How to Create a Survey for Virtual Meetings That People Actually Answer

Originally published September 2022. Updated October 2026.

If you run online meetings, webinars or remote workshops, a short survey is the cheapest way to find out what worked and what to change. This guide covers how to create a survey for virtual meetings from start to finish: deciding what you need to learn, choosing when to ask, writing questions people can answer in a minute, protecting anonymity, getting responses, and turning the answers into changes your attendees will notice.

What a virtual meeting survey is for

A survey is useful only if it informs a decision. Before you write a single question, finish this sentence: "After reading the results, I will decide whether to…" Keep the format? Change the length? Bring back a speaker? Move the time slot for attendees in another time zone?

That decision shapes everything else: who you ask, when you ask, and which questions make the cut. A survey without a decision behind it produces a spreadsheet nobody opens.

Measurement also matters beyond your own planning. Research from Encore with Boldpush, "What's shaping live experiences in 2026", found that events that measure outcomes keep 71% of their sponsors, while those that don't keep 52%. If your virtual sessions have sponsors or internal stakeholders, feedback data is part of how you show the session was worth it.

The three moments to ask

The original version of this post listed five survey types. In practice they fall into three moments, plus follow-up conversations for depth.

Before the meeting

A pre-meeting survey asks what people expect, what they want covered and what they already know. It is short, two or three questions, and it is best attached to the registration or invitation. Use it to adjust the agenda, not just to collect opinions.

During the meeting

In-meeting questions are quick polls or a single link dropped in the chat. They work for pulse checks ("Is the pace right?") and for engagement. Keep them to one question at a time so nobody leaves the conversation to fill in a form.

After the meeting

The post-meeting survey is the main feedback instrument. Send it while the session is fresh, ideally in the last few minutes of the meeting and again by email the same day.

Follow-up interviews and focus groups

When survey answers raise a question you can't resolve, such as why a session scored low, invite five or six attendees to a 20-minute call. Surveys tell you what happened; conversations tell you why.

How to create a survey for virtual meetings, step by step

1. Write down the goal and the decision

One or two sentences. For example: "Find out whether the monthly partner call should stay at 60 minutes or move to 45, and which segment people value most." Every question you add should serve that goal. If it doesn't, cut it.

2. Choose a tool that fits the job

Most meeting platforms include basic polling, and general-purpose form builders handle longer post-meeting surveys well. When choosing, check:

• Question types you need: rating scales, multiple choice, one open text box.
• Anonymity settings: can you turn off email collection and sign-in?
• Mobile layout: many people will answer on a phone after the call.
• Export: you want responses in a spreadsheet you can sort and share.
• Closing date: the ability to stop accepting responses automatically.

A free tool is fine for a one-off meeting. If you survey every week, pick one tool and keep the question wording stable so results are comparable over time.

3. Write fewer, better questions

Aim for five to eight questions that take under three minutes. Guidelines that hold up:

• Ask one thing per question. "Was the content useful and well presented?" is two questions.
• Use the same rating scale throughout, with labeled ends (for example, 1 = not useful, 5 = very useful).
• Put the most important question first, in case people stop early.
• Include one open question, such as "What one thing would you change?" More than one open box lowers completion.
• Avoid leading wording. "How much did you enjoy…" assumes enjoyment; "How would you rate…" doesn't.

For ready-made question sets, see our attendee feedback survey templates.

4. Add brief instructions

At the top of the form, state in one or two lines how long it takes, whether answers are anonymous, which questions are optional, and when the survey closes. People finish surveys when they know what they are committing to.

5. Decide how you will protect identities

People give more honest feedback when they trust that answers can't be traced. Practical steps:

• Turn off sign-in and email collection in the form tool if you promise anonymity.
• Don't ask for job title, team and location together in a small group; the combination can identify someone.
• Report results only in aggregate, and don't break them down for groups smaller than five people.
• If you need to follow up with individuals, ask a separate, optional question: "May we contact you about your answers?"

Be honest in the instructions. If the survey is confidential but not anonymous, say so.

6. Test it with two colleagues

Ask two people to complete the survey on their phones and tell you which question confused them. This catches ambiguous wording, broken skip logic and scales that run in the wrong direction. It takes ten minutes and saves a wasted round of data.

7. Distribute it where people already are

The highest response comes from asking inside the meeting. Leave three minutes at the end, paste the link in the chat, and say, "Please fill this in now, before you drop off." Then send the same link by email within a few hours to everyone who attended, not everyone who registered. Asking no-shows to rate a meeting they missed muddies the data.

8. Set a deadline and send one reminder

Three to five working days is enough for most meeting surveys. Configure the form to close automatically, and send a single reminder a day before it closes. More than one reminder rarely helps and annoys the people who already answered.

9. Analyze, with AI as a helper

Scores are easy to chart. Open answers take longer, and this is where AI summarization tools earn their place: they can group hundreds of comments into themes in seconds. Many teams are already doing this; the American Express GBT 2026 Meetings & Events Forecast reports that 50% of respondents are integrating AI throughout event planning and execution.

Treat an AI summary as a first draft. Read a sample of the raw comments yourself, check that the themes match, and watch for a single strong comment being presented as a trend.

10. Close the loop

Tell attendees what you heard and what you are changing: "You said the Q&A was too short, so next month it's 15 minutes." People who see their feedback acted on answer the next survey. For a deeper look at analysis and follow-through, read our guide to post-event surveys.

A sample post-meeting survey

1. Overall, how useful was today's meeting? (1–5)
2. Which part was most valuable to you? (multiple choice listing the agenda segments)
3. How was the length? (Too short / About right / Too long)
4. How easy was it to ask questions or take part? (1–5)
5. Did the technology work for you? (Yes / Some problems / No)
6. How likely are you to attend the next one? (1–5)
7. What one thing would you change? (open text)

Seven questions, under three minutes, and every answer maps to something you can change.

Common problems and how to avoid them

• Low response. Ask during the meeting, keep it short, and say how long it takes.
• Unrepresentative answers. If only the most enthusiastic or most annoyed people reply, compare respondents with your attendance list and note the gap when you report.
• Survey fatigue. For a weekly meeting, run the full survey monthly and a one-question pulse in between.
• Time zones. For global teams, send the email version at a sensible local hour or keep the survey open long enough for every region.
• No action. Book 30 minutes in your calendar for the day the survey closes to review results and decide on changes.

Where WebMobi fits

WebMobi doesn't replace your survey tool, but it helps with the parts around it. When people register on your own WebMobi event page, you keep their details rather than handing them to a third party, and you can see and manage the full registration list. If your meeting is hybrid or runs in-person sessions, you can check people into individual sessions and download a session attendance report as a spreadsheet, so your feedback email goes only to the people who were actually in the room. See how attendance reports work.

The Free plan covers 50 participants a year, with no percentage taken on tickets. Create your event free and set up registration before your next session.

About WebMobi: before 2020, WebMobi’s event apps ran more than 2,000 events for over 2,000,000 attendees — among them the Boston Marathon, the Tribeca Film Festival, the NSW Department of Education and Connect ERA. More case studies.

Related on WebMobi: virtual event platform · hybrid event platform

Frequently asked questions

How long should a virtual meeting survey be?

Five to eight questions that take under three minutes for a post-meeting survey, and a single question for in-meeting polls. If you need more detail, run a short follow-up interview with a few attendees instead of lengthening the form.

When is the best time to send a feedback survey?

During the last few minutes of the meeting, with the link in the chat, then by email the same day. Responses drop quickly once people have moved on to other work.

Should meeting surveys be anonymous?

For honest feedback on content, speakers or leadership, yes. Turn off email collection, avoid combinations of demographic questions that could identify someone, and report only in aggregate. If you need to follow up, add an optional contact question.

How do I get more people to respond?

Ask inside the meeting, keep it short, state how long it takes, send one reminder before the deadline, and share what you changed as a result of the last survey.

Can I use AI to analyze open-ended answers?

Yes, AI tools can group comments into themes quickly. Read a sample of the original comments to confirm the themes are accurate before you act on them.