Opinion thermometer: read the room before the debate
Before diving into a difficult conversation, there is a question that almost never gets asked out loud: how much agreement is actually in the room? The opinion thermometer makes that visible. Each person pins their stance directly onto the thermometer image, and then the group explores the results together.
What usually happens is that the distribution surprises people. Someone who assumed they were in the minority discovers several others feel the same way. Someone who thought there was consensus realizes there is more diversity of opinion than expected. And that changes how the conversation that follows unfolds.
How this example is built
This opinion thermometer combines two Questiory features: the pin on image interaction and the tour visualization.
With pin on image, each participant places a pin on the thermometer image at the point that best represents their stance. There are no predefined choices: the person freely picks where they land on the visual scale. The result is a map of pins that shows at a glance where the group clusters and where there is spread.
The tour visualization lets you walk through the pins one by one after everyone has responded. It works well when you want to give each person a moment to explain why they chose that spot, or simply to let the group take in the full distribution before opening the floor.
When to use it
A few situations where this works well:
- Opening a workshop or meeting: see where the group stands before presenting content or making decisions.
- Exploring sensitive topics: asking for an individual stance before opening the floor reduces the pressure of having to speak first.
- Closing a session: compare where the group started and where they ended up.
- Classroom reflection: students place their stance on a dilemma or statement before discussing it.
Use this template
Go to Questiory, click the Use template button, search for "Opinion Thermometer" and click Create. From there you can swap in your own thermometer image, adjust the question, or add more slides as needed.
A note on how to use it well
The thermometer works best when the question has a clear direction. A well-designed image with well-defined extremes means people understand the format immediately, without needing much instruction.
The tour is especially valuable with smaller groups where there is time to pause on each response. With larger groups, showing the overall distribution and asking a few volunteers to comment on their choice is usually enough.
What question would you use with this format?