Run a live quiz with a leaderboard
A quiz is the fastest way to wake up a room that has been listening for an hour.
What makes a quiz work
Scores alone are not the draw — the leaderboard is. Points that fall as the timer runs mean answering quickly matters as well as answering correctly, which is what turns a set of questions into something people lean forward for. Put it on the big screen between rounds and the room does the rest.
What to ask
- Questions with one unambiguous answer — arguments kill the pace
- A mix of easy and hard, so nobody is out after round one
- Something about the room itself, which always lands best
- Ten to fifteen seconds each unless the question needs reading time
Running it well
- Show the leaderboard between rounds, not after every question — it keeps the pace up and the tension alive.
- Keep timers short. A long timer feels generous and plays slow.
- Reveal the correct answer before moving on, or people carry the wrong one out of the room.
- Everyone answers from their own phone, so there is nothing to hand out and nothing to collect.