As one of the most popular email services on the market, Microsoft Outlook offers a wide range of features and tools to help you stay productive and streamline your workflow. One such tool is the ability to create polls, which can be incredibly useful for gathering feedback, making decisions, and soliciting opinions from colleagues, clients, or friends.

If you’re new to Outlook or have never created a poll before, don’t worry. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of creating a poll step-by-step, using the latest version of Outlook (Outlook 365) as our platform of choice.

Before we begin, you’ll need to make sure you have an active Outlook 365 account, as well as access to the internet. You’ll also need to ensure that you’re running the latest version of Outlook, as older versions may not have the necessary features to create polls.

Step 1: Open a New Email Message

To get started, launch Outlook and open a new email message by clicking the “New Email” button in the top left corner of the screen.

Step 2: Access the “Poll” Button

Once you have a new email message open, you should see a toolbar at the top of the screen. Look for the “Poll” button, which should be located next to the “Attach File” button. Clicking this button will open a drop-down menu with several options.

Step 3: Choose a Poll Type

The next step is to choose the type of poll you want to create. Outlook offers two types of polls: “Yes/No” and “Custom.” The “Yes/No” poll is a simple way to collect opinions or responses for a single question, while the “Custom” poll allows you to ask multiple questions and provide multiple answer options.

Step 4: Enter Your Poll Question(s)

Once you’ve chosen your poll type, you’ll need to enter your question(s). For a “Yes/No” poll, you’ll only need to enter one question. For a “Custom” poll, you can enter multiple questions (up to 20).

To enter your question(s), simply type them into the space provided under the poll type options. You can also choose to add additional information or instructions below each question, such as a brief summary of the topic, or details on how to answer the question.

Step 5: Add Poll Answer Options

Next, you’ll need to add answer options for your poll. For a “Yes/No” poll, you’ll have two options: “Yes” and “No.” For a “Custom” poll, you can add as many answer options as you like (up to 30).

To add answer options, click the “Add Option” button below each question. Type your answer choice into the space provided and press “Enter” to add it to the list. Repeat this process for each answer option you want to add.

Step 6: Configure Additional Settings (Optional)

Outlook also allows you to configure additional settings for your poll, if desired. These settings include things like setting a deadline for responses, allowing people to see the results of the poll, and requiring people to respond to the poll before they can send a reply message.

To access these settings, click the “Options” button in the poll toolbar. Here, you can choose which settings you want to enable or disable. Once you’ve configured your settings, click “OK” to save them.

Step 7: Send Your Poll

Once you’ve finished creating your poll, you’re ready to send it. To do so, simply click the “Send” button in the upper left corner of the screen. Outlook will send your poll to the recipients you’ve specified in the “To” field of the email.

As those you sent the poll to respond, Outlook will update the results in real-time, allowing you to see the answers that your recipients have given. This makes it easy to track responses, analyze results, and make informed decisions based on the feedback you receive.

In conclusion, creating a poll in Outlook is a simple and straightforward process that can be a valuable tool for gathering feedback and making decisions. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily create and send polls to your colleagues, clients, or friends, and gain valuable insights into their opinions and preferences.