer or Yes/No.

  • In Surveys, child polls must come after the parent poll. If moved before, the link breaks (shown with a broken-link icon).


✅ With conditional polling, you can deliver customized, dynamic poll experiences that adapt to each attendee—without overwhelming your audience.

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