1. Open your presentation in AhaSlides.
2. Click New Slide → choose Idea Board.
3. Enter your question or prompt in the Your question field.
4. Choose your grouping method (detailed guide below):
   
1. Predefined groups (enable the Groups option): Add specific categories upfront (best when you know your structure)
2. AI grouping: Let ideas cluster by AI after receiving them while presenting (best for discovery)
5. (Optional) Add an image to your question by clicking the image icon next to it.
   

Watch the tutorial video

1. Collect audience info: Gather participant details before they submit ideas (name, email, etc). Skip this if you've already enabled Collecting Audience Information in your presentation settings.
2. Groups: Enable this option to create groups in advance for participants to submit to. See below for a detailed guide.
   
3. Vote: Enable or disable idea voting. When enabled, users can set the number of votes each participant can use, ranging from 1 to 20. See below for a detailed guide.
4. Time limit: Apply a time limit to submissions. When enabled, choose between 5 seconds and 20 minutes (1200 seconds).
5. Close submission: Close submissions if you need to clarify the question or pause before participants submit.
6. Hide results: Hide submitted responses from the presenter's screen as they come in. A button in the middle lets you reveal responses when ready.
   
7. Show on audience’s devices: Allow your audience to see the vote count on their devices. Leave unchecked to prevent voting bias.
8. Allow audience to submit more than once: Participants can submit multiple times.
   
9. Allow audience to submit images: Participants can submit images alongside their answers.
   
10. Filter profanity: Hide swear words from the audience (English only).
    

AI grouping

1. Click the Summarise button
   
2. The system will then analyze submissions and suggest groupings based on similar themes and language.
   

1. Click the Group responses into themes button to enable Groups with the suggested groups from the AI
   

Refine groupings

1. Move ideas: Drag and drop answers from one group to another, or click the 3-dot menu on an answer and select the group you want to move it to.
2. Rename groups: Click on a group's name to edit it.
3. Create new groups: Click the + button next to the last group (or press G on your keyboard).
4. Delete groups: Click the 3-dot menu next to a group's name to delete it (empty groups only).

How to use the Vote function

1. Clicking Vote above the submissions/groups
   
2. Clicking the Next: Vote button at the bottom of the canvas
   
3. Or pressing Enter on the keyboard
   

When to use voting:

1. Prioritize individual ideas or themes to surface what matters most
2. Let the group decide without endless discussion
3. Move from brainstorming to decision-making
4. Skip voting if discussions will be more valuable
   

On the participant's side

1. Join the presentation via link or QR code
2. (If enabled) Select a group for their response under Submit into
3. Type their idea or response in the Your Response field
   
4. (If enabled) Include an image if necessary, using the Upload image button
5. Hit Submit
6. Watch as ideas appear on the board and get organized into groups
7. (If enabled) Vote on ideas they find important when the presenter moves to the Vote stage.

• Write specific prompts for the question: Vague: "Share your thoughts" - Better: "What specific challenge are you facing with remote collaboration?"
• Choose the right grouping method:
  
  • Use predefined groups when teaching a framework, collecting structured feedback, or applying known categories
  • Use AI grouping when you're discovering what themes exist and want to avoid biasing responses. AI is excellent at initial pattern recognition but may misunderstand context. Always review and refine.
• Allow enough time:
  
  • ~2-3 minutes for in-person sessions
  • ~3-4 minutes for virtual sessions (people need extra time to switch context and type)
• Don't over-organize: Aim for 6-8 groups maximum. Too many defeats the purpose of finding patterns.
• Let divergence complete before convergence: Don't start grouping ideas while people are still submitting. Let the brainstorming phase finish first.
  
• Move submissions that don't fit: Outliers either reveal a new theme you missed or represent creative thinking worth exploring. Create a new group or mark it as "Other" for discussion.