how to voice over powerpoint presentation

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How to record voiceover narration in powerpoint.

If you're not able to physically present your slideshow, record a voiceover narration to make sure no points are missed.

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Preparation, record a voiceover for your presentation.

If you’re sending out your presentation instead of giving it in front of an audience, but you feel adding a vocal explanation would better help to deliver the message, record a voiceover narration. Here’s how to do it.

Before you begin your PowerPoint narration, you’ll need to make sure you’ve made the proper preparations.

Set Up Your Mic

First, you’ll need a microphone. Most modern computers have a built-in microphone that gets the job done, but investing in a USB microphone will increase the audio quality of the narration by quite a bit.

The built-in microphone will be set as your input device by default, so if you plan on using it for the PowerPoint narration, you don’t need to take any additional steps in setting it up. However, if you plan to use a USB microphone for the narration, be sure to set it as the input device.

To do this on Windows, right-click the volume icon found on the right of the taskbar. In the menu that appears, select “Open Sound Settings.”

The “Sound Settings” window will appear. Here, scroll down to the “Input” section and click the box under “Choose your input device.”

If you’re using a USB microphone, it will appear here. Select it to set it as the input device.

The steps for Mac users are extremely similar. The only difference is you should go to "System Settings" and select "Sound" instead of right-clicking the volume icon like on Windows. From there, the steps are the same.

Take Notes and Rehearse

With your mic set up, you’re ready to start recording, right? Well, not quite. While you may not be physically standing in front of the audience delivering this presentation, you still need to treat it as though you are. This means going through the basics---taking notes and rehearsing your delivery.

One thing you can do to help you record a successful narration is to write out a script. As with a live presentation, though, you don’t want to sound like you’re reading straight from your notecards. Practice reading through the script a few times so that it sounds natural and fluid.

Once you’re confident in your delivery, it’s time to start recording.

Open the PowerPoint presentation in which you would like to record a voiceover narration. Head over to the “Slide Show” tab and, in the “Set Up” group, select “Record Slide Show.” Once selected, a drop-down menu will appear. Here, you can choose to start the narration from the beginning or from the current slide. If you choose to start recording from the current slide, make sure that you’re on the slide you’d like to start recording from.

Related: How to Record Your Screen with Microsoft PowerPoint

In this example, we’ll choose “Record from Beginning.”

Now, you’ll be in full-screen mode. You’ll notice a few extra tools appear, including a record button at the top-left corner of the screen. When you’re ready to start recording, click this button.

When you select the record button, a countdown timer will appear, giving you a three-second delay between clicking the button and starting your recording.

You can now start recording your voiceover narration! Continue through the presentation by clicking the right arrow to go to the next slide.

You can pause the recording at any time by pressing the pause button in the top-left corner of the window. The recording will automatically end when you make it to the last slide. Alternatively, you can press the stop button, also located at the top-left corner of the screen.

If you want to play your narration back, you can select the replay button.

A speaker icon will appear at the bottom-right corner of each slide that has a recorded narration. You can also play your narration back on each slide by hovering over the icon and pressing the play button.

If you’re not satisfied with the narration, simply repeat these steps to re-record.

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How to Do a Voiceover on PowerPoint

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What to Know

• Single slide: Select a slide. Go to Insert > Audio > Record Audio . Type a name, select Record , then read your script. Select Stop .
• Entire slideshow: Select View > Normal and choose the first slide. Select Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Record from Current Slide .
• To review the recording, click the sound indicator (it looks like a speaker) and then select Play to hear your recording.

This article explains how to record a voiceover on PowerPoint for a single slide or for the entire slideshow. The instructions apply to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 , PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2016, and PowerPoint 2013.

How to Record a Voiceover for a Single Slide

Before narrating your PowerPoint presentation, be prepared:

• You’ll need a microphone attached to, or built into, your computer. Test the microphone to make sure it is working. Set the sound level so your audio is easy to hear.
• Prepare yourself for the narration. Write a script you can follow while recording the voiceover. Practice the presentation a couple of times so your voiceover will sound smooth.
• Decide whether to record the voiceover one slide at a time or record a voiceover for the entire presentation in one go.

The simplest way to record audio for a voiceover is to record one slide at a time. To get started, select the slide where you want to add the narration, then go to Insert > Audio > Record Audio .

Here’s how to record a voiceover on the slide:

Type a Name for the voiceover narration.

Select Record (the button with a red dot).

Read your script or ad-lib the narration.

Select Stop when you’re finished recording.

The Record Sound dialog box disappears, and a speaker indicating sound appears in the center of the slide.

To review the recording, click that sound indicator and then select Play to hear your recording.

When you're finished, click anywhere outside the playback controls to accept the recording.

You’ll see an audio icon in the middle of the slide. Move this icon anywhere on the slide to get it out of the way of other elements on the slide.

How to Record a Voiceover for an Entire Presentation

The voiceover for the entire presentation can be recorded at one time. In addition to recording a voiceover, you can record a video of yourself giving your presentation.

To set up your presentation when you want to narrate an entire slideshow:

Select View > Normal

Select the first slide in the presentation where you want to record audio.

Select Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Record from Current Slide .

In PowerPoint 2019, the Recording window opens.

In PowerPoint 2016 and earlier versions, a Record Slide Show dialog box prompts you for further options. In the Record Slide Show box, select options to set up the slideshow:

• Slide and animation timings: When recording, PowerPoint automatically tracks the timing of slide changes and any animations that occur.
• Narrations, ink, and laser pointer: When recording, PowerPoint automatically tracks when narrations, any inking, or laser pointing occurs.

Leave both checked to make automating your slideshow easier.

Select Record .

In PowerPoint 2016, select Start Recording .

Select Pause to temporarily stop the recording if you need a break.

If you made a mistake and want to start over, select Clear > Clear Recordings.

In PowerPoint 2016 select Clear > Clear Recordings on Current Slide .

When you’ve finished recording a slide, select the Advance button to advance to the next slide or press the spacebar on your keyboard.

When you’re done recording your narration on the slide, select Stop and close the recording window to return to the presentation.

You may have noticed some controls at the bottom left side of the screen. These are a few controls to aid you in your presentation.

These handy handy tools include the Laser Pointer , Highlighter , and Eraser . As you advance through your presentation, mark or highlight parts of your slides as you narrate. PowerPoint records the timing of these marks (if you left the boxes checked) to go along with your narration. Likewise, using the laser pointer shows a simulated red laser dot so that you can point out different things on your slides as you narrate your presentation.

How to Listen to the Recorded Voiceover

Once you’ve recorded your narration, you can go back to the slides and listen to your voiceover.

Here’s how to play a narration:

Select the slide containing the voiceover you want to hear.

Look for the recording icon on the slide. It should appear as either a small video screenshot or a speaker icon on the slide.

Hover over select this icon and then click Play to preview the recording.

How to Turn a Voiceover Off

If you don’t want to hear your narrations when playing a slideshow, but want to keep the narrations with the slide, turn voiceover off.

To turn voiceover off, select Slide Show and click to deselect the Play Narrations checkbox.

How to Delete a Voiceover

There are a couple of ways to delete voiceover audio in your presentation. To delete the audio on a single slide, find and select the recording on that slide, then press the Delete key.

To delete the voiceover from all the slides in a presentation: Select Slide Show and then select the down arrow to open the Record Slide Show menu. Then, select Clear Narration on All Slides .

Embedding Versus Linking Audio Files in PowerPoint

When you use the PowerPoint tools to record a voiceover narration, the audio file is embedded in PowerPoint. This means the audio is part of the PowerPoint file and not stored in a separate file, making it easy to play your presentation on any device.

If you have audio you recorded using other software and it's stored on your computer, you can link to the audio file. Linked files keep your presentation size smaller, but links can be broken if the audio file isn't available to the PowerPoint presentation. To prevent broken links, store the presentation file and the audio files in the same folder on your computer.

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How to do a voiceover on a PowerPoint presentation and add pre-recorded audio to your slides

• You can record a voiceover in PowerPoint and insert it into your next presentation using the software's Audio recording feature through the Insert menu.
• Recording and inserting a voiceover into PowerPoint is a relatively similar process on an Apple Macbook and Windows PC.  
• Once you've recorded your audio, you can click the microphone icon that appears on your slide and playback your recording. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

Public speaking is a valid and common fear. And although you might be trying to hone your public speaking with your free time at home , there's a way you can incorporate your voice into your next PowerPoint presentation without the pressure of speaking on the spot.

How? Microsoft PowerPoint has a feature that lets you create narration for all slides as you see fit. This way, you can record — and re-record — voiceovers for your presentations that won't make you cringe.

The process is virtually identical for both Mac and PC users and you can use your computer's built-in mic or a headset. Whatever your operating system of choice is, easily record narration over a PowerPoint slide in a few quick steps. 

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Microsoft office (from $149.99 at best buy), apple macbook pro (from $1,299.00 at apple), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart).

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How to record a voiceover for PowerPoint on a PC

1. Open a new or existing or presentation in PowerPoint.

2. From the top toolbar, select "Insert."

3. Toward the far right side, click "Audio."

4. Choose "Record Audio…"

5. Name your audio file. 

6. Click the circle icon when you're ready to start recording.

7. Select "OK" when you're done recording.

8. A microphone icon will indicate the narration has been added to the slide. 

How to record a voiceover for PowerPoint on a Mac

1. Open a new or existing or presentation in PowerPoint for Mac.

2. Find and select "Insert" from the top toolbar. 

4. Select "Record Audio…"

5. Name the audio file, and click the circle icon when you're ready to start recording.

6. Click "Insert" when you're ready to finalize.

7. You can click the microphone icon on the slide to hear your recording.  

Related coverage from Tech Reference :

How to download and access microsoft powerpoint on your mac computer, how to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to change and format the background of your powerpoint slides to custom designs, how to change your language settings in microsoft powerpoint in 3 different ways, how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow.

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Blog > Record voice narration for PowerPoint

Record voice narration for PowerPoint

01.11.21   •  #presentation #powerpoint #voiceover #narration.

In this blog post, you'll learn how you can add a narration for your PowerPoint presentation. Adding audio or video narration can be very helpful, especially in a time where many seminars and meetings have to be conducted online. If you would rather give your presentation using a live stream (which has many benefits), scroll down to the bottom and learn how you can do that!

Here's what you need for recording:

• a microphone (your computer's microphone should do)
• a finished set of PowerPoint slides
• a video camera (only if you want to record video as well)

• Open your PowerPoint presentation or create a new one.
• In the taskbar, select Slide Show . Then click Record Slide Show .
• Choose the option Record from Beginning .

• You'll now get to a different view, which we'll call "Recorder View". Here's an overview:

• In the bottom right corner, you'll see three icons. The one on the left is for switching the microphone on/off. Make sure this function is turned on. The icon in the middle is for turning on/off your camera. You can choose if you want to switch the video recording on or not. The last icon is only available if you've chosen the video recording function. If the function is enabled, you'll be able to see a video preview.
• In the top right corner under "Settings", you can choose what microphone (and camera) you'd like to use. This is only relevant if you have an external recording device that you would like to use. If you're recording with your computer, you don't have to set anything here.
• Now it's time to record. Click the big red Record button on the top left and start speaking.
• Tip: You can either record all the slides at once without pressing pause, or you record each slide individually, then click pause, then go on to the next slide and record again. However, it's important to note that PowerPoint creates an individual audio file for each slide, even if you record all at once.
• Important : PowerPoint does not record during transitions, so only speak when you're on a slide.

• You can also draw on your slides with the painting tools on the bottom. These drawings will be saved to your presentations.
• On the bottom left corner, you'll see what slide you're on. You can also see two time counts. The first one is for the recording on the current slide, the second one is for the recording of the presentation overall.
• If you want to delete the whole voiceover, click Clear and Clear Recordings on all Slides . If you only want to delete the recording on the specific slide you are on, click Clear Recording on current Slide.
• If you want to re-record the audio from one slide after deleting it, just go to that slide and click Record again. Record what you want to say, then click Stop when you're done.
• Once you're done, leave the Recorder View. Click the small x in the top right corner or hit Esc .
• You can now either save the presentation as a regular PowerPoint file (just click Save and you're done) or as a video. If you'd like a video, follow the instructions below:

Save Presentation as Video

• Go to File in the PowerPoint taskbar

• Choose Export on the left, then Create a Video .

• Select the quality you'd like. We recommend Full HD (1080p).
• In the following drop-down menu, make sure Use Recorded Timings and Narrations is selected.

• The setting Seconds spent on each slide is only for the slides where there is no recording (if you have recordings on all of your slides, you can just ignore this setting.)
• Click Create Video and choose where the video should be saved. The video creation might take a while, so don't close PowerPoint right away!

Live interaction with polls & quizzes

If you prefer to give a talk where you can also interact with your audience, then the free software SlideLizard is the ideal solution! Using live polls , Q&A and feedback , your presentations will become even more exciting and interactive. SlideLizard integrates directly with PowerPoint, making it a breeze to use.

Can I record a presentation in PowerPoint?

Yes, PowerPoint also allows you to record your presentation with voice and video narration. You can read about how this works in our blog .

How can I record a presentation in PowerPoint with audio and video?

At first create your presentation. For the recording you will need a microphone (the one on your computer should do), your finished presentation and a video camera (if you also want to record a video). We have created a tutorial on our blog where you can read the further steps.

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About the author.

Pia Lehner-Mittermaier

Pia works in Marketing as a graphic designer and writer at SlideLizard. She uses her vivid imagination and creativity to produce good content.

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How to Add Voiceovers to Your PowerPoint Presentations

Learn how to add voiceovers to your PowerPoint presentations and make them more engaging!

Sometimes sending over a PowerPoint slide deck with text and visuals isn't enough. Adding your voice can help you provide additional context and explanations. In this article, we’ll go through a step-by-step process of how to record a voiceover in PowerPoint.

So whether you're creating an e-learning course, a sales pitch, or a product demo, by the end of this guide, you'll be ready to deliver a high-quality and engaging PowerPoint presentation. Let's dive in.

How to Record an Audio-Only Voiceover in PowerPoint

One of the easiest ways to build an engaging PowerPoint presentation is to add an audio-only voiceover to your slide deck. Here’s how to go about it.

• Select the slide where you want to add the voiceover.

How to Edit Audio Voiceover in PowerPoint

PowerPoint has a native audio editor for editing your voiceover. When you click the loudspeaker icon, two contextual tabs appear: Audio Format and Playback .

Use the settings under Audio Format to change the appearance of the loudspeaker icon.

Additionally, use the Playback settings to make changes to your audio. Here’s a summary of the key features in this section.

• Select the Play button to listen to the audio. Click on it again to pause the audio.
• Click any point in the audio bar and select Add Bookmark to mark it for easy reference. Select the bookmark and click Remove Bookmark to delete it.
• Select Trim Audio to remove unwanted sections of your audio.
• Set a duration to Fade In or Fade Out your audio.
• Adjust the Volume of the audio to Low, Medium, High, or Mute.
• In Click Sequence: The audio will start to play after a user clicks on the slide.
• Automatically: The audio starts playing on its own after landing on the slide.
• When Clicked On: The audio will only start playing after clicking on the Play button of the loudspeaker icon.
• Select Save Media as to export your audio recording as an M4A file.

How to Record a Voiceover With Slideshow in PowerPoint

To synchronize your audio with actions on the slide, like highlighting key areas or sketching, follow these steps.

• Navigate to the Record tab.
• The Slide view displays only the slide (as shown in the image below).
• The Presenter view lets you see your notes and the next slide in a panel on the right.
• The Laser pointer lets you highlight specific areas of the slide.
• The Pen and Highlighter tools (available in 12 colors) let you annotate the slide.
• Click the pause button to take a break while recording. Click it again when you’re ready to continue.
• Click Edit to save and exit the slideshow recording mode. In addition to the audio-only and slideshow-based voiceovers we’ve discussed, you can also record a voiceover with a screen recording .

How to Delete a Voiceover in PowerPoint

To delete your PowerPoint voiceover, follow these simple steps.

• Click Clear Recording .

How to Save Your Presentation With Voiceover in PowerPoint

Whether you recorded an audio-only voiceover or one with a slideshow, you need to choose the best way to save it for an optimal viewing experience. Let's explore three methods to achieve this.

Save as a PowerPoint File

This method is best if you’re working with collaborators who need to edit the PowerPoint file.

• Press Ctrl + Shift + S on your keyboard to open the Save As dialog box.

Save as a PowerPoint Show File

A PowerPoint show file automatically opens in slideshow mode. To save your presentation as a PowerPoint Show file, follow the same process as the previous one but change the Save As type to PowerPoint Show.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps:

• In the Save As dialog box, select a location for your file, enter a suitable File name , and click Save .

Save as Video

This method saves your PowerPoint presentation as an MP4 file, making it perfect for demos and tutorials.

• Navigate to the File tab.
• Adjust the file quality and ensure Use Recorded Timings and Narrations is selected.
• Set a duration for Seconds spent on each slide . This will be used for slides without a voiceover.
• In the dialog box that pops up, choose a file location, enter a suitable File name , and click Export .

Engage Your Audience With Voiceovers in PowerPoint

Adding a voiceover to your PowerPoint presentation can significantly enhance its delivery and overall impact. With this article as a guide, you’re fully equipped to record your first voiceover in PowerPoint. The more voiceovers you create, the easier it gets. To make your voiceovers even more personable, the Cameo feature lets you record customized camera feeds.

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How to do a voice-over on PowerPoint

In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to do a voice-over on PowerPoint for free.

Why use a voice-over on your PowerPoint presentation?

PowerPoint presentations are a powerful tool for delivering information to your audience. However, multiple slides containing only visual information can be dull. Adding a voice-over to your slides can make the presentation more engaging and easier to follow. An engaged audience is an audience that’s more likely to remember the information you present.

Reap the benefits of professional voice-over services

How to do a voice-over on powerpoint for free in 4 steps, step 1: write a script.

It’s helpful to write a script before you begin recording. The script will help you to stay on track, stick to timings, make sure that you cover all the essential points and avoid repeating yourself. The script should be concise and straightforward, using simple language that’s easy to understand.

It’s important to rehearse your script, speaking out loud. This is a good way of identifying any parts that don’t sound right. It also enables you to time yourself, and adjust your script if necessary, to keep to specified timings.

Remember, don’t just repeat what’s on your slides. Your voice-over adds value by providing extra information. For example, your slides might display bullet points and your voice-over can add further detail for each point. Find out more about writing voice-over scripts .

Download our voiceover script template

Find out what information needs to be included on your voice-over script and download our templates for video or slide presentation recording .

Step 2: Record your voice-over

To record your voice-over, you can use a built-in microphone on your computer, a smartphone or an external microphone .

Choose a quiet place without any background noise to make your recording. Speak clearly and slowly, maintaining a consistent pace. You can record directly from PowerPoint or you can use free software, such as Audacity or GarageBand (Mac only) to record and then edit your audio. Editing can be used post-production to add different qualities to your voice, such as a richer tone or a slight echo.

Step 3: Add the voice-over to your PowerPoint presentation

If you’ve recorded your voice-over outside of PowerPoint, when the recording and any necessary editing are finished you can add it to your PowerPoint presentation. Here's how:

• Open your presentation and go to the slide where you want to add the voice-over
• Click on the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Audio’
• Choose the audio file you want to add and click ‘OK’
• To set the audio to play automatically, go to the ‘Playback’ tab and select ‘Play in Background’ under ‘Audio Options’.

Step 4: Sync the audio with the slides

To ensure that your voice-over timings are right in the final presentation, you might need to sync the audio with the slides. Here's how:

• Click on the ‘Transitions’ tab
• In the ‘Timing’ group, check the box next to ‘After’ and set the duration for the slide to play
• In the ‘Sound’ dropdown, select the audio file you added to the slide
• Repeat this process for each slide in your presentation.

How to do a voice-over on PowerPoint with a different voice

If you don’t want to use your own voice for your audio recording, you could ask someone else to read your script. However, sometimes that isn’t possible. If you need a voice-over audio and want a different voice, PowerPoint has a solution.

You can use PowerPoint’s built-in Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature to create a voiceover that is generated by the software. Simply select the text on each slide, go to the ‘Review’ tab, then select ‘Read Aloud’. You can also adjust the speed and language of the TTS voice in the settings.

Professional voice-overs for PowerPoint presentations

Today’s software has features that enable you to easily produce your own voice-overs, but professional quality audio is tricky to achieve. If it’s important that your presentation has high-quality audio, or if you need a voice-over in a different language, we can help.

At Semantix, we create professional quality voice-overs in more than 200 languages. Whether you’re creating a presentation for marketing, social media, e-learning or something else, our experts can make sure that your voice is heard loud and clear in every language.

Need your video content to be understood by a global audience?

Get the templates.

With our template, you can easily create a script that meets your specific project needs and ensures a flawless voiceover performance. No more headaches or frustration – just a smooth and efficient process from start to finish.

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Create Your Course

How to do a voiceover on google slides or powerpoint, share this article.

Voice-over presentations offer a better learning experience because they are a more engaging way to learn. 

Some students learn better through visual cues, while others learn by listening. However, adding voice-over narration to your presentations enables students to benefit from the best of both worlds. It allows adding important information and context to explain what’s on the slides – as if your students were attending a live lecture!

Now, you may assume adding voice-over to your presentations is complicated. However, it isn’t as tricky as you probably think! Once you have your slides ready, there are just a few extra steps you’ll need to take to add narration. 

In this blog, we share four ways to do a voiceover presentation – voice-over Google Slides, PowerPoint, screen recording, and the Presentation lesson feature on Thinkific.

Before we get into the options, let’s quickly cover the only ground rule regarding recording voice-overs: Don’t sacrifice sound quality. Viewers are willing to put up with rough visuals but don’t forgive poor sound. Most computers have built-in microphones that sort of get the job done, but we recommend headphones or a USB Microphone to improve the quality of your voiceover.

Related: How To Set Up A DIY Home Video Recording Studio For Cheap

Now, let’s get into your voice-over options. Toward the end of the article, you will also find five tips for adding a good voice-over. If you’d like to sit back and learn, check out this video we created on how to easily add voiceover to your slides:

4 ways to do voice-over presentations

There are two main routes you can take to record a voiceover for your presentations :

You may want to use PowerPoint or Google Slides to add voiceover to each slide that plays as students make their way through the presentation. PowerPoint has recording functionality built-in, but with Google Slides, some extra steps are involved with recording your audio, then uploading it to Google Drive before you can embed it on each slide.

Alternatively, you may want to ditch the slides and create a screen recording of the presentation. To do this, you can use any screen recording software as you talk through the slides and turn your presentation into a video lesson. And if you’re a Thinkific user, you can create voiceover slides with the Presentation lesson feature.

Use this list to skip to your preferred voice-over narration method:

• How to do a voice-over on Google Slides
• How to do a voice-over on PowerPoint (Microsoft Office)
• How to do a voice-over screen recording
• How to do voice-over slides with Thinkific

Option 1: How to do a voice-over on Google Slides

Google Slides doesn’t have built-in functionality to record your slides, but you can still accomplish the same with it with an extra step. You can add voiceover to Google Slides by uploading an audio file saved in Google Drive to each slide.

For this option, all you need is Google Slides and a computer with a microphone. 

Let’s go through the steps-

Step 1: Create your audio files for each slide and upload them to Google Drive.

Tip: Organize your files with a naming convention. You’ll need to locate these files in the next step. To keep them organized , following a naming convention for your audio files, including Course, Lesson, and Slide numbers, helps.

Step 2: Insert audio to your slide, and configure play settings

Next, you can insert audio from your drive into each slide individually.

The files you uploaded should be in the Recent tab, but you can also search for the file manually.

Step 3: Configure your audio settings 

Google Slides gives you the option to specify how the voiceover should act. To open the Format options menu, you can click on the speaker icon, then go to Format options under the Format menu.

Voice-over formatting options for Google Slides:

• Autoplay- You can choose if you want the audio to play automatically or manually when a student clicks the slide.
• Loop- You can define if you want the recording to stop or repeat once it gets to the end.

• Button size and colour – You can resize the button by dragging the corner and changing the colour using the “Recolor” option.

An online course or membership site can be a wildly successful way to monetize content.

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Option 2: how to do a voice-over on PowerPoint

Microsoft Powerpoint has a feature that many average users don’t know about, which allows you to add voice-over narration to your PowerPoint. For this option, all you’ll need is Microsoft PowerPoint and a computer with a microphone.

On Windows computers:

Step 1 – in the top menu, go to slideshow >> record slideshow..

You have the option to record from the beginning of the presentation or from the current slide you’re on.

Step 2- Start recording

Once you select which recording you’d like to go ahead with, you’ll be in full-screen mode with options to record, stop, and replay. Once you click record, there will be a countdown timer from 3.

Anything you type in the notes section of the PowerPoint can be viewed by clicking on the notes button at the top.

The recording will stop automatically once you make it to the final slide. You can also pause, stop, or replay a recording at any time by pressing the pause button in the top left of your screen.

You can also record a video of yourself in the corner by selecting the video option in the bottom right corner.

Step 3 – Testing your narration

Once you’re finished, a speaker icon will appear at the bottom right corner of all the slides with recorded narration.

Just hover over the speaker icon to play, skip to time, or adjust the volume to play the narration.

On Mac Computers

Step 1 – click on slide show..

In the top menu, click Slide Show and choose the slide you want to start working on. Unlike on Windows, you will have to select the slide you want to work on manually. If it is the first slide you wish to choose, do so. 

Step 2 – Click on Record Slide Show

Step 3 – Choose the input method

On the top of the screen, you can turn off the camera, if you wish to, or turn it on. 

The next button helps you choose the voice input, whether your Mac’s in-built mic or an external device. 

Step 4 – Add a voice-over to slides

As with the Windows version, add voice-over to the slides one by one, and add notes if you wish. 

Step 5 – Complete recording

Once done, click on the large red button to start recording. Once your voice-over is complete, click the same button to stop recording. Again, add notes if you wish to. Then, move to the next slide. 

Step 6 – Click on tips for more controls

Click on Tips for several functions and shortcuts you can use on your Macbook to control your voice-over recordings. The Mac version of the PowerPoint tool is much easier to use. 

Step 7 – Verify your voice-over for accuracy

After your voice-over is complete, return to your presentation, and make sure that your voice-over is accurate by clicking on the white “Play” icon at the bottom of each slide.

Option 3: how to do a voice-over with screen recording

The last option involves recording your screen and audio as you discuss the presentation.

Check out our guide: How To Record Your Screen On Any Device .

We’ll show you free options and two paid options with advanced editing features:

Hit the record button on the video conferencing software

The easiest and cheapest option for screen recording without additional software is to join a Google Meet or a Zoom call by yourself, share your screen, and press the recording button.

This may be easy for a simple presentation but may prove frustrating for a longer presentation –  the inability to edit means you’ve got one shot to make it through your presentation without any mistakes.

Use your computer’s built-in screen recorder

On Windows 10 , just click Windows + G at the same time to open the Game Bar, and press “Start Recording”.

If you’re on a Mac , you can make a video recording of the entire screen or just a portion of it. Shift-Command(⌘)-5 will display on-screen controls for recording the entire screen.

Two paid screen recording options

If you want the ability to edit and customize your video and access more editing options, you’ll need to invest in some software like Screenflow or Camtasia .

Here are our two favorite options , depending on whether you’re on a Mac or Windows System:

Screenflow is a software program for video editing and screencasting for Apple users and is one of the best options for screen capture. This software functions well as a video editor for novice editors, but it lacks the deep customization and functions of a more advanced editor like Adobe Premiere Pro.

Download free trial of Screenflow

Camtasia is an all-in-one screen recorder and video editor that works on both Windows and Mac. It is one of the most widely used systems for screen recording and video editing. It is popular for its user-friendly interface and simple video editing.

Try Camtasia for free

Option 4: how to do voice-over presentations with Thinkific

If you have created a presentation on an external platform like Keynote , PowerPoint or Google Slides, you can use a Presentation lesson to display it within your Thinkific course! 

This function enables you to record audio while speaking to specific slides. You also have the option to upload a recording for each slide. 

This is a great way to create a customized experience for your students right within Thinkific .

To create a Presentation lesson, you will need to upload a PDF file. Each page in your PDF will be converted to images that will be displayed as slides within your Presentation lesson for students to navigate through.

If you have created a presentation in an external platform like PowerPoint you can simply export it from that platform as a PDF to later upload to Thinkific!

Here are the steps to create a Presentation lesson with voice-over on Thinkific .

With that, let’s explore what it takes to ensure a good voiceover.

Follow these five tips for adding a good voiceover

• Invest in a good microphone – Most cell phones and computers come with built-in microphones. These may not provide the professional-grade audio quality necessary to create compelling online lessons. Therefore, you must invest in a professional microphone that eliminates noise and disturbances. As we mentioned earlier, the most important rule is to ensure that your audio quality is high.
• Use a teleprompter – Although you may speak out your presentation and elaborate on the impromptu bullet points, you could make mistakes. These mistakes may make you seem like a novice.  A teleprompter can help you read out your sentences in front of the webcam or the mic without making any errors. The result is – top-notch quality presentations with voiceovers.
• Clear your throat – Most people do not realize the importance of a good quality voice. In fact, voice-over artists are hired simply because of their excellent voices! While you do not need to hire professional voice-over artists, you can ensure that you sound your best by gargling your throat and clearing it before you begin to record. In other words, avoid recording your voiceover if you have a sore throat or when your voice sounds hoarse. Keep a jug of water ready next to you to keep sounding fresh.
• Sound confident – Confidence doesn’t come with good quality microphones and teleprompters alone. Practice talking in front of a mirror, which will help ensure that you sound and look great. In fact, dressing professionally just before you record your voice-over may also have psychological benefits – you could feel more professional and thus sound more professional and confident.
• Edit audio if necessary – Despite all the care taken, you may make mistakes during voice-over recording. Listen to your slides repeatedly and make changes until you are completely satisfied with how you sound. Although there are audio editing tools out there, they may not be necessary for simple presentations such as the ones required for online lessons.

Whichever method you choose, turning a regular presentation into an engaging voice-over is sure to improve the quality of your presentation.

But here’s a thought: Why not monetize your presentations with an online course?

Sign up with us for free and try it out (we dare you) . 

Not ready to take the leap, but still interested in improving the quality of your production? Check out one of these related guides:

• How to Create Video For Your Online Coaching Course
• How to Improve the Video Production Quality for Your Online Course
• Best Equipment & Software For Creating Online Courses
• 4 Elements of Effective Video Content for Online Courses

This guide on voiceovers was published in August 2020 and was updated in October 2022.

Colin is a Content Marketer at Thinkific, writing about everything from online entrepreneurship & course creation to digital marketing strategy.

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How to Do a Voiceover on PowerPoint Presentation (Step-By-Step)

In the evolving world of presentations, adding a voiceover to PowerPoint slides has transformed static visuals into dynamic learning experiences, apt for diverse scenarios from e-learning to corporate pitches. Yet, many struggle to understand “how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint”.

So, how does one infuse life into slides with voiceovers? This article is dedicated to illuminating the process, providing a clear and comprehensive guide on how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint effectively. Read it thoroughly as we explain this process for you in this article.

Part 1: What is the Voiceover PowerPoint Presentation?

A voiceover PowerPoint presentation is a dynamic blending of voice and visuals at its core, enriching the traditionally static slides with narration. This feature can transform a basic presentation into a more interactive experience, enabling the conveyance of information seamlessly, regardless of whether the presenter is physically present or not.

But why is this so revolutionary? In our digital age, the nature of presentations has evolved. Often, circumstances like distance, emergencies, or the sheer convenience of nonparallel learning require us to lean on technologies that ensure the message is still effectively delivered. This is where the voiceover feature in PowerPoint steps in.

Why Opt for Voiceovers in PowerPoint?

Precision through Pre-recording: With the luxury to narrate, practice, and re-record, you gain mastery over your content, ensuring a refined final presentation.

Visual Versatility: Incorporating visuals like images, charts, or graphs and coupling them with voiceovers guarantees that the intended message is clear, without overwhelming the slide with text.

Sharing & Consistency: Given the ubiquity of PowerPoint, sharing your narrated presentation ensures that your message remains consistent across various viewings.

Enhanced Engagement: Using voiceovers enables a heightened focus on content, facilitating a genuine connection with your audience.

Uncomplicated Setup: Whether you are looking at how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint on Mac or iPad, the process is largely uniform. Beyond the software, all you need is a quiet space, a functioning microphone, and a well-prepared script. The investment in preparation ensures an impactful delivery.

So, knowing the fact how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint on the phone or PC voiceover is not merely about adding sound. They are about enhancing understanding, ensuring consistency, and offering versatility in how information is shared. It is an evolution in presentation design, waiting to be harnessed to its full potential.

Part 2: How to Do a Voiceover on PowerPoint

Narrating your PowerPoint slides can add depth to your presentation, making it more engaging and informative for your audience. Whether you are working on a single slide or an entire presentation, adding a voiceover is a straightforward process. Let's look at a step-by-step tutorial to guide you through.

1. Voiceover for a Single Slide:

Step 1: Preparation is key. Before anything else, ensure you have a functioning microphone connected to your computer. It is advisable to test the microphone's sound levels to ensure clarity. Additionally, preparing a script will allow for smoother narration. Practicing a couple of times will further enhance your presentation.

Step 2: Open your PowerPoint presentation and navigate to the slide you wish to add narration to.

Step 3: Go to the 'Insert' tab and click on 'Audio', then select 'Record Audio'.

Step 4: A 'Record Sound' dialogue box will appear. Here, input a name for your narration.

Step 5: Click the 'Record' button (represented by a red dot) to start the recording process. Read from your script or speak naturally, depending on your preparation.

Step 6: Once done, click 'Stop'. An audio icon will appear on your slide. You can preview the audio by clicking on the sound indicator and pressing 'Play'.

Step 7: Adjust the audio icon's placement on the slide so that it does not obstruct any other slide elements.

2. Voiceover for the Entire Presentation:

Step 1: Begin by setting your presentation in the 'Normal' view.

Step 2: Select the first slide from where you want the narration to commence.

Step 3: Click on 'Slide Show' and then 'Record Slide Show'. Choose 'Record from Current Slide'. In newer versions like PowerPoint 2019, a recording window will appear. For earlier versions, a dialog box will offer more recording options.

Step 4: Opt for 'Slide and animation timings' and 'Narrations, ink, and laser pointer'. These options enable PowerPoint to automatically track slide changes, narrations, and any annotations you make during the recording.

Step 5: Click on 'Record'. In PowerPoint 2016, you would click 'Start Recording'.

Step 6: You have the liberty to pause the recording if needed or restart with the 'Clear Recordings' option.

Step 7: Navigate through the slides using the 'Advance' button or the spacebar.

Step 8: Once completed, click 'Stop'. You will notice tools at the bottom left of the screen, including the Laser Pointer, Highlighter, and Eraser, which can be used to emphasize points during your narration.

How to Create a Voice-Over PowerPoint on Mac

For Mac users, the process of creating a voiceover PowerPoint presentation largely mirrors that of the Windows version. However, always refer to the specific PowerPoint version's official documentation or support for any variations. If you want to know how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint mac, the previous part is most relevant to you.

So, doing a voiceover on PowerPoint, whether on a single slide or the entire presentation, enhances the viewer's experience. Whether you are using PowerPoint on a Mac or a Windows PC, you now possess the knowledge to confidently narrate your presentations. The power of voice, combined with your slides, ensures your message is delivered with clarity and impact.

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Part 3: Editing Documents with WPS Office - A Free Alternative

In the age of digital documentation and presentations, having access to a powerful office tool is indispensable. Enter WPS Office, a modern and dynamic suite of office applications that caters to the contemporary needs of users around the world. But here is the clincher: it is absolutely free. Whether you are a student, entrepreneur, or a professional, WPS Office ensures that your work is not hindered by software costs.

WPS Presentation: Adding Audio to Your Slides

Much like its counterparts, WPS Presentation allows users to make their presentations more interactive and engaging by adding audio. Here is how you can do it:

1. Open Your Presentation: Launch WPS Presentation and open the specific slide where you want to add audio.

2. Navigate to the 'Insert' Tab: Located at the top of the interface, click on this tab to reveal a dropdown menu.

3. Select 'Audio': This option will allow you to add an audio file from your device.

4. Choose Your Audio File: Browse through your folders to select the desired audio file. Click on 'Open' to insert it into the slide.

5. Adjust Playback Settings: Right-click the audio icon on the slide. From the contextual menu, you can choose when and how the audio should play, whether it loops, or other playback settings.

Editing Word/Excel/PowerPoint Files in WPS Office:

The flexibility and user-friendliness of WPS Office are evident in how seamlessly it allows you to edit various file formats. Here are the general steps:

1. Open WPS Office: Launch the WPS Office application on your device.

2. Choose the Appropriate Module: Depending on the file type, select WPS Writer (for Word), WPS Spreadsheets (for Excel), or WPS Presentation (for PowerPoint).

3. Open Your File: Click on 'Open' or 'File' and navigate to the location of the document you wish to edit. Double-click to open.

4. Edit as Needed: The intuitive interface will provide you with all the necessary tools to edit your document. This includes text formatting, adding images or charts, adjusting layout, and more.

5. Save Your Changes: Once you are done editing, click on 'File' and choose 'Save' or 'Save As' to store your updated document.

1. What are some tips for promoting my voiceover presentations effectively?

To effectively promote your voiceover presentations, share them on platforms like LinkedIn, embed on your website, and utilize SEO for discoverability. Engage with industry influencers and host webinars to connect directly with your audience.

2. Can I edit my recorded presentation after finishing the recording process? 

Yes, you can edit your recorded voiceover in PowerPoint by adjusting timings, re-recording segments, or deleting parts. The "Narrating a PowerPoint" guide offers tutorials on these edits.

This article provided readers with a comprehensive guide on how to effectively add voiceovers to PowerPoint presentations, emphasizing the ease of use and functionality of the process. It outlined the significant advantages of using voiceovers, from easy editing to versatility in delivering presentations on both PC and Mac.

Moreover, the tutorial section offered step-by-step instructions tailored to different conditions, including recording for a single slide and entire presentations. The latter part of the article introduced WPS Office, a free and modernized office tool application suite.

This tool provides an alternative for editing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. WPS Office's capabilities were underscored, with an emphasis on its free accessibility, making it a preferred choice for users seeking cost-effective yet powerful office tools.

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Small Business Trends

How to do a voiceover on powerpoint.

If you want to create engaging PowerPoint presentations, you should think about adding a voiceover narration to your slides. A slide show accompanied by a supporting voiceover can make your PowerPoint presentation lively. In this article, you will learn how to do a voiceover on PowerPoint step-by-step.

But first, let’s explore the advantages of recording a slide show or adding recorded audio to your presentation.

Why You Should Add a Voiceover to Your PowerPoint Presentation

The following are the key benefits of adding a voiceover to your PowerPoint presentations

• If you record narration, it will make your PowerPoint slide more engaging
• Your audience will comprehend your presentation quickly as audio narration makes the content of the slide easy to understand
• Recorded sound or voice in a slide makes your audience feel connected with your presentation
• If you’re not giving a presentation yourself, adding your voice to a PowerPoint presentation can make up for your absence

Voice and sound improve storytelling significantly. So if you’re using a slide show to tell a story, adding audio can maximize the success of your story.

How do you Record a Voiceover on PowerPoint?

There are two methods to record a voiceover on PowerPoint. We will explore both methods in this post.

This method is quick and easy. The following are simple steps that will help you record your voice for your presentation.

1. Click on the specific slide you want to record audio for. Go to the Record tab in the ribbon and click on the audio icon

2. As you click on the Audio button, the recording window will open as below. Click on the record button to begin recording.

Once you have recorded the slide, you can click the Play button from the recording window to check if everything is good.

If not, you can re-record the slide again. It will overwrite the previous recording.

3. Click the Ok button when you’re satisfied with the recording. Your voiceover will be added to the slide. You have to repeat this process for all the slides to record the slide show.

The second method is useful if you want to record a slide show with an option to annotate or use a laser pointer.

Here are quick steps to record your slide show:

1- Go to the Record tab and click on the From the Current Slide if you want to record the current slide.

2- As you click on the From the Current Slide, a recording window will open. Turn off the camera and start recording the slide. You can also re-record the slide if you’re not satisfied with the quality. Rerecording your slide will clear recordings of earlier versions.

Also, you have an option to annotate your slide or use a laser pointer to make your presentation interesting.

Once you have finished recording your slide show, export your PowerPoint file as a video. Make sure you keep the Internet quality in mind while considering the quality of the video.

Learn more about how to make a PowerPoint presentation into a video in this helpful article.

How to Add a Voiceover to PowerPoint Slides

If you already have audio files, you can easily add them to your PowerPoint slides.

The following is the step-by-step process to add a recorded voiceover to PowerPoint slides:

1- Open the Chosen Slide

Go to the presentation file and open the slide to which you want to add audio.

2. Add the Audio File

Click on the Insert button, and then select the audio tab. You will have two options to add audio – one is Audio on My PC and another is Record Audio. Click on Audio on My PC from the drop-down menu.

Locate your audio file and click on the Insert tab to add the audio to your presentation slide.

3. Customize Playback

When you click on the speaker image in your slide, two new tabs will appear in the ribbon:

• Audio format

When you click on the Playback tab, you will see various options to customize playback. You can add a bookmark, trim audio, set fade duration, and much more. If you want your audio to start automatically or when clicked on, you can easily pick your desired option from this section.

4. Customize Audio Format

When you click on the Audio Format in the ribbon, you will see multiple options to change the look, feel, and size of the speaker icon in your slide.

You can easily pick the color of the speaker icon to complement the content of your slide. What’s more, you can also replace the icon with the image of the presenter or any other image you want.

How to Turn Audio or Video Narration Off in Microsoft PowerPoint

Now you know how to add a voiceover to PowerPoint. But if you want to turn audio or video narration off in your presentation, you won’t have to spend much time figuring out how to do it. The process is simple and straightforward.

Go to the Slide Show tab and uncheck Play Narrations.

There is another way to turn narration off in your presentation. Go to the Setup Slide Show tab and select the Show without narration box.

Remember, turning off a narration doesn’t delete the narration.

Final thoughts,

When it comes to organizing presentation ideas and showing them to an audience, PowerPoint is often the first choice. But one of the common PowerPoint mistakes that many business owners commit is not making their presentations engaging enough to keep their audiences hooked. Knowing how to do a voiceover in PowerPoint can help you make your presentations appealing to wow your audience.

If you like using PowerPoint, You will love learning how to make a poster in PowerPoint, how to create a roadmap in PowerPoint, and how to make a Venn Diagram in PowerPoint.

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Voice over generator for PowerPoint

Table of Contents

Using a voice over generator for PowerPoint adds style, professionalism, and natural properties to your presentation. Here’s how.

PowerPoint (PPT) is Microsoft’s app for making and editing presentations. As part of Microsoft Office, PowerPoint is available on Mac, PC, and mobile devices. It lets users create brand-new or template-based presentations, add text, art, images, animations, or videos, and share their work with others.

Adding voice over as audio support is particularly useful when making PowerPoint presentations and can enhance content delivery. Here’s how to use a voice over generator for PowerPoint, no matter whether you’re using the online PPT maker or the desktop PPT creator app.

What makes a good PowerPoint presentation?

A good PowerPoint presentation seamlessly blends form and function to engage, inform, and persuade its audience. At its core, clarity and conciseness are paramount, ensuring that slides are not overloaded with excessive text or overly complex graphics. Instead, each slide should convey a singular idea, augmented by impactful visuals and limited bullet points. A consistent design theme with appropriate color contrasts, legible fonts, and organized layouts provides visual cohesion and ensures easy readability.

Additionally, the integration of relevant images, charts, and graphs can bolster comprehension and retention of the content. Beyond the slides themselves, the presenter’s delivery plays a pivotal role—a dynamic narrative, aligned with the visuals, can bring the content to life, sustaining audience attention and fostering understanding. Ultimately, a successful PowerPoint presentation is one that is both visually appealing and effectively communicates its intended message.

Why are voice overs a good idea for PowerPoint?

Voice overs complement PowerPoint presentations in many ways. Here are some the best reasons to add a voice over to a presentation.

Boost reliability and validity

Adding clear audio voice over to a presentation adds validity to its content. The audience can feel that validity, which in turn increases the feelings of reliability and adds faith in the content.

Add emotion

Besides increasing validity, a voice over on PowerPoint slides makes the content more emotional. The presentation adds passion that accentuates the vision and values of the presentation.

Serve as a call to action

Voice over functionality is very captivating. It passes the call to action to your audience even without apparent references. This is mainly because the presentation becomes more emphatic when natural-sounding voices are behind it.

Make content more inclusive

Text to speech software and a voice over make any presentation more inclusive and accessible. People with learning disabilities like dyslexia, ADHD, and visual impairments can listen to the content without feeling overwhelmed about reading it.

How to record a voice over using PowerPoint

Recording and adding a voiceover on PowerPoint is simple. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll be good to go.

• Open the PowerPoint presentation where you want to add a voice over.
• Hit the “Record” button from the upper-hand ribbon. You can also choose from different recording options in the “Record” tab.
• You can use the text from the presentation as a teleprompter as you record yourself. Any existing notes will be transformed into text during the recording.
• With proper permissions, turn on or off your camera or microphone.
• Press “Start recording” when ready.
• Use the “left” or “right” arrows to record voice overs for a particular slide.
• Make pauses by pressing the pause button or selecting “Stop” to finish.
• Review the recording by pressing the “Play” button. If you’re unhappy with it, you can edit it by pressing “Retake recording.”
• Export the presentation as a video file by hitting “Export” and “Export Video.”

Create a professional voice over quickly and easily with Speechify Voiceover Studio

As you can see, adding a voice over to your PowerPoint presentation can be done from within the app. However, the steps may be a bit too complex for some users. Also, you may not be comfortable with the idea of using your own voice.

But luckily, we have a solution for that.

Originally just a text to speech (TTS) app, Speechify has now expanded into fully customizable, real-time AI voiceover generation with Speechify Voiceover Studio . You can use it to create professional voice overs that sound like real human voices for Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and other—in addition to recording e-learning and tutorial videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and more. Create audio dialogs, training videos, or stunning slide-show presentation voiceovers in seconds.

The human-like voices, plenty of playback options, and affordable pricing make Speechify Voiceover well worth the consideration.

You can use your own video editor to edit the text to speech voices however you like, or you can use Speechify’s own AI video maker . And if you don’t want to use PowerPoint or Google Slides, you can create your slide-show presentation with Speechify AI Slides.

Here’s an overview of Speechify’s AI Voice Generator features:

• More than 200 high-quality AI voices
• Over 20 different languages and accents
• Complete customization over pronunciation, pauses, pitch, and more.
• 8,000+ licensed background music soundtracks
• Unlimited uploads and downloads
• Commercial usage rights
• 24/7 customer support
• Fast audio editing and processing
• Export in WAV or MP3 files

Try Speechify Voiceover Studio today

Speechify Voiceover Studio can provide high-quality natural-sounding voices for your PowerPoint presentations. The ease of use and quick generation of audio files make this app suitable for users of all ages and computer skills.

Try Speechify Voiceover Studio for free today.

How do I set up voice over in PowerPoint?

You can use the app’s in-built voice recorder feature and record yourself or use third-party computer-generated AI voices offered by Speechify.

Can you put a voice recording over a PowerPoint?

Yes, you can use your own voice recordings or computer-generated voices from third-party software like Murf or Speechify over a PowerPoint slide.

How do you get PowerPoint to read to you?

PowerPoint has a speech recognition tool you can use to read text out loud. Go to “Speech Recognition,” then “Text to Speech,” and set the reading speed and other properties.

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Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.

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• Add animation Video
• Add transitions between slides Video
• Add, format, and record video Video
• Add and record audio Video

Add and record audio

Add and record audio, such as music, narration, or sound bites, to your PowerPoint presentation and select the playback options.

Add audio from your PC

Select Insert > Media >  Audio .

Select Audio on My PC .

In the Insert Audio dialog box, select the audio file you want to add.

Select Insert .

Record audio

Select Insert > Media > Audio .

Select Record Audio .

Type in a name for your audio file, select Record , and then speak.

Important:  Your device must have a microphone enabled in order to record audio.

To review your recording, select Stop and then select Play .

Select Record to re-record your clip, or select OK if you’re satisfied.

To move your clip, select and drag the audio icon to where you want it on the slide.

Note:  If you’re using more than one audio file per slide, it’s advisable to put the audio icon in the same spot on a slide to find it easily.

Select Play .

Change playback options

Select the audio icon and then select the Playback tab. Then select which options you'd like to use:

To trim the audio, select Trim and then use the red and green sliders to trim the audio file accordingly.

To fade in or fade out audio, change the number in the Fade Duration boxes.

To adjust volume, select Volume and select the setting you prefer.

To choose how the audio file starts, select the dropdown arrow and select an option:

In Click Sequence – Plays the audio file automatically with a click.

Automatically – Plays automatically once you advance to the slide that the audio file is on.

When Clicked On – Plays audio only when the icon is clicked on.

To choose how the audio plays in your presentation, select an option:

Play Across Slides – Plays one audio file across all slides.

Loop until Stopped – Plays an audio file on loop until it’s stopped manually by clicking the Play/Pause button.

To have the audio play continuously across all slides in the background, select Play in Background .

Delete audio

To delete audio, select the audio icon on the slide and press Delete.

Add audio to your PowerPoint presentation

Play music for the duration of your slide show

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > How to use AI to help improve your presentations

How to use AI to help improve your presentations

Creating and giving a presentation isn’t always easy, especially if you want to deliver a dynamite lecture. However, by harnessing the power of AI tools, you can elevate your presentations and leave a lasting impression on your audience. See how AI can provide valuable insights and enhancements to make your presentations stand out.

How AI can create structure in your presentation

No matter the subject, every great presentation has a narrative. You begin by introducing yourself and why you’re the best person to present this subject. Then, you mention the general outline and key topics before diving into the details: problems, potential solutions, and calls to action. Finally, you end with a conclusion that wraps up your topics and brings your presentation full circle.

Sometimes, this structure can be hard to define. Asking AI to create an outline for a presentation can be a great time-saving shortcut. If you’re starting with a complex research paper or passage, you can directly copy and paste it into the AI chat window, then ask to summarize it. AI can also extract key points for headings, which can create your outline for slide titles.

Use AI to design visually attractive presentations

You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create presentations that are both striking and easy to follow. With AI tools integrated into Microsoft PowerPoint , you can design slides that consider factors like readable fonts, compatible color schemes, the informational hierarchy , and information spacing that won’t overwhelm the audience with too much to see on each slide.

AI image creators can also translate your text into custom visuals: not only can this bring your slides to life, but it can also save you time from searching through image libraries, stock photos, or visual sources from the Internet.

Tell your story with captivating presentations

Powerpoint empowers you to develop well-designed content across all your devices

AI tools that transcribe recordings into presentations

While the visual presentation is one aspect of your project, your speech and delivery are vital. The key to this is practice. Rehearsing your presentation out loud, and especially multiple times before you go onstage, can aid in balancing when to present new points, ensure smooth transitions between slides, time your overall presentation, and help you refine your text so you can sound clearer.

AI can help! Advanced tools can transcribe your spoken words, both in real-time and through prerecorded clips on your computer or mobile device. This not only assists in creating accurate speaker notes but also provides an opportunity to learn how you sound, allowing you to refine and improve your delivery. In PowerPoint, speaker notes are hidden from the audience during a live presentation, and AI integration can generate live notes from the sound of your voice—which makes it easy to practice and familiarize yourself with your content.

AI tools that can summarize, design, and transcribe your presentations can make it easier to engage with your audience confidently. See more presentation tips to enhance your points, such as how to craft a compelling story or how to overcome public speaking anxiety .

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