how to create an audio powerpoint presentation

How to Add Audio to PowerPoint: The Quick Step-by-Step Guide

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By Al Boicheva

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2 years ago

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In most cases, your PowerPoint presentation will serve as a visualization for your main points during your speech. This, however, doesn’t mean you can’t take a break and enrich your presentation with additional media to further immerse your audience . If you’ve landed on this article, you probably already have something in mind and wish to try to diversify your slides with some music, sounds, or narrations. With no further ado, welcome to the quick step-by-step guide on how to add audio to PowerPoint.

📝 Note: In order to record or hear the audio in PowerPoint, make sure you equip your device with headphones and a microphone.

How to Add Audio in PowerPoint from PC

Let’s say you already have some tune in mind that you wish to add to a particular slide. In terms of sounds, PowerPoint allows you to add multiple files to a single slide, so your options are limitless. For this guide, for example, we will create a slide for a presentation on Farm Animals directed at children. We will add a sound responding to each of the animals in the picture.

Go to the ribbon menu in your PowerPoint and choose Insert > Audio .

When you click Audio , PowerPoint will open a dialogue window. From there, navigate to the location where you store your audio files. Once you select the audio file you wish to add to your slide, click Open .

PowerPoint will insert your audio file in the form of a speaker icon with a player that allows you to play your file and adjust its volume. You can drag the icon and place it wherever you find it suitable, and you can also adjust its size .

If you select the speaker icon, the Audio Menu will appear in the main ribbon menu. Select the Audio menu and take a look at the options. 

This option allows you to adjust the volume of your audio.

This option reveals a drop-down menu to help you choose how the audio starts. Depending on the version, you can choose the following options. When Clicked On plays audio only when you click the speaker icon. Automatically plays your audio file immediately when you land on the slide where you’ve placed the audio file. In some versions, you will get a third option of In Click Sequence , which plays the file automatically with a click.

Audio Options

In order to choose how the audio plays during your presentation, this drop-down menu gives you the following options.

• Play Across Slides plays the audio files across all the slides.
• Loop Until Stopped allows you to play your audio file on loop until you manually choose to stop or pause it with the respective button in the mini player.
• Hide During Show hides your speaker icon. Use it only if you set your audio to play automatically.
• Rewind After Playing rewind your audio clip more than once while you are still on the same slide that originally contains your audio clip.

Play in Background

This option allows you to have your audio clip play continuously across all slides in the background.

Make sure you test your audio in Slide Show. Now let’s see how our Farm Animals and their sounds presentation works out. We chose to play each sound When Clicked On .

📝 Note: In order to delete an audio clip, select the speaker icon on the slide and press Delete .

How to Record Your Own Audio 

You also have the option to record your own audio directly in PowerPoint. In order to do so, go back to the Insert > Audio menu and choose Record Audio .

PowerPoint will open a Record window. Here you type the name of your audio file and click Record before you start speaking to your microphone.

In order to review your record, select Stop and then hit Play to listen.

You can also select Record to re-record your file. Hit OK when you’re satisfied with the clip.

Same as with audio files from your computer, PowerPoint will insert your clip as a speaker icon . Drag the icon where you want it on the slide. 

If you select the speaker icon, the Audio Menu will appear in the main ribbon menu. Select the Audio menu and take a look at the options. They are exactly the same for your recording clip as with audio files from your PC.

Final Words

We hope this step-by-step tutorial was useful to you. Now get wild and impress your audience with immersive audio in your presentation.

It seems that you are interested in the subject of Powerpoint. Why don’t you throw a glance at these related articles?

• The Best Free PowerPoint Templates to Download in 2022
• Convert Your PowerPoint Presentation into Google Slides
• 28 Free Technology PowerPoint Templates
• 100+ Free PowerPoint Graphics For Presentations [Free PPT]

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Al is an illustrator at GraphicMama with out-of-the-box thinking and a passion for anything creative. In her free time, you will see her drooling over tattoo art, Manga, and horror movies.

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How to Add, Record or Edit Audio or Music in PowerPoint

Do you want to set the right mood and keep your audience engaged and entertained during your next presentation? In this new Slidesgo School tutorial, you’ll learn how to add audio or music to your presentations . You’ll also find out how to edit them to your liking .

Adding Audio from your Computer

Recording audio from powerpoint, editing audio, adding online audio, adding music from youtube, playing several clips in succession during your presentation.

• Before we begin, please note the following: in PowerPoint 2010 or older, you should use .wav or .wma files in Windows, and .wav files in Mac. If you’re using a newer version, we recommend that you work with AAC .m4a files.
• Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to add audio.
• On the Insert tab, in the Media group, click the Audio drop-down arrow. You’ll see two options: the first one allows you to add audio from your PC, whereas the second one allows you to record audio (you’ll need to have a microphone set up in your computer).
• Select Audio from My PC. A new window will open, where you have to locate the audio file you want to add to your presentation.
• Once located, click the drop-down arrow next to Insert. You’ll see two options:
• If you choose Insert , the audio will be directly inserted into your presentation, increasing the size of the document.
• If you choose Link to File , a link to the file will be created, reducing the size of the document. However, there could be issues if you use the presentation in a different computer, forcing you to link the audio file to the presentation again.
• Select the option that best suits your needs.
• If you want to export any audio included in your PowerPoint presentation, right-click its icon → Save Media As (you can only do this with audio inserted from your PC).
• Please note that if you want to play a different audio in each slide, you’ll need to add the audio files one by one. You’ll also need to uncheck “Play Across Slides”. You can refer to the “ Editing Audio ” section in this tutorial if you want more information.
• On the Insert tab, in the Media group, click the Audio drop-down arrow. Select Record Audio. A new window will open.
• Enter the name of the audio file you’re about to record.
• Press Record to start recording. To stop, press the Stop button. To play what you’ve recorded, press Play.
• If you’re happy with what you’ve recorded, click OK. If that’s not the case, click Cancel.
• Select the audio whose format you want to adjust. A new set of tabs, called Audio Tools, will appear on the toolbar.
• In the Bookmarks group, you’ll find an option to add bookmarks, which will be visible in the timeline. These can be helpful if you want to quickly find the main points in your audio during the presentation.
• In the Editing group, there are options to add a fade in and a fade out. You’ll also find the Trim Audio option. If you click it, a new window will open, where you can set the start point and the end point of the audio clip.
• In the Audio Options group, you’ll find the following options to adjust the behavior of the audio clip:
• Volume: It allows you to set the volume of the clip.
• Start: Click the drop-down arrow to choose how you want the audio to start. If you’re using Office 2010, you’ll also find an option here to play the audio clip during the entire presentation.
• Loop until Stopped: Once the audio clip finishes, it starts again indefinitely until you stop it.
• Play Across Slides: If you enable this, the audio clip will be played during the entire presentation. If “Loop until Stopped” is enabled too, it won’t stop playing until you reach the end of the presentation.
• Hide During Show: Check this option if you want to hide the icon.
• Rewind after Playing: Check this option if you want the timer of the audio clip to go back to the beginning when it reaches the end.
• If you’re using newer versions of PowerPoint, you’ll find a group called Audio Styles. Choose “No Style” if you don’t want additional effects. Choose “Play in Background” if you want the audio clip to be played in the background during your presentation.
• You can change the icon of the audio clip. To do so, on the Format tab, in the Adjust group, click Change Picture.
• Insert an icon or a picture. We’ll use it to link the online audio. Please refer to the How to Add and Modify Icons tutorial to learn how to insert icons.
• Add the link to the online audio resource. If you don’t know how to do it, please refer to the How to Insert a Hyperlink in PowerPoint tutorial.
• Once added, click the icon of this audio. A new window will open, where you must click the Play button. Some audio platforms, such as Soundcloud, allow you to generate an autoplay sharing link. With that, you just need to click the icon to play the audio automatically.
• If you want to pause the playback, you’ll need to exit the presentation mode and do it manually.
• Insert the video containing the audio or music you want. If you don’t know how, please refer to the How to Add a Video in PowerPoint tutorial.
• Decrease the size of the video and place it outside the visible part of the slide.
• We need to set it to automatically play in presentation mode. To do this, on the Playback tab, in the Video Options group, click the Start drop-down arrow and select “Automatically”. If you need more information, please refer to the How to Add a Video in PowerPoint tutorial.
• Please note that the audio will stop when changing slides.

To create a playlist that plays across all slides during your presentation, you need to use an audio editing software, such as Audacity or Adobe Audition, and edit the clips so that they come one after another. When you’re done, export it as a single audio file, which you can now use in your presentation.

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How to add music to your powerpoint presentation.

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This new android 15 feature is going to save my battery life, change these hidden settings to speed up your android phone, quick links, adding music to your presentation.

There are many ways to improve your PowerPoint presentation---adding animations to objects, customizing slide transition styles, and using interesting themes to name a few. In addition to all that, you can also add music to your presentation.

PowerPoint makes it very simple to add music to your presentation. Adding music to your presentation may be a great idea, but there are also cases where it may be considered unprofessional. We’re not here to tell you when to do it, just how to do it, but make sure it’s appropriate for the situation.

Switch to the "Insert" tab and then click the “Audio” button.

A menu will appear, giving you the option to either upload music from your PC or record your own audio track.

If you’d like to record your own audio, select “Record Audio,” and the “Record Sound” window will appear. Go ahead and give your audio a name, then click the “Record” icon when you’re ready to start.

After the “Record” icon is selected, a timer will start which gives you the total length of the sound being recorded. Once you’re ready to stop recording, press the “Stop” icon. To listen to your recording, you can press the “Play” icon. If you’re happy with what you're recording, select “OK” to insert it into your presentation.

If you prefer to upload music from your PC instead, go back to the audio options menu and select “Audio on My PC.” This will open your PC’s directory. Locate the audio file you’d like to use, then select “Insert” at the bottom-right of the window. PowerPoint supports several popular formats, like MP3, MP4, WAV, and AAC.

Now you’ll see a speaker icon appear in your presentation. Here, you can play the audio, control the volume, and move the audio back or forward 0.25 seconds.

Additionally, the “Playback” tab appears in the ribbon. By default, the “Audio Style” is automatically set to “No Style.” This means that the audio will only play on the slide where you insert it, the icon will appear in the presentation, and the audio will only begin once you click that icon.

But you can change all that. You can use the options here to adjust the default playback volume, choose whether the music starts automatically or on a click, whether it plays across other slides, whether it loops until you stop it, and so on.

We’re going to change this by selecting “Play in Background” in the “Audio Styles” section.

There are a few other options available to you, as well. You can add (or remove) bookmarks for specific times in your audio clip, trim parts of the audio, and give your audio a fade in/out effect.

Use these tools to customize the perfect audio for your presentation.

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• Office 2016

3 Simple Ways to Record Audio on PowerPoint Presentations

Sara Wanasek

Enhance your PowerPoint presentations by incorporating music and adding your own narration or unique sound bites. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also complements your written content. Learning how to add and record audio in PowerPoint is a valuable skill, enabling you to create compelling presentations for professional, educational, and personal purposes.

Recording audio in PowerPoint offers significant advantages, especially when delivering remote or asynchronous presentations. You can:

• Record yourself giving the presentation and share the recording for viewers to access at their convenience, or
• Include audio clips to emphasize transitions, key points, or significant moments within your presentation.

Continue reading to discover how to record audio live in PowerPoint on Windows devices, add pre-recorded audio, and find useful tips for editing!

Step-by-step guide: How to Record Audio on PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, you have the capability to record two types of audio:

• Recording for exporting as a video: This method is ideal for narrating your presentation, making it perfect for sharing with others to watch at their own pace.
• Recording short audio clips: This method allows you to incorporate audio into your live presentation.

Let’s walk you through both methods of recording audio directly within PowerPoint:

Option 1: Record Narration for All Slides

Step 1: Open Your PowerPoint Presentation

Launch PowerPoint and open a new or existing PowerPoint file. If your are starting from scratch, make sure to complete the slides with design and interactive elements (make sure your presentation is engaging !) before adding your audio. 

Step 2: Choose the Starting Position

• Go to the ‘SlideShow’ tab and click on the arrow next to ‘Record Slide Show.’
• Choose between ‘From Current Slide’ or ‘From Beginning’ based on your requirements.
• This will open the recorder window, where you can make necessary adjustments to the settings.

Step 3: Adjust Settings

You can select the microphone, view your notes, and toggle your camera on or off.

Step 4: Begin Recording

When you are ready, click the ‘Play’ button to begin recording. You will see a 3-second countdown, then the recording will start and you can begin speaking. 

Use the side arrows for smooth navigation through your presentation while recording. Pause or stop the recording at any point. To review the recorded audio, click ‘ Replay .’ To delete any recordings, click the ‘x’ next to the speaker icon.

At the bottom left, you’ll find two timers: one for the entire presentation and one for the specific slide, helping you keep track of the recording length.

Step 5: Stop Recording

When done, click the ‘X’ in the top right-hand corner. Your audio recordings will be saved to each slide, indicated by the speaker icon at the bottom right corner of your slide. 

Step 6: Share Recording

To share your recording, export the PowerPoint file as a video , selecting ‘Use Recorded Timings and Narrations.’ Then, easily share it via email or add it to a Learning Management System for convenient viewing.

Option 2: Record Audio for Specific Slides

Step 1: Navigate to the Desired Slide

Select the specific slide where you want to record audio. This could be for narration, background music, or sound effects, depending on your presentation’s needs.

Step 2: Insert Audio

To add audio, click the ‘Insert’ tab on your PowerPoint ribbon. Then in the Media section, select ‘Audio’ then ‘Record Audio’. 

Step 3: Name Audio Sound

Name the sound uniquely for easy future retrieval.

• Click the red ‘Recording’ button to start.
• Use the green ‘Play’ button to review the audio.
• If it’s satisfactory, click ‘OK.’
• The speaker icon will be added to your slide, and you can reposition it as needed.

Step 5: Set Audio Playback Options

After adding audio to your slide, you can specify how and when you want it to play. Click on the Audio icon and select the ‘Playback’ tab in the PowerPoint ribbon. 

In PowerPoint, utilize editing tools to refine your audio. Trim, adjust volume, and apply fade-in or fade-out effects for a professional touch. You can also set the start and stop points for the audio and save it for future use.

Step 6: Test Your Audio

Before your important presentation, test the audio to ensure it works smoothly. Play through your presentation to confirm that everything sounds and plays correctly.

Option 3: Adding Pre-Recorded Audio to PowerPoint

Already have the audio you want to use? No problem! Adding audio to your PowerPoint can be done in 4 simple steps:

Step 1: Navigate to the Slide

Select the slide where you want to addyour pre-recorded audio.

Click the ‘Insert’ tab and choose ‘Audio’ from the Media Section. Select ‘Audio on My PC’ and search for your pre-recorded audio to be uploaded. 

Step 3: Configure Playback Options

Customize your playback settings to suit your needs, such as when the audio should start and how it should play.

Step 4: Test it out

Ensure that the audio plays well and syncs up with your slide transitions and animations for a seamless presentation.

Expert Tips for the Best Recording

Use these tips to get the best recording in PowerPoint: 

• Choose the Right Microphone: Opt for a high-quality microphone for clear and professional audio. For frequent recordings, consider an external microphone.
• Minimize Ambient Noise: Record in a quiet space to reduce background noise. Close doors and windows, and use noise-canceling software if necessary.
• Prepare Your Narration: Outline your narration to ensure a structured delivery, preventing pauses or monotony. Avoid reading line by line.
• Practice Your Delivery: Practice your narration multiple times for improved flow and clarity. Utilize PowerPoint’s Speaker Coach for help with pace, tone, and filler words.
• Edit Minor Mistakes: Don’t worry about small errors during recording; you can edit them out later using PowerPoint’s editing tools.
• Enhance Accessibility: When recording the entire presentation, add closed captions or subtitles to make it accessible to a broader audience, including those with hearing impairments.

Bonus: Recording Interactive PowerPoint Presentations

Want to take your PowerPoint recordings to the next level? Include interactive elements in your PowerPoint recordings to engage your audience more effectively with ClassPoint.

ClassPoint is an interactive teaching tool that integrates directly into PowerPoint, Coffering live presentation engagement features such as interactive questions , gamification , and presentation tools !

When recording your presentation, use third-party recording software like Zoom, Teams, Loom, or Screencast-O-Matic, and incorporate ClassPoint features alongside your audio narration, like so:

1. Live Annotations

Use Pens , Highlighters , Shapes , and even Text Boxes to add notes and highlight the important information on your slides while recording.

2. Added Whiteboard Slides

Add variety to your presentation by annotating on a blank whiteboard slide of your choosing.

3. Laser Pen

ClassPoint’s laser can be used as a pen with disappearing ink and a spotlight when you press the ‘S’ key on your keyboard, allowing you to guide your audience’s attention more effectively.

4. Draggable Objects

Enhance audience understanding by moving objects on your slide as you explain , emphasize key concepts, and create visual associations.

5. Embedded Browser

If you need to search the web to emphasize a key point or show a video, simply open a browser within your presentation without interrupting your seamless presentation and recording.

6. Timer or Stopwatch

If you want your audience to reflect on a question or complete an activity independently, use the timer or stopwatch to create a brief pause before resuming your recording.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re narrating a presentation for asynchronous viewing or incorporating audio into a live session, you’re now equipped with the knowledge of how to record audio on PowerPoint in the best way. 

With added audio, you can engage your audience in a way that ensures your message resonates, no matter where or when they access your content.

Begin experimenting with these techniques, and see how recording audio on PowerPoint and leveraging ClassPoint can transform your PowerPoint presentations, both live and virtually.

Recommended Readings

3 Ways to Watch & Insert Videos in PowerPoint

How to Add Notes to PowerPoint Presentations: A Comprehensive Guide

About Sara Wanasek

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• Presentations

How to Add Audio to PowerPoint Presentations

• Bahasa Indonesia
• العربية/عربي

Do you need to learn how to add audio to PowerPoint? Ready to add sound to transition PowerPoint between key ideas? This tutorial has you covered.

Microsoft PowerPoint offers many great ways to add music and audio to your slides. In this tutorial, you’re going to learn how to add sound effects to PowerPoint. Think of sounds as the perfect complement to your existing slide content. Let’s get started!

Why You Should Use Audio in PowerPoint

As you learn how to insert audio in PPT, you’ll see how easy it is. But you may be asking yourself: why should I add audio to PowerPoint? How will it benefit me? If you’ve never used PPT audio, it’s an opportunity that’s easy to forget. 

But in fact, you’ll enjoy many benefits from adding music and audio to your slides. Let’s look at several key reasons to try audio:

• It helps you transition between subjects. Starting a new song or audio clip can signify that you’re moving into a new area of discussion. It helps your slide deck flow seamlessly as you present. Add sound to transition PowerPoint designs to introduce them in style.
• It helps you add new voices. When you add words from other speakers, you can broaden the perspectives shared in your presentation. Plus, you can give your voice a break if you’re narrating!
• You can record presentations for later. With a recorded narration, you can prepare slides for sharing in the future. You can add your voice without having to be physically present to share in real time.
• You can share your work. Are you an audiovisual content creator? Or a musician? Consider using PowerPoint to share your portfolio, thanks to the ability to add audio. 

As you can see, when you know how to add sound to PowerPoint, you’ll enjoy many benefits. In fact, it’s a feature that you'll find yourself using every day!

How to Add Audio to PowerPoint

To learn how to add sound to PowerPoint, launch the Almanac template that we just downloaded. Then, navigate to any slide inside. This shows off the beauty of premium templates. You can add audio to any slide in a premium deck, thanks to PPT’s built-in features. You’ll be working with amazing sound effects in no time.

Now, let’s learn how to add audio to PowerPoint slide decks fast. The best way to begin is with a premium PowerPoint template from Envato Elements. For a flat rate, you've got access to unlimited downloads of millions of creative assets. With thousands of options to choose from , you’re sure to find the perfect PPT slide deck for your next project.

For this tutorial, we’ll work with the beautiful Almanac – Business PowerPoint Template from Envato Elements. Inside, you’ll find a total of 39 slides to add audio to. Download the template today to follow along.

PowerPoint offers many ways to add and edit audio. Let’s look at each one in turn to decide which one works best for your next project.

1. Insert Audio in PPT From Your Computer

One way to add PowerPoint audio is to insert an audio file that you've saved on your computer.

This may be a spoken voiceover, a clip of music, or any other recorded sound. PowerPoint supports an array of audio file formats, including .mp3, .aiff, and many more. If you’re unsure whether your audio works, click here  to check Microsoft’s handy guide.

When you've got an audio file to add to your slide, begin by navigating to the Insert tab. You’ll find it in PowerPoint’s ribbon, the list of menu tabs across the top of the screen. Click on Insert , and its options appear.

On the Insert tab, you’ll see an array of buttons that help you add new content to your slide deck. Here, you’ll want to click on the Audio drop-down arrow. This one is found on the right side of the Insert tab, in the Media group. On the drop-down, choose Audio on My PC.

When you click Audio on My PC , a file browser window appears. Browse to an audio file that you’ve downloaded or have stored on your computer. Click to select it, then choose Insert .

PowerPoint instantly imports the selected audio. You’ll see a speaker thumbnail (with attached playback controls) appear on your slide.

Like other imported content, you can move this thumbnail around the slide to place it into an empty position. Just like that, you’ve learned how to add sound effects to PowerPoint!

2. Find the Best PowerPoint Audio for 2023

We’ve learned how to add sound to PowerPoint using quick, easy steps. As you can see, it’s a great way to bring new life and style to any slide deck that you’re working with. But you may not have any audio or music that you want to use. 

Fortunately, Envato Elements has you covered! As a subscriber, you've got unlimited access to thousands of custom sound effects  - over 600,000 and counting! These span many categories, like nature sounds, game sounds, transitions, and more. Each one can be fully licensed for use in your next PPT audio presentation.

And that isn’t all. Elements also includes royalty-free music  for your presentations! This way, you can add stunning and engaging music to your slide designs. And with fully licensed tracks, you won’t have to worry about intruding on the rights of others. 

Join Envato Elements and start downloading sound effects and music today! Then, add them to your next slide deck using the steps we just learned above.

3. Record Audio for a Slide

Now, imagine that you don’t want to add pre-built sound effects to your slides. Instead, you want to record narration or a voiceover. Again, PowerPoint has you covered.

You really have two options here. First, you can record audio for a single slide. This is useful if you’re not recording the full slide deck, but only a portion. Or you can record narration for the entire slide deck. Either way, be sure that you've got a microphone working on your computer. Otherwise, no audio will be captured.

First, let’s add audio to a single slide. Navigate to the slide where you want to record audio. Then return to the Insert > Audio drop-down. But this time, click on Record Audio. 

A control menu called Record Sound opens. Here, you can name your recording. Press Record to capture audio, then click it again to stop the recording.

When you’re finished, click OK. PowerPoint adds your recorded sound to the slide you chose. 

Now, let’s learn how to record a full narration in PowerPoint. This is the best way to record slides if you want audio on every slide. To do this, go to the Record tab on PowerPoint’s ribbon.

In the Record section, you’ll see several options. For a complete slide deck recording, click From Beginning. The Record overlay opens.

Here, you can produce a full audio (and video) recording of your slide deck in PPT. To capture audio, ensure that you’ve clicked the red Record button in the upper center. Navigate through your presentation, speaking and recording audio as you go.

When you’re finished, end the audio recording and export the finished file. Now, you've got a shareable copy of your slides to share with the world - full audio narration included!

Audio Playback in PowerPoint

We’ve learned how to insert audio in PPT. This can be done by recording audio or adding audio files to slides.

But that isn’t the end of the process. By using a few quick steps and features, you can customize audio in PowerPoint. This ensures that your music and sound effects perform just how you want them to.

Let’s learn more about working with audio in PowerPoint using the app’s handy features:

1. Edit Audio in PowerPoint

When you’ve added audio to PowerPoint slides, you may want to make edits after. For example, it’s often useful to trim audio to a specific section. In other words, you can play only selected parts of the clip that you added to your slides.

To edit audio in PowerPoint, find a slide where you've got audio added. Click on the speaker thumbnail to select the audio clip. On the ribbon, you’ll see a new tab appear: Playback . Choose Playback.

The Playback menu opens, with assorted choices and options available. The section we want to use now is called Editing , and it’s found on the left side of the menu bar. Here, you can trim the audio by clicking on the Trim Audio button.

When you select this, the Trim Audio menu pops up onscreen. To trim to a specific section, pull on the green (start) and red (finish) bars. Think of this as cropping audio, just like you would adjust a photo. 

Any audio outside the bounds of the trim bars will be deleted. Press the Play button as you work to ensure that you’re capturing the desired clip. When you’re finished, click OK , and PowerPoint trims the audio.

Finally, you can add Fade In and Fade Out effects. This helps your audio start and stop playing with gradual changes in volume. It’s a good idea to use. Music suddenly starting at full volume can be jarring and distracting.

Set fade durations in the Editing section using the Fade time menus. Your settings will apply automatically.

2. Audio Options and Styles

With trims and fades added, you still have style choices to make. These are found on the Playback tab, in the Audio Options group. 

For example, you can change how audio starts to play. By default, audio begins In Click Sequence. You'll trigger playback by clicking your cursor or clicker as you present. This can be changed on the Start drop-down menu, with options to begin Automatically or When Clicked On.

You can also check boxes that control playback behavior. These include the ability to Play Across Slides and Loop until Stopped.

Keep in mind: these are purely optional features. Consider how you want your audio to perform in playback. These options are totally up to you as you learn how to add sound effects in PPT. Then, come to the Playback tab to make these key adjustments - fast.

Envato Elements (Design Without Limits)

This tutorial has just scratched the surface of the depth of Envato Elements . The unlimited, all-you-can-download service gives you everything you need.

Sign up for Envato Elements for unlimited access to creative assets. That includes PowerPoint presentation templates , audio , and so much more. You'll incur no extra cost thanks to the flat rate model.

If you want to build your best presentation yet, you need Envato Elements. The stock audio library works perfectly as you learn how to add sound effects in PPT. Join today for unlimited access to everything you need.

5 Top PowerPoint Templates from Envato Elements

Elements has a massive library of PowerPoint templates. These work great with your new knowledge of how to add sound effects in PPT, as they support the feature. Let's check out five of the top choices:

1. Gravidient Creative Tempalte

Gravidient includes stylish gradient designs that are in vogue for 2023. You'll get over 50 slides with ideas for infographics to explain even complex ideas. Remember, templates like these work with the technique you learned for how to add sound to PowerPoint.

2. Aura PowerPoint Template

The best presentations are easy-to-customize. Aura certainly fits the bill with easy placeholders that adapt to your images. With over 450 icons, you can spice up any slide with no extra downloads needed.

3. Kula PowerPoint Template

The best templates give you options. Kula embodies exactly that with 90 slides to choose from. Whether you use the photo galleries, charts, or infographics, it's got you covered. Never reuse the same slide twice with this powerful pack.

4. B2B Marketing and Sales PowerPoint

Sales and marketing is an art. It's helpful when you've got a template that gives you the cues while you're still learning. This template has the slides you need as you make a first presentation to a potential client.

5. Toetiec PowerPoint Presentation

Choose from a light or dark style starter in this hip template. With over ten color schemes, the download adds up to over 1800 slides! Use the vector icons, graphics, and maps for practically any presentation you need.

More Top Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint

There's a PowerPoint template for every occasion. We've shown you five of our favorites, but it's just the beginning. As you learn how to add sound effects in PPT, explore even more designs.

We stay up to date with the best designs for PowerPoint. Check out even more options for PowerPoint templates below:

Make Great Presentations (Free eBook Download)

We've got the perfect complement to this tutorial, which walks you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully.

Download our eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations . It's available for free with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. 

You Just Learned How to Insert Audio in PPT-Try It Today

We’ve learned how to add sound effects to PowerPoint. You've seen the many options for how to insert audio in PTP and customize how it plays.

Now, it's your turn! Download a template and practice how to add sound effects in PPT with a current presentation. Look for an opportunity to hold your audience's attention as you add sound to transition PowerPoint.

Editorial Note: This post was originally written by Bob Flisser in April of 2014. It's been completely rewritten for accuracy and relevancy.

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How to add audio to PowerPoint

Slideshows are about more than just what you see. By adding audio like music, voiceover, or sound effects, you can enhance your PowerPoint presentation or make it more useful to your audience.

How to add audio from your computer

How to record audio in powerpoint, how to control the audio playback.

You might include background music that evokes emotion, record your own voice to explain the slides, or add sound effects for that extra bit of flair. We’ll show you how to add audio to PowerPoint so that you can improve your next presentation.

What You Need

Microsoft PowerPoint

Windows or Mac computer

You can insert a saved audio file in your slideshow on both Windows and Mac. This can be a song, voice, or sound effect.

PowerPoint supports these audio file formats: AIFF, AU, MID, MIDI, MP3, MP4 , M4A, WAV, and WMA. Note that versions older than PowerPoint 2013 may not support all listed file types. Visit Microsoft Support for additional details.

Step 1: Open your presentation and head to the slide where you want to insert the audio clip. If you’d like the audio to start immediately and play continuously through the slideshow, select the first slide.

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab and the Media section of the ribbon on the right.

Step 3: Click Audio to view your options.

• On Windows, choose Audio on My PC .
• On Mac, pick either Audio Browser or Audio from File .

Step 4: Browse for the audio file, select it, and click Insert .

If you use the Audio Browser on Mac, drag the audio file onto the slide instead.

Step 5: You’ll then see the audio icon on your slide with a toolbar of basic controls beneath it.

Click the Play button to listen, rewind or move forward, or adjust the volume.

Maybe you’d like to record your own audio for the presentation. You might want to provide audio instructions or record a sound effect.

You can do this in PowerPoint on Windows and Mac as long as you have a microphone enabled on your computer.

Step 1: Open your presentation and go to the slide where you want to insert the recorded audio.

Step 2: Select the Insert tab and click the arrow next to Audio in the ribbon.

Step 3: Choose Record Audio .

Step 4: Click the round, red Record button and start recording.

• On Windows, you’ll see this display in a pop-up box that also prompts you to name the recording.
• On Mac, you’ll see a Record Audio panel on the right with no option for a name.

As you record, you’ll see the duration, which is helpful if you have to limit the length.

Step 5: When you finish, click the square, red Stop button.

Step 6: You can listen to the recording before you insert it by clicking the Play button. If you’re not happy with the results, you can re-record the audio.

• On Windows, click the Record button again. The new recording will replace the original.
• On Mac, click Discard and then click the Record button to start again.

Step 7: If you like what you hear, click OK on Windows or Insert on Mac to add the audio to the slide.

Like inserting a saved file, you’ll see the audio icon and basic controls to play, forward, rewind, or adjust the volume.

Once you add the audio to your PowerPoint slide, you can adjust several playback settings. Select the Audio icon on the slide and go to the Playback tab.

Here are several helpful ways to customize the playback for your audio:

• Trim Audio : If you want to shorten the audio, select this option. Use the start and end boxes or slider to trim the clip. Then, click OK on Windows or Trim on Mac.
• Fade Duration : Maybe you’d like to start the audio by fading it in or end it by fading it out. Use the Fade Duration section to select the timing.
• Volume : You can set the volume for the audio to low, medium, or high for when it plays during the slideshow .
• Start : Choose how you want the audio to start playing. You can pick In Click Sequence, Automatically, or When Clicked On.
• Play Across Slides : If you want the audio to play continuously through each slide, check this box.
• Loop Until Stopped : To loop the audio until you stop it, check this box.
• Hide During Show : To hide the audio icon on your slide, check this box.
• Rewind After Playing : To rewind the clip to the beginning after it’s played, check this box.
• Play in Background : This option uses both Play Across Slides and Loop Until Stopped.

Whether you want to add a song, the sound of applause, or your own voice, it’s easy to add audio to your PowerPoint slideshow.

For more, take a look at how to add notes to your slides or for other applications, see what’s new in Microsoft Office .

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There are a lot of different ways to access the Command Prompt, but there are two methods that are the most straightforward:

With various cybersecurity threats on a constant rise, it certainly feels like dangerous malware is around every corner. This time, it found its way into PowerPoint presentations disguised as helpful guides on how to protect yourself against phishing. The irony of it all is strong, but the worst part is that this malware could help attackers empty your bank account.

Google is making some serious changes to digital certificate security on the web, the company announced on its Security blog. The big news is that Google will no longer trust certificates from two large security firms -- Entrust or AffirmTrust -- due to repeated security lapses.

According to Google, the companies, which are Certificate Authorities (CA), have demonstrated patterns of unmet improvement commitments, compliance failures, and no measurable progress in how fast the company responds to publicly disclosed incident reports.

How to embed MP3 and other audio files into PowerPoint presentations

Many people need to create PowerPoint presentations for work, school or other reasons. Modern presentations are no longer a simple series of slides filled with text and pictures. In the media-rich world in which we live, PowerPoint presentations are often filled with video and audio too. If you want to enhance your presentations by adding audio files to your slides, in this tutorial we will show you how it is done. Whether you prefer to use .MP3, .WMA, or even .FLAC files, here is how to embed them in PowerPoint:

Skip to chapter

How to add audio files from your pc into powerpoint presentations, how to play embedded audio files from powerpoint presentations, how to delete an audio file that is embedded in a powerpoint presentation, what types of audio files can you embed in a powerpoint presentation, you cannot embed online audio in powerpoint, like you do with youtube videos.

NOTE: This guide was tested using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2016, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2013, and the latest version of Office 365.

The first thing you have to do is open your PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to embed an audio file.

Next, click or tap to select the Insert tab from the ribbon menu on top of the PowerPoint window.

Then, click or tap the Media button from the right end of the ribbon interface.

A small menu called Media opens.

In the Media menu, click or tap on the Audio option. It looks like a small speaker.

Another even smaller menu opens, with two options: "Audio on my PC..." and "Record audio..." . Click or tap on "Audio on my PC..." .

Once you click/tap on "Audio on my PC..." PowerPoint opens a window called "Insert Audio." Use it to navigate to the folder in which your audio file is stored on your device, select it, and then click or tap on the Insert button.

Now PowerPoint immediately inserts the audio file you selected, in the selected slide. You can easily identify the audio file by the small speaker icon that represents it. If you click or tap on it, you can move (by drag and drop) the audio on the slide. Additionally, you also get access to a few controls, as you can see in the screenshot below.

The controls allow you to listen to a preview of the audio file, as well as resize the speaker icon to make it as large or small as you like.

After you save your PowerPoint presentation, the embedded audio files are all packed inside the PowerPoint file. That means that the audio files in it just work, and there is no need to worry about sending them together with the presentation. However, you should also keep in mind that the size of your PowerPoint presentation file also increases with each audio file you add.

When you play a PowerPoint presentation, you can easily play the embedded audio files with a click or tap on their speaker icons.

When you click or tap on an embedded audio file, you also get a few controls: you can play and pause audio, you can skip to the time position you want, and you can also adjust the volume.

You might change your mind and no longer want to use a certain audio file that you embedded in a PowerPoint presentation. In that case, click or tap on its speaker icon and then press the Delete key on your keyboard. PowerPoint removes the audio file in an instant.

Unfortunately, there is no Delete option in the right-click menu. The only way to delete an audio file from a PowerPoint presentation using your mouse is to right-click on it and select the Cut option from the contextual menu.

There are many different types of audio files which are supported by PowerPoint 2016 and which you can embed in your presentations. This is the complete list: ADTS audio (adts, adt, aac), AIFF audio (aif, aifc, aiff), AU audio (au, snd), FLAC audio (flac), MIDI audio (mid, midi, rmi), MKA audio (mka), MP3 audio (mp3, mp2, m3u), MP4 audio (m4a), Windows audio (wav), Windows Media Audio files (wma, wax), amr, and asf.

Unfortunately, PowerPoint does not support embedding audio files stored on online platforms, so embedding audio from web services such as SoundCloud is not possible. However, as an alternative option, you can embed videos from popular services such as YouTube. If you want to know how to do that, check this previous article that we published a while ago: How to embed videos into your PowerPoint presentations .

Now you know how to embed audio files from your PC or device into the presentations you create in PowerPoint. We hope that this guide was useful to you and if you have anything to add, feel free to use the comments below. Also, if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

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How to Narrate a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Shortcuts & Hacks
• October 29, 2019

In this article you’ll learn how to narrate a PowerPoint, with either just your voice or using the new video narration feature.

Firstly, there are two different tools you can use to narrate your PowerPoint slides.

#1: Record Audio  is the legacy PowerPoint narration tool. Although this tool doesn’t have as many features, it is faster to open and use, and is handy if you want to drop a voice note on a slide.

Features of this tool include:

• Voice narration only
• Adds narration to one slide at a time only

#2: Record Slide Show  is the NEWEST (and best) narration tool in PowerPoint, giving you two different types of narration options plus a variety of other options.

The features here are:

• Voice narration
• Video narration (so your audience can also see your face)
• Allows you to narrate an entire presentation in one sitting
• Automatically sets slide timings for you if you later want to convert PowerPoint into a video

And before you get lost in either tool, let’s cover a few things which will help you out (trust me).

Narration definition in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, narration simply means recording your presentation as you walk someone through it, so that you can easily share the whole thing with someone else.

On top of that, if you get creative, you can use your narrated PowerPoint files to:

• Share your presentation with team members around the world
• Create a library of best practices for your company
• Build training materials for new hires

1. You don’t need fancy recording equipment

Don’t let fancy equipment or a professional recording studio hold you back from narrating your presentation. For most situations, using the built-in microphone on your personal computer is enough.

For example, if you are doing something relatively informal, such as walking a colleague through something in PowerPoint, the quality of your audio doesn’t need to be extremely high.

If you are creating training materials or giving an important presentation, I recommend getting a decent USB microphone (you can see a list of top rated microphones  here ).

That’s because they will help remove any background noise.

2. Find a quiet space and tell people you are recording

Regardless of the quality of your microphone, I recommend finding the quietest place possible to record your narration and let everyone know not to bother you.

When evaluating a quiet place, here are some things to be careful of and to spot check:

• Noisy air conditioners or refrigerators
• Street noise (cars, planes or pedestrians)
• Loud background office or cafe noise
• Cell phones, doorbells or other pinging noises
• Your kids playing in the background

For instance – imagine you are in the middle of narrating your presentation. All of a sudden a colleague knocks on your door or the doorbell rings, and you’re interrupted. It’s not the end of the world, but it will throw you off and likely annoy you.

In addition, if there is too much background noise (like a running air conditioner), the noise can be very distracting to whoever is watching the recording.

3. Check your microphone

The last thing you want to do is walk through your entire presentation, and then discover that your microphone wasn’t working.

Therefore, before narrating your PowerPoint, I recommend double-checking your recording equipment every time before you hit record. This includes ensuring that your equipment is properly plugged in (it happens).

• Right-click  the speaker icon in the task bar (lower right-hand corner of your desktop)
• Select  Open Sound settings
• Choose your  Input  device
• Click on  Troubleshoot  under  T est and troubleshoot

Note:  If you don’t see the audio bar filling up with color as you talk, that means that your input device is either not selected or not properly connected.

• Connect all your audio and video equipment to your computer
• Restart your computer: Start, Power, Restart

#1. Record audio (audio narration only)

While this is the legacy narration tool in PowerPoint, I want to cover it first.

That’s because even if you decide not to use it to narrate your PowerPoint presentation, it is extremely useful for dropping voice notes on your slides.

When used this way, you can quickly capture your thoughts and ideas about a slide without having to get bogged down editing or building it out on the spot.

Below I’ve detailed how to use this tool to narrate PowerPoint slides.

1. Open the Record Sound dialog box

To open the  Record Sound  dialog box, simply:

• Navigate to the  Insert  tab
• Open the  Audio  drop down
• Select  Record Audio

Keep in mind that you can only narrate one slide at a time using this tool. Hence why it’s great for dropping voice notes on a slide, one by one.

2. Record your audio narration

Inside the  Record Sound  dialog box you can narrate your PowerPoint slide. Simply:

• Type in a  Name  for your Audio Clip
• Select the  Record  button (the red dot) to begin narrating
• Click  Stop  (the square) to stop your narration
• Hit  Play  (the triangle) to listen to your narration
• Click  OK  to save the narration to your slide

As a result, you will see a little audio object added to your slide that you can move around and resize if you like.

The audio file can also be played (simply click on the play icon) in both the  Normal View  and  Slide Show View  of your presentation.

In this way, you can work your way through your presentation, adding voice notes to your PowerPoint slides that you or your colleagues can play back from within your presentation.

To learn all about adding music to PowerPoint and how to loop your audio files,  read our article here .

3. Playing your PowerPoint narration

By default, your audio file will be set to play  In Click Sequence  (explained below).

That means it will be added at the end of any animation sequences, trigger actions, etc.. If you don’t have any of these on your slide, it will automatically play when you to to advance to the next slide.

All you need to do is advance your slide (click, hit the space bar or arrow keys, etc.) and it will play.

To change when your audio file plays, simply:

• Select your  Audio  file
• Navigate to the  Playback  tab
• Open the  Start  drop down
• Choose either  In Click Sequence ,  Automatically  or  When Click On

In Click Sequence  means that your audio file plays as part of the click sequence of actions that happen on your slide. This includes animated sequences, trigger actions, and videos, all of which you can set in the Animations Pane.

If you do not have any sequences set up on your slide, your audio file will play right before you advance to the next slide in your presentation.

Automatically  means your audio file plays as soon as you get to that slide in your presentation, instead of playing right before you advance to the next slide.

When Clicked On  means your audio file will only play if someone clicks on it during the presentation in Slide Show mode. For example, you can use this option for a piece of audio that you may not have the time to play, allowing you to choose in the moment whether to play it or not.

4. Delete or overwrite a previous narration file

To delete an audio file narration, simply select the object on your slide and hit  Delete  on your keyboard.

If you want to overwrite or change an existing narration, simply use the  Record Audio  dialog box again (as described above). Doing so will overwrite the existing audio file on your slide.

Warning:  Two narration audio files cannot exist on a slide at the same time. That means that if you narrate a PowerPoint slide a second time, the first recorded file will be overwritten.

To be clear, that means you will need to start over – from scratch – for the individual slide where you want to change the narration.

While you can trim an audio file in PowerPoint, you cannot split apart or merge different audio files like you could if you used dedicated audio editing software.

#2. Record Slide Show (audio + video narration)

The  Record Slide Show  command is the NEWEST and BEST way to narrate a PowerPoint presentation for a few reasons, including:

• Record both audio and/or video narrations
• Narrate your entire presentation in one sitting (you are not limited to creating slide-by-slide narrations)
• You can use the pen, highlighter and laser pointer commands and have them captured in your narration too
• The tool allows you to pause and restart your recording
• All your slide timings are automatically recorded, allowing you to use them to turn your PowerPoint presentation into a video (see how to do that  here )

In short, unless you have a really good reason not to use the  Record Slide Show  command to narrate your presentation, this is what you should be using.

As you will see below, there are a lot more settings you can toggle on and off, but don’t let this stop your from recording your presentation.

1.  Open the Record Slide Show dialog box

To open the  Record Slide Show  dialog box, simply:

• Navigate to the  Slide Show  tab
• Open the  Record Slide Show  command
• Choose  Record from Beginning

If you simply click the  Record Slide Show  command in the Ribbon (instead of opening up the drop down) it will begin recording from the current slide.

Wait a couple of seconds, and the  Record Slide Show  commands will load, and you can start narrating your presentation.

2. Record your  slide show narration

There are a lot more options you can choose from in the  Slide Show  dialog box that that I will explain below, but recording your narration is still pretty easy and straight forward

To start recording your slide show narration, simply:

• Choose your  Camera  and/or  Microphone
• Make sure your  Camera  and/or  Microphone  is turned on
• Use the  Record ,  Stop  and  Replay  commands to start and stop your narrations
• Use the  Arrow  (or use your arrow keys) to advance to the next slide

Once you start recording, you get the option to pause the recording. This allows you to pause and collect your thoughts whenever you need to, and continue narrating your presentation when you are ready.

When you are finished, the individual video and/or audio file narrations are added to the lower right-hand corners of each individual slide, as you can see below.

As you can see in the picture above, your audio and video narrations are recorded and saved on a slide-by-slide basis. That means you can review and record narrations on any slide within your presentation.

Warning:  You can only have one narration file per slide.

If you re-record an audio or video narration, it automatically overwrites any previous narrations you had on that slide.

The only way to have two different narration files on the same slide, is to record one with the  Record Slide Show  dialog box, and record the second with the  Record Audio  command.

3. Set your narration to Play

Your  Record Slide Show  narrations are set to play  Automatically .

That means that whenever you run your presentation (from beginning or from current), your audio and/or video narration will automatically play.

To change when your audio or video narration plays, simply:

• Select the  Narration  file on your slide
• Choose either  In Click Sequence ,  Automatically  or  When Clicked On

4. Record Slide Show options

Record (or hit R) to start recording your narration.

Pause  (or hit I) to pause your narration and collect your thoughts. This button only displays once you’ve started recording.

Stop  (or hit S) to end your narration. If you hit Record again, your new narration will overwrite the existing one.

If you want to stop narrating your current slide before starting on the next one, don’t use the Stop button. Instead, simply navigate to your next slide using your arrow keys or the forward arrow on screen.

Replay  to replay your narration for the current slide. This button only becomes active after you have recorded a narration for that slide.

B. Speaker Notes options

Notes  (or hit N) to open or close your speaker notes for that slide. The Notes window is fairly small and you cannot resize it very well.

Your action of opening and closing the speaker notes pane will not show up in your recorded narration.

Font Size  commands increase and decrease the font size of your speaker notes so that you can see them better.

In my opinion the speaker notes pane is too small and not flexible enough for reviewing lots of speaker notes.

To learn how to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint,  read our guide here .

C. Clear Recordings options

Clear Recordings  allows you to clear your previous recording on either the current slide or on all the slides in your presentation.

You can also overwrite your recording and slide timings by simply recording over the top of your narrations.

Note:  Using Clear Recordings removes both your slide timings and narrations.

That means that if you want to remove your narrations but keep your slide timings, you will want to clear recordings outside of the  Record Slide Show  dialog box. See how to clear timings and narrations below.

D. Input options: Camera and Microphone

Microphone  allows you to choose which microphone you want to record with. So if you are using a microphone other than your computer’s built-in one, this is where you want to select your microphone before you begin recording your narration.

Camera  allows you to choose which camera or webcam you want to use if you are recording video narrations. If you are using a camera other than your computer’s built-in one, this is where you want to select it before you begin your narration.

E. Advance Slide options

Next Slide  advances the click sequence of your presentation, the same way hitting the right arrow key or clicking your slide with your mouse does.

If you have animated sequences or music that is supposed to play, clicking forwards will trigger those sequences, and eventually advance you to the next slide.

Previous Slide  moves you back one slide in your presentation, but it is only available to you when you are not recording.

That’s because re-recording a narration automatically overwrites the previous narration. So once you start your recording, you can only move forward in your presentation.

F. On / Off: Camera and microphone

Microphone  (on/off) turns your selected microphone on or off. You can turn your microphone off and still click through your presentation if you want to mute your sound in the recording.

Camera  (on/off) turns your selected camera on or off. This allows you to add or remove video recording in your narration.

Camera Preview  displays what your camera is recording during your narration. If seeing yourself onscreen while you narrate your presentation bothers you, simply turn camera preview off.

G. Ink options: Eraser, Pen and Highlighter

The  Pen  (Ctrl + P),  Highlighter  (Ctrl + I),   and Eraser  (Ctrl + E)   allow you to draw and highlight things on your slides during your presentation.

To change the color of your ink, simply click on one of the colors at the bottom of your screen.

Anything that you draw on your slides during your narration will be recorded as you draw them. That means that someone watching the recording will see you draw on the slide, as you narrate your presentation.

H. Slide Timings options

Slide Timings  show you how long you have spent on each slide, and which slide you are on within your presentation.

Therefore, if you are converting your PowerPoint presentation into a video, these slide timings determine how long you spend on each slide.

To learn all about how to convert PowerPoint to video,  read our guide here .

I. Close / Minimize options

Close / Minimize  allows you to close out of (or minimize) the  Record Slide Show  app.

Use the  Close  icon (the x) to exit out of the  Record Slide Show  dialog box and return to the Normal View of your presentation. You can also hit the  Esc  key on your keyboard to close out of the dialog box.

#3. How to clear your Timings and Narrations

To clear your  Timings and Narrations  from the Normal View of PowerPoint, simply:

• Open the  Slide Show  tab
• Open the  Record Slide Show  drop down
• Select  Clear
• Choose the  Timings  or  Narrations  you want to clear

If the  Clear  command is grayed out when you open the  Record Slide Show  drop down, that means that you do not have any  Narrations  or  Timings  (same as for transitions) set for your presentation.

Clear Timing on Current Slide  removes the set transition timing for the current slide.

Clear Timings on All Slides  removes the set transition timings on all the slides within your presentation.

Clear Narration on Current Slides  removes any voice or video narration you’ve recorded on the current slide.

Clear Narration on All Slides  removes any voice or video narrations from your entire presentation.

Note:  You can also clear the  Timings  and  Narrations  for your slides at the same time from inside the  Record Slide Show  dialog box.

Inside the dialog box, simply click the  X  and choose to  Clear Recordings on Current  or  Clear Recordings on All .

#4. How to compress your PowerPoint narrations

Adding audio and video narrations to PowerPoint significantly increases the size of your presentation as you can see in the picture above.

Therefore, I recommend compressing your file after you’re done recording narrations.

After narrating your PowerPoint, you can compress your   audio and video narrations. To do that, simply:

• Navigate to the  File  tab
• Select the  Info  group
• Open the  Compress Media drop-down
• Choose  a compression quality

PowerPoint automatically uses the Full HD (1080p) when recording your voice and video. So if you are tight for space, you will need to choose either the  HD (720p)  or  Standard (480p)  options .

To learn a variety of other ways you can reduce your PowerPoint file size,  read our compression guide here .

That’s how to narrate a PowerPoint, and the different options you have using the  Record Audio  and  Record Slide Show  options.

If you have the latest version of PowerPoint, I highly recommend using the  Record Slide Show  option as it gives you the most options to work with.

Just keep in mind that narrating your PowerPoint with audio and video can greatly increase the size of your presentation. Therefore, you may end up needing to consider compress it.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about how to improve your PowerPoint skills by  visiting us here

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How to Add Audio to a Powerpoint Presentation

Inserting or recording audio can help to improve the impact of a PowerPoint presentation. Here’s how to do it.

Adding different forms of media to a PowerPoint presentation can make it more engaging for your audience and appeal to different learning types. Recently I showed you how to add a video to your Powerpoint presentation , and today I’m going to explain how to insert audio. Whether it’s part of a speech or a piece of music, adding audio can really help keep your audience engaged in your presentation.

You can add an external audio file or record your own audio in PowerPoint itself. Here’s how to do it.

Recording Audio in PowerPoint

If you want to add audio to your PowerPoint presentation  but don’t have an external file to insert, you can record it yourself. This requires a microphone connected to your PC to allow you to record your voice or any other sounds.

To record your own audio, open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide. Click Insert > Audio > Record Audio to begin recording.

In the  Record Sound window, provide a name for your recorded audio in the  Name box.

When you’re ready to begin recording, press the record button .

Once you’ve finished recording, press the stop button.  You can play the recorded audio by pressing the play button .

Press  OK to insert the recorded audio file into your PowerPoint presentation. The audio file will appear as a small speaker icon.

Selecting the file during editing will display the playback controls for the file. Hover over this icon during a live presentation to view these controls instead.

These controls will allow you to play or stop the audio, move forward or backward by 0.25 seconds, and change the playback volume.

Adding External Audio to a PowerPoint Presentation

You can insert external audio files into a PowerPoint presentation rather than record the audio in PowerPoint directly. You’ll need to use a supported audio file type such as WAV, MP3, or MID. If the audio is in a different format, you’ll need to convert it to MP3 or another supported format instead.

To insert your audio file, open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide. Click Insert > Audio > Audio on my PC to begin selecting your audio file.

Locate the file on your PC, select it, and then click the Insert button to place it on your slide.

As with a recorded audio file, the inserted audio will appear as a smaller speaker icon in your presentation.

Selecting the speaker icon during editing or hovering over it during a live presentation will display the playback options for your audio.

Changing Playback Settings for PowerPoint Audio

PowerPoint offers several playback settings for inserted or recorded audio. You can set your audio to play automatically on one or all slides or continuously loop throughout your presentation.

If you want to enable the file to play automatically or on a loop, you’ll need to access the Audio Tools menu on the ribbon bar.

Select your inserted audio file, then click the Playback tab to view this.

To loop the audio when the slide is in view during your presentation, click to enable the Loop until Stopped checkbox.

If you want your audio file to play across all of your slides, click to enable the Play across Slides checkbox.

You can also set how your audio file will begin playing. By default, this is set to  In Click Sequence .

Choose  Automatically for the audio file to begin playing automatically. Alternatively, choose When Clicked On for it only to begin playing when you click on the icon.

You can also select the  Play in Background audio style button. This will change multiple audio settings for your file at once.

This will allow your file to begin playing automatically, for playback to loop, and for the speaker icon to be hidden, making it a good option for background music.

You can click the No Style option to remove all of the audio settings from your inserted file if required.

Making the Most of PowerPoint

To make the most of your PowerPoint presentation, you should insert different types of media content. You can create your own PowerPoint template to make things easier, especially for multiple presentations.

If you’re using lots of different media types, like audio and video, don’t forget to reduce the file size of your PowerPoint presentation to make it easier to share.

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Would you like to deliver incredibly captivating stand-alone presentations? Good news: you can achieve this by simply including your preferred choice of audio to your slideshow, whether it be music, sound bites, or some relevant narration.

This way you can create an automated presentation. If you end up putting it online, it will run for you 24/7. That means you can train and educate clients or employees on auto-pilot, have a sales pitch running all hours of the day, or use your presentation for any other purpose.

PowerPoint is one of the most widely-used tools for creating and delivering presentations. However, for most audiences, presentations with lots of dull static slides and endless blocks of text can be quite boring.

In this comprehensive guide, we discuss how to add audio to a PowerPoint. This is the ultimate guide for you if:

• You create online courses and would love to hook your audience with appealing stand-alone presentations.
• You’re a beginner looking to master the art of embedding audio to PowerPoint slides like the pros.
• You want to fully understand how to record your own audio or upload an existing file.
• You want to learn how to add audio on both Mac and PC machines.

Why Include Audio?

Adding audio narration to your carefully timed slides is creative, appealing, and especially useful if your audience isn’t in the same room as you.

How It Works in a Nutshell

Here’s the beauty of Microsoft PowerPoint: you can export the entire presentation as a video once you’ve included the audio narration. This is achievable through useful online course platforms like Teachable , Thinkific , and many others, where you can share and stream in a captionable, easily navigable, standard format.

However, one thing to note is that the audio is not recorded continuously. Instead, it is recorded slide-by-side. This is a considerable advantage as it allows you as the creator or instructor to re-record a slide easily should you make a mistake or just in case you want to modify things later.

1. Procedure for Windows Users

These instructions are tailored for one specific version of PowerPoint, but there’s not typically that much change between PowerPoint versions so you will still find them useful no matter what version you’re running.

How To Record Audio On PowerPoint

For this tutorial, we’ll assume you don’t have an external audio file to include in your presentation. At the same time, however, you badly want to embellish it and make it a unique, standalone piece.

First things first, ensure your microphone is enabled, and the speakers are working. If everything is set, here’s how to record your voice on PowerPoint:

1. For Starters, Design Your Presentation

Prepare your slides in the most creative and informative way you can. One trick is to limit the use of text, focusing on appropriate images to engage your audience better.

2. Select the “Slide Show” Tab

You have to be careful not to add your audio under the Insert option, as it only allows you to save your presentation as a video. The timings won’t be perfectly synchronized to move the slides automatically with the audio.

3. Click On the “Record Slide Show” Option

Older versions of PowerPoint tend to start recording automatically. However, such versions still work, although they tend to have reduced functionality.

4. Select “Record from Beginning”

This isn’t cast in stone. You could still select Record from Current Slide as your needs dictate. It’s also worth noting that you can re-record any PowerPoint slide using either of these options.

5. Click On the “Record” Icon

Naturally, this is the button with a red dot. For newer versions of PowerPoint, for example, the one in Office 2019, a dialog box will pop up, and all you need to do is click Start Recording .

Unless you’ve rehearsed and are a skilled speaker, you might be better off if you read carefully from a prepared script. In the checkboxes, PowerPoint will ask you to select what you want to record before your audio starts. Usually, these are:

• Slide and animation timings
• Narrations, ink, and laser pointer

6. Record Your Narration

Here’s how to narrate a PowerPoint:

While you record, ensure you are relaxed and avoid reading too loudly or in a monotone. You need to read at a good volume and ideally, you want to sound natural (like you’re having a conversation). You can always click the Replay button if you would like to listen to your progress or confirm whether it was recorded in the first place.

For more recent versions of PowerPoint, there’s the Repeat icon. It’s a backward-pointing arrow very similar to the Undo button you see on your text editor. If you click this, everything starts all over again on the current slide.

7. Move to the Next Slide

Once you finish recording, simply click the STOP button. It’s the middle one with a square. If you’re recording for more than one slide, click the Advance button. It will tell you to advance to the following animation or slide.

For newer versions, simply select the Next button. It’s the short forward-pointing arrow just to the left of the Pause button. Be sure to stop speaking for a second or two to prevent the audio from cutting out in the next slide. You need to do this for all slides.

8. Exit Recording

Press the Escape button (Esc) on your keyboard or simply click the X button on your screen when the recordings are complete. A speaker icon will appear on all slides that have audio.

9. Saving the Presentation

Click File and first save as a regular PowerPoint presentation with the .pptx extension.

10. Exporting the File

Select Export , then proceed to Create a Video. Although it’s optional, you should go for the Full HD (1080P). Next, choose Use Recorded Timings and Narrations and click on the icon labeled Create Video.

Follow the next pop-up window to save your video in your chosen location. You might want to monitor the progress indicator (PowerPoint won’t tell you the average time needed. You won’t receive any notification when it’s finished, either).

Add External Audio

If you’re not up to the task of recording audio directly on PowerPoint, you only need to use a supported audio file type like MP3 or WAV. Here are the detailed steps on how to add audio to PowerPoint:

1. Select a Slide

Open PowerPoint and select a slide. Click Insert.

2. Select “Audio”

Just click on that speaker icon and from the tiny dropdown menu, select Audio on My PC .

3. Locate the Audio File and Finish

Locate the audio file you want to insert from your PC and click the Insert button again.

The inserted audio appears as a speaker icon. When you select it, you will see playback options. During the presentation, simply hover over the icon to reveal playback options.  

2. Procedure for Mac Users

The macOS also allows you to add audio to PowerPoint and export it as MP4.

You need the Office 365 version of PowerPoint, or you will be unable to save your presentation as a video.

What’s more, you’ll need to make sure your microphone is enabled, and your computer is appropriately equipped with a sound card. You’ll also want to hear the audio, which means you’ll need good speakers.

Let’s go through each step in detail:

1. Design Your Presentation

Use images generously to create a visually appealing presentation.

2. Select Your Slide & Click “Slide Show”

Be sure to click this tab. Be careful not to select Insert and Record Audio .

3. Select “Record Slide Show”

Click this option and press the Play button to start recording.

4. Begin Narration

It’s not advisable to read the text directly as-is on the slide. Instead, focus more on elaborating on the material.

Press the advance button to move to the next slide.

Pause for a few seconds and resume speaking only when the timer starts counting on the Current Slide timing feature. You’ll have to do this for all slides.

On your final slide, click the Pause icon, then select End Show. On the next prompt window, click yes to save your narration.

7. Check Your Audio

Click Play from Start under the Slide Show tab. Alternatively, click the presenter mode icon at the bottom of the screen.

8. Save and Export

First, click File and save the presentation as an ordinary PowerPoint file.

Now select Export at the bottom of the dropdown menu and follow the subsequent prompts. On the File Format list of options, select MP4 format.

Select the quality you desire, then click Export . Presentation Quality takes relatively longer to export than Internet Quality, but you can monitor the progress on the indicator at the bottom of your screen.

We’ll cover adding audio to a single slide enabling you to execute the same for any other slides.

1. Select Your Slide

Make sure you’re in Normal view, then select Insert.

2. Browse for Audio and Insert

Here, you can choose one of two options. Go with Audio from File if you’re choosing a local clip from your Mac.

Go with Audio Browser if you’re interested in audio from the iTunes store.

3. Customize Options

PowerPoint allows you to select your preferred audio options from the Audio Options tab.

A speaker icon will appear, and you can modify the standard audio file icon.

4. Preview the Audio

While on the current slide, select the audio icon or hover over it. You can click Play or Pause beneath it.

5. More Options

Depending on your needs, you can decide to perform more actions. For example, you might choose to play audio automatically when a slide appears, play during the whole presentation or repeatedly play (loop) during the entire presentation.

3. Alternative Method: Record Using Camtasia

You can also add audio to your PowerPoint presentation using a screencast tool such as Camtasia . Here’s a step-by-step look at how to add audio with Camtasia specifically.

First, ensure Camtasia is enabled on the PowerPoint Add-ins toolbar. It’s usually installed by default with Camtasia.

If it doesn’t appear, open PowerPoint and then:

• Select Options
• Click Ad-ins
• Click Manage
• Select Disabled Items on the dropdown
• Click Go and if Camtasia is disabled, click Enable

Steps for Recording

1. prepare slides.

Make your PowerPoint without any audio. You can include any animations and run through them a time or two to make sure everything looks right. Have your presentation set up to run on your screen exactly where you want it. You will go through it with the audio in the next few steps.

2. Open Camtasia

Open a new project with Camtasia. Then click on Record in the top left.

3. Set-up Your Microphone

Get whatever microphone you’re planning on using set-up and ready to go.

4. Make Sure PowerPoint is Lined up with the Camtasia Recorder

Here you can see how the recorder is set up around the PowerPoint presentation. That way the only part of the screen that is being recorded is the PowerPoint presentation. You can keep other applications open elsewhere (like if you need your speaking notes) or minimize other applications if you have a small screen.

When it’s set up exactly how you want it, click on the Record button.

5. Record Your Presentation and the Audio

Start recording your audio as you go through your presentation. You can edit out any audio errors once you are done. For now, you need to give the best version of your presentation. If you’re using a script, make sure to add some variety to your voice. Do your best to come across naturally in your presentation.

Forward the slides as you go through them. Stop the recording once you’re finished. The recording should appear on your Camtasia timeline.

6. Edit Your Recording

Now you can cut out any errors in your recording in Camtasia . This includes any visual or especially any audio errors.

Once you have the recording the way you want it, you can share it through Camtasia and produce it as an MP4 to upload online.

Wrapping Up

Whether you are a Windows 10 or Mac user, PowerPoint is vital for crafting engaging presentations. By incorporating different types of media such as audio, your PowerPoint presentation will be much more appealing to various audiences with different learning styles. Start creating your presentations and share your knowledge!

Lisa Parmley

Lisa Parmley is the founder of coursemethod.com. After gaining a Master's degree, she worked in research for about seven years. She started a training company in 2001, offering a course helping people pass a professional exam. That course has earned multiple 7 figures. She created SEO and authority site building training around 2007 which went on to earn well into the 6-figure mark.

She has 22+ years of experience in the trenches creating and selling online courses. Get help starting and growing your online course business here .

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How to Record in a PowerPoint presentation Audio & Video.

Recording audio and video in a PowerPoint presentation can improve the overall effectiveness and impact of your presentation because it can make it more interesting and keep your audience engaged.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 and later versions allow you to record your presentation with audio and video, so you can enhance your slides with voice narration or by recording yourself during the narration via the camera.

In this guide we show, how you can record your voice or yourself while presenting a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation and how to insert an audio or video file to a Presentation. You will also learn how to save the presentation as a video file or as a PowerPoint Show after you have finished recording audio/video.

How to Record or Insert Audio or Video in a PowerPoint Presentation.

There are two ways to include audio and video in your PowerPoint presentation: record a slide show with audio from your microphone and video from your camera, or add external audio and video to your presentation from a file.

* Note: As mentioned above, to add sound and video to a PowerPoint presentation you should have Microsoft PowerPoint 2013, 2016, 2019 or PowerPoint for Office 365.

1. Record your Audio & Video to PowerPoint.

2. Insert External Audio or Video files to PowerPoint.

Method 1. Record your Sound and Video to a PowerPoint Presentation.

To record your voice narration and/or yourself while presenting the slides in a presentation:

Step 1. Configure Microphone & Camera Settings.

Before recording your audio/video to a PowerPoint presentation, make sure that your microphone and camera settings are properly configured.

To adjust your microphone and camera settings for optimal quality:

1. Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.

2 . Go to System > Sound and under Input Settings select your microphone device and make sure the input volume is set to at least 80%

3. When done, go to Bluetooth & devices > Cameras > Connected Cameras and ensure that your camera is recognized by the system.

Step 2. Record Audio and Video to PowerPoint Slideshow.

Before you start recording audio/video in a presentation, it's important to know that audio cannot be recorded during animations and slide transitions. So, to avoid interruptions of your speech during the presentation, remember to leave a brief pause of 1-2 seconds in your narration at the beginning and end of each slide.

1. Open the PowerPoint presentation in which you want to record audio and video.

2. From the Slide Show tab (or the Recording tab), click the Record Slide Show button and choose either Record from Current slide or Record from Beginning, depending on which point you want to add audio/video.

3. The presentation will open in a recording window in full-screen mode.

4. Click the SETTINGS button at the top-right corner and ensure the correct microphone and camera devices are selected.

5. Use the Microsoft and Camera icons in the bottom right corner of the screen to turn off the input of the Microphone or Camera device if it is not needed during the presentation.

6. When you are ready, click the RECORD button to start recording your voice and/or camera input and present your slides.

7. Use the arrow keys to navigate through slides (forward only). Remember that you cannot go back or forward to a slide that already has a recording. This is to prevent accidentally recording over an existing recording.

8. If there are videos in your slides, click on them to start or stop the playback.

9. Use the Pen , Highlighter , or Laser icons from the bottom right corner to annotate your slides.

10. Look at the bottom left corner to find out the time counts for the current slide and the entire presentation.

11. If a slide already contains a recording, you will see a video preview or a speaker icon displayed at the bottom right corner.

• To re-record audio/video to a slide, click CLEAR and select Clear Recording on Current Slides .
• To delete all recordings, click CLEAR and select Clear Recordings on All Slides .

12. To pause or stop recording using the Pause and Stop buttons.

13. When finished Close the recording window (or right-click and select End Show ).

Step 3. Preview your Recordings on the Presentation.

After completing the recording, it is crucial to review the recordings of each slide before exporting the file as a PowerPoint show or video. To preview your recordings in your PowerPoint presentation:

1. Go to the Slide Show tab and click either From Beginning or From Current Slide to start playback.

2. Make sure each slide has a record and timing by changing the View to Slide Sorter .

3. On each slide where audio has been recorded you will see an audio icon along with the time/duration of the recording.

4. When you are satisfied with your recordings, you can move on to the next steps and export the entire presentation, including your audio and videos, either as a PowerPoint Show as a video file.

Step 4. Save the Presentation as a PowerPoint Show.

If you want to export your Presentation as a PowerPoint Show (.ppsx), which is useful if you want your presentation to be viewed even on computers that don't have the Microsoft PowerPoint app installed, do the following:

1. Click on File and select Save As .

2. Choose the location where you want to save the file and select PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx) format from the Save as type drop-down menu.

3. Then, click Save to save the file as a PowerPoint Show.

Step 5. Save Presentation to Video.

If you prefer to export your PowerPoint SlideShow as a video file, follow these steps:

1. Click on File and select Export .

2. Then Click the Create a Video option and select the preferred video quality from the first drop-down menu (e.g., Full HD 1080p ).

3. Then select the Use Recorded Timings and Narrations option in the next drop-down menu.

4. Then adjust the Seconds spent on each slide for the slides without recordings.

5. Finally, click the Create Video button and select the location to save the video.

6. Now wait for the PowerPoint to finish creating the video, as it may take some time depending on the performance of your computer.

7. Once the video is created, you can play it using any video player of your choice.

Method 2. Add External Audio and/or Video to a PowerPoint Presentation.

Instead of directly capturing audio and video within PowerPoint, you can insert an external audio or video file in your presentation.

Step 1. Adding an audio archive to a PowerPoint presentation.

To insert an audio file from your computer (such as pre-recorded narration, background music), to a slide:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and navigate to the specific slide where you want to add the audio.

2. Then, go to the Recording tab, click on the Audio button, and select the Audio on My PC option.

3. Then, choose the desired audio file from your device and click Insert .

4. The added audio file will appear as a small speaker icon in your presentation.

5. When you click on the speaker icon, the Playback tab will appear in the Ribbon. Move to the Playback tab and click the Play in Background option if you want the audio to play across all slides.

Step 2. Adding a Video file to a PowerPoint Presentation.

If you want to insert a video file from your PC, inside a Presentation.

1. Open the presentation and navigate to the specific slide where you want to add the audio.

2. Switch to the Recording tab and click on the Video button.

3. Then, select the video file that you want to add in the slide and click Insert .

4. Resize the video window as needed, and then customize the Playback settings from the Playback tab.

Step 3. Exporting or Saving the Presentation.

Once the audio and video files are inserted, you can export the presentation to a video file or save it as a PowerPoint show. To do that:

1. Select the Recording tab:

• Select Save as Show to save the file as a PowerPoint show, or…
• Export to Video to export the file as a video.

That's it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.

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Edit Music, Sound, or Other Audio Settings in PowerPoint

You can use PowerPoint to edit music, sound, or other audio

• Brock University

In This Article

Jump to a Section

• Play Music Across Slides

Set Music Playback Options Using the Animation Pane

• Play Music Over a Specific Number of Slides
• Hide the Sound Icon During a Slide Show
• Change the Volume Setting on a Slide

Use sound and narration audio files to enhance your presentation. Play audio files across several slides, play music during specified slides, or play background music along with narration. After you've added the sound files, change the volume level and hide the audio icons on the slide.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007; PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

Play Music Across Several PowerPoint Slides

There may be times when you want a single audio file to play during an entire slide show or from a certain slide to the end of the show. For example, you can add a voiceover on PowerPoint that will narrate your slides for you.

To play music across several PowerPoint slides until the audio ends:

Navigate to the slide where the music, sound, or another audio file will start playing.

On the ribbon , go to the Insert tab.

In the Media group, select Audio , then choose Audio on My PC .

If you don't have a pre-recorded audio file, select Record Audio to create a narration.

Navigate to the folder where the sound or music file is stored, choose the file, then select Insert .

Select the audio icon.

Go to the Audio Tools Playback tab.

In the Audio Options group, select the Play Across Slides check box.

The sound file will play across 999 slides or to the end of the music, whichever comes first.

If you want to play several selections of music (or parts of several selections) and want the music to stop after a precise number of slides have been shown, set up the audio files as animations.

To find the animation options:

Navigate to the slide which contains the sound file icon.

On the ribbon, go to the Animations tab and select Animation Pane .

In the Animation Pane , select the drop-down arrow next to the audio file.

Select Effect Options .

The Play Audio dialog box opens and displays the Effect tab.

Use the Effect tab to set when an audio file should start playing and stop playing.

Use the Timing tab to set how the sound should start and to set a delay time.

How to Play Music Over Specific Number of PowerPoint Slides

To change the number of slides that the audio file will play across:

In the Play Audio dialog box, go to the Effect tab.

In the Stop playing section, delete the entry 999 .

Enter the specific number of slides for the music to play.

Select OK to apply the setting and close the dialog box.

Go to the Slide Show tab and select From Current Slide to start the slide show at the current slide.

If you prefer to use keyboard shortcuts, select Shift+F5 .

Preview the music playback to make sure it is correct for your presentation.

Hide the Sound Icon During a PowerPoint Slide Show

A sure sign that a slide show was created by an amateur presenter , is that the sound file icon is visible on-screen during the presentation. Get on the right road to becoming a better presenter by making this quick and easy correction.

To hide the sound icon:

Select the sound file icon. The Audio Tools tab appears above the ribbon.

In the Audio Options group, select the Hide During Show check box.

The audio file icon will be visible to you, the creator of the presentation, in the editing phase. However, the audience will never see it when the show is live.

Change the Volume Setting of an Audio File on a PowerPoint Slide

There are four settings for the volume of the audio file that is inserted into a PowerPoint slide: Low, Medium, High, and Mute. By default, audio files that are added to a slide are set to play at the High level. This may not be your preference.

To change the volume of the audio file:

Select the sound icon on the slide.

In the Audio Options group, select Volume .

Choose Low , Medium , High , or Mute depending on your needs and preferences.

Select Play to test the audio volume.

If you choose a low audio volume, the audio file may play much louder than anticipated. Adjust the sound playback further by changing the sound settings on your computer, in addition to changing the audio volume in PowerPoint.

To make sure the audio plays at the right volume, test the audio on the presentation computer if this computer is different than the one you used to create the presentation. Also, preview your presentation in the location where the slide show will take place to make sure the audio sounds good with the room's acoustics.

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How to record a PowerPoint presentation with audio for sharing

• October 12, 2023

Wondering how to make a video with PowerPoint? If you want to create a video presentation from your PowerPoint slides, you can use PowerPoint's in-built recording feature. The feature allows you to narrate your slides, add annotations, and insert webcam video. You can then export your recording as a video file that you can share with your audience.

This article explains how to record your PowerPoint slideshow and how to share the recorded presentation via Teams or Zoom. We'll also give you some tips on how to avoid common pitfalls and glitches that you might encounter.

Here's our step by step guide to record a PowerPoint slide show:

• Open your PowerPoint presentation and click on the Slide Show tab.

• From the PowerPoint Set Up group, click on Record Slide Show button. You can choose to record from the beginning, or from the current slide.

• A new window will open with your PowerPoint presentation in full screen mode. You will see a Recording toolbar at the top left corner of your PowerPoint screen if you are on a single monitor, or at the top of your main monitor if you are working on dual screens (as pictured in the screenshot below). You can use this toolbar to control your recording in PowerPoint, such as start, pause, stop, rewind, and forward. You can also use the pen, highlighter, and eraser tools to annotate your slides.

• To start recording your PowerPoint presentation, click on the Record button (the red circle). You will see a countdown from 3 to 1 before the recording begins.
• As you record, you can speak into your microphone to narrate your PowerPoint slides. You can also click on the Camera button (the camera icon) to turn on your webcam and insert a video of yourself in the corner of your slide.
• To move to the next or previous slide, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard or click the Next or Previous buttons on the Recording toolbar.
• When you get to the end of your PowerPoint slideshow, you can export the video immediately by selecting export and following the prompts, or you can end your recording to review, before exporting to video format. To end your recording in PowerPoint, click the Stop button (the square icon) or press Esc on your keyboard.
• You will be taken back to the normal view of your PowerPoint presentation. You will see a speaker icon and a camera icon on each slide that has audio or video recording. You can click on these icons to preview, edit, or delete your PowerPoint recordings.

• To export your PowerPoint recording as a video file, click the File tab and select Export.
• In the Export window, choose Create a Video from the menu on the left.

• In the Create a Video panel, you can adjust the video quality, resolution, and file size. You can also choose whether to use recorded timings and narrations or not.
• Click on Create Video and choose a location and a file name for your video.
• Wait for PowerPoint to create your video. You can see the progress bar at the bottom of your screen.
• Once your PowerPoint video is ready, you can play it with any media player or upload it to any online platform.

Troubleshooting issues that may arise when recording a PowerPoint presentation

If you want to record a PowerPoint presentation with narration, annotations, or video, you may encounter some issues depending on your device, software, and settings. Here are some common problems and how to fix them:

• If your microphone is not working, make sure it is plugged in, turned on, and selected as the default recording device in your system settings (for example sometimes your monitor or webcam can also have a microphone, and the wrong device has been selected). You can test your microphone in PowerPoint by going to Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Settings > Microphone.
• If your video camera is not working, make sure it is plugged in, turned on, and selected as the default camera in your system settings. You can also test your camera in the PowerPoint app by going to Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Settings > Camera.
• If your annotations are not showing up in your PowerPoint recording, make sure you have enabled the pen and laser pointer tools in the PowerPoint app. You can do this by going to Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Settings > Pen and Laser Pointer Tools.
• If your PowerPoint recording is not saving or playing back correctly, make sure you have enough disk space and memory on your device. You can also try saving your PowerPoint presentation as a video file by going to File > Export > Create a Video.

Can I share my recorded PowerPoint presentation via Zoom or Microsoft Teams?

If you have recorded a PowerPoint presentation, you can share it with your audience via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Here's how to share your recorded PowerPoint presentation in both platforms.

How to share recorded PowerPoint Presentations via Zoom To share your recorded PowerPoint presentation on Zoom, you need to have the Zoom app installed on your computer and the PowerPoint file saved on your device or on OneDrive. Here are the steps to follow:

• Start or join a Zoom meeting and click Share Screen in the meeting controls.
• Select your primary monitor then click Share. If you are not sure which monitor is your primary, select the one that PowerPoint opens in.
• Switch back to PowerPoint and click the Slide Show tab. Begin playing the recorded PowerPoint presentation by selecting the Play from Start or Play from Current Slide options.

• If you have recorded narration or video for your PowerPoint presentation, make sure to check the Play Narrations and Use Timings option in the Set Up group on the Slide Show tab.
• Your participants will see your PowerPoint presentation in slide show view with your narration and video playing along.
• To stop sharing your recorded PowerPoint presentation, click Stop Share on the Zoom toolbar.

How to share recorded PowerPoint Presentations via Microsoft Teams To share your recorded PowerPoint presentation on Teams, you need to have the Microsoft Teams app installed on your computer and the PowerPoint file saved either on OneDrive or your local computer. Here are the steps to follow:

• Start or join a Teams meeting and click Share content in the meeting controls.
• In the share content menu ensure 'include computer sound' is turn on

• Select Browse OneDrive or Browse my computer at the bottom of the 'share content' menu.

• Navigate to the folder where you have saved your PowerPoint presentation file and select it.

• To stop sharing, click Stop presenting on the Teams toolbar.

Troubleshooting issues when sharing recorded PowerPoint presentations via Teams or Zoom

If you want to share a recorded PowerPoint presentation with your audience via Zoom or Teams, you may encounter some issues that can affect the quality or the delivery of your presentation. Here are some common problems and how to solve them:

• If your recorded PowerPoint presentation has audio or video embedded, make sure you check the option to share computer sound when you start sharing your screen. Otherwise, your audience will not hear the sound from your presentation.
• If your recorded PowerPoint presentation has animations or transitions, make sure you play it in slideshow mode and not in editing mode. Otherwise, your audience will see the editing tools and the slides will not advance automatically.
• If your PowerPoint presentation has hyperlinks or action buttons, make sure you click on them during the presentation and not before. Otherwise, your audience will not see the linked content or the action result.
• If your PowerPoint presentation is too large or has high-resolution images or videos, make sure you compress it before sharing it. Otherwise, your presentation may lag or freeze during the presentation due to bandwidth limitations.

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How To Get Audio In PowerPoint To Play Automatically

Looking to add an extra layer of engagement to your PowerPoint presentations?

From choosing the right audio file to making it play automatically, we cover all the steps and provide some handy tips and tricks.

Key Takeaways:

What is audio in powerpoint.

Audio in PowerPoint refers to the inclusion of sound elements, such as music or voice recordings, within a presentation to enhance the audience’s engagement and comprehension.

Utilizing sound in PowerPoint not only helps reinforce key points but also caters to various learning styles by appealing to auditory learners in addition to visual content. This multi-sensory approach can significantly improve message retention and audience interest.

Why Use Audio in PowerPoint Presentations?

How to add audio to powerpoint slides.

Adding audio to PowerPoint slides involves a series of straightforward steps that enable users to seamlessly integrate sound elements into their presentations.

Step 1: Choose the Audio File

Step 2: insert the audio file into powerpoint.

After choosing the audio file, the next step is to insert it into the PowerPoint slide where it will be played during the presentation.

There are multiple ways to insert audio into a PowerPoint slide. One option is to go to the ‘Insert’ tab in PowerPoint and click on ‘Audio’. From there, you can choose ‘Audio on My PC’ if the file is saved locally or ‘Online Audio’ to insert audio from the web.

Step 3: Adjust Audio Settings

Once the audio file is inserted , users can fine-tune its playback settings within PowerPoint to ensure seamless integration and synchronization with the presentation.

How to Make Audio Play Automatically in PowerPoint?

Enabling audio to play automatically in PowerPoint presentations offers a convenient way to ensure that sound elements enhance the content seamlessly across slides.

Option 1: Using the Playback Tab

One way to make audio play automatically in PowerPoint is through the Playback Tab, which provides accessible controls for managing audio settings and automation.

Option 2: Using the Animation Pane

An alternative method to automate audio playback in PowerPoint is by utilizing the Animation Pane, allowing users to synchronize sound effects or music with specific slide animations.

By opening the Animation Pane from the ‘Animations’ tab on the PowerPoint ribbon, users can easily view and edit the sequence of animations on each slide. In the pane, each animation is listed, along with options to adjust the order, timing, and effects.

What to Do if the Audio Does Not Play Automatically?

Check the file format.

To address audio playback issues, start by verifying that the audio file format is compatible with PowerPoint for seamless automation.

The most common audio file formats that are supported by PowerPoint include MP3, WAV, WMA, and AIFF. If your audio file does not fall into one of these categories, you may encounter playback errors.

To check the format of your audio file, simply right-click on the file and select ‘Properties’ to view its details. If the format is not supported, you can convert the file using various online tools such as CloudConvert, Zamzar, or Format Factory. Make sure to select the appropriate output format for PowerPoint compatibility.

Check the Audio Settings

Adjusting audio settings within PowerPoint can resolve playback issues, ensuring that sound elements are configured correctly for automatic execution.

Check the Slide Transition Settings

Slide transition settings play a crucial role in audio automation in PowerPoint, so users should ensure that slide transitions are aligned with audio cues for seamless playback.

When setting up slide transitions for audio synchronization, it is important to pay attention to the type of transition being used. Certain transitions, such as fades or wipes, can affect the timing of audio playback if not adjusted correctly.

Users should check the timing delays between slides to ensure that the audio and visual elements are in sync. This can be done by adjusting the duration of each transition or adding specific timing to synchronize audio cues with slide changes.

Tips and Tricks for Using Audio in PowerPoint

Use audio to enhance your presentation.

Leverage audio elements strategically to amplify the impact and effectiveness of your PowerPoint presentation, captivating your audience and delivering a memorable experience.

One key aspect to consider is the placement of audio cues within your presentation.

Another effective strategy is to incorporate interactive elements such as asking questions or prompting audience participation through audio cues. Engaging your listeners through well-timed audio can help maintain their focus and make your presentation more dynamic and memorable.

Keep Audio Clips Short and Relevant

Remember, the goal is to enhance understanding and engagement, so avoid cluttering your slides with excessive audio. Select impactful moments that underscore your main ideas and keep the audience intrigued. By aligning the audio clips with your presentation goals, you can create a dynamic and memorable experience for your listeners.

Test Your Presentation Beforehand

Before your presentation, take the time to ensure that your audio components are working seamlessly to deliver a professional and engaging experience to your audience. Begin by checking the volume levels on your device to avoid any unexpected disruptions in sound during your presentation. Next, test the audio playback on each slide to double-check that the sound is clear and properly synchronized with your visuals.

Consider conducting a full run-through of your presentation with a colleague or friend to get valuable feedback on the audio quality and ensure that everything flows smoothly. Troubleshoot any common issues such as mic interference, distorted sound, or missing audio files to prevent last-minute hiccups that could disrupt your presentation. With thorough testing and preparation, you can confidently integrate audio elements into your presentation for a polished and professional delivery.

Provide a Transcript for Accessibility

Frequently Asked Questions

1. how do i get audio to play automatically in powerpoint.

To get audio to play automatically in PowerPoint, you will need to insert the audio file on the slide and then change the playback settings to “Play automatically” in the Audio Format tab.

2. Can I set multiple audio tracks to play automatically in PowerPoint?

3. why is my audio not playing automatically in powerpoint, 4. how can i adjust the volume of the audio playing automatically in powerpoint.

You can adjust the volume of the audio playing automatically in PowerPoint by selecting the audio file on the slide and using the Volume slider in the Audio Format tab.

5. Is there a way to loop the audio playing automatically in PowerPoint?

6. can i customize the start and end time for the audio playing automatically in powerpoint, similar posts, how to save video in powerpoint, how to save one slide in powerpoint as jpeg, how to justify text in powerpoint, how to loop slides in powerpoint, how to text in powerpoint, how to create a jeopardy game in powerpoint.

Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > How to introduce yourself in a presentation

How to introduce yourself in a presentation

A well-executed presentation should captivate your audience and listeners. The first step to gaining their attention is creating an engaging introduction. Learn why presentation introductions are important and how to properly execute one for your presentation.

Why are presentation introductions important?

Presentation delivery impacts your audience’s reception and listening skills. A dull delivery can deter listeners and potentially leave them disinterested. Conversely, an effective delivery can engage your audience, promote active listening, and stimulate substantive discussion.

Presentation introductions also help to establish the outline of your presentation and give the audience an idea of what is to come. Introductions play a crucial role in captivating listeners from the onset and building momentum. They address who you are, why the audience should be invested, state the topic, establish credibility, preview the main points, and establish the cadence and tone of your presentation. Before you dive into the content of your presentation, ensure you establish an effective introduction to captivate your audience.

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How to begin a presentation introduction

To establish rapport with your audience, here are some tips to effectively introduce yourself and your presentation:

Be clear and concise

A succinct introduction makes it easier for your audience to follow. Keep your introduction simple, short, and include only necessary information. State your name and topic clearly so your audience knows you from the beginning. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy anecdotes in your introduction to keep things focused and to the point.

Provide pertinent background information

In addition to your name and topic, highlight anything else that is relevant. You can include your education, work background, qualifications, and other information. Most importantly, ensure the information you disclose is directly relevant to yourself and presentation.

Create a hook or attention getter

Once you’ve established your name and topic, create an engaging hook or attention getter. Your introduction can be funny, clever, or it can captivate your audience. Have fun creating an introduction, but be sure to align your tone and delivery to your audience.

Outline your presentation

Let your audience know what your will be discussing. Establish a roadmap of your presentation: outline your contents, topics, and main points in an easily digestible format. This makes it easier for your audience to follow your presentation and prepare for its contents.

Practice and refine

Once you’ve created a solid introduction, rehearse your introduction until the delivery is organic and smooth. Confidence is key for an optimal delivery. Speak clearly, practice eye contact, and use storytelling to engage your audience.

Be authentic

Above all, be yourself—authenticity helps you build trust and connection with your audience. Carry you character, speech, and personality into your presentation to draw in your audience.

A successful introduction establishes tone, cadence, topic, and showcases your personality. Gain your audience’s attention and effectively deliver your presentation with an effective introduction. For more ways to engage your audience and improve presentation delivery , learn more presentation tips .

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Home Blog Design How to Repurpose Your Content on Presentations

How to Repurpose Your Content on Presentations

Working with presentation slides doesn’t mean that the sole purpose of your content is to be delivered in big talk. Sometimes, presenters come up with extremely valuable information that can be lit through different channels: websites, forums, videos, e-books, etc. But the big question arises: how can we actually repurpose a PowerPoint presentation? 

This article will discuss the potential of content curation from presentations to other mediums and vice-versa. Join us to learn how to extract the very best of your work and maximize its distribution.

Table of Contents

What Does it Mean to Repurpose Your Presentation?

In which mediums can a presentation be repurposed, benefits of repurposing a presentation, transforming presentations into blog posts and articles, creating infographics from presentations, turning presentations into videos and webinars, developing podcasts or audio content from presentations, converting presentations into social media posts.

• Turning Presentations into E-books or PDFs

What Are Other Possible Formats to Repurpose Your Presentations?

Converting blog posts and articles into presentations, transforming reports and whitepapers into presentations.

• Turning Books and e-books into Presentations

Adapting Case Studies into Presentations

Converting social media content into presentations.

Repurposing means to give a new destination to the content you already created. The core idea behind this action is to reach a new audience, mostly people who didn’t participate in your presentation either for lack of awareness of the event, timezone differences, agenda difficulties, or just because they prefer different mediums to consume information. Presenters basically extract the content that gave life to the presentation slides and tailor that amount of information to the new medium in which they will be distributed. This sometimes implies creating new auxiliary content, such as images, audio files, infographics, videos, etc., to deliver the information through the new channel.

Depending on your interests and niche, presentations can be adapted to a multitude of formats:

• Visual mediums: Infographics, brochures, social media posts (Facebook, Instagram), videos.
• Audiovisual mediums: Podcasts, video courses, and social media posts (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok).
• Written mediums: Blogs, online magazines, whitepapers, business reports, research articles, forums, etc.
• Editorial distribution: e-books, PDFs, magazines, newsletters, etc.

In our experience, reutilizing the contents of your presentation in different mediums can offer the following benefits.

Improved SEO

Whenever we extract a presentation’s images, text, and resources into a web blog format, we generate new content around a group of keywords in which we may already have authority. As a result, this helps a website to grow based on the E-E-A-T algorithm by Google.

Most likely, structure of your presentation and the presentation speech was trimmed down to fit into the allotted time for the talk, so it requires expanding that information to fit in a written copy format with a curated selection of keywords to target. In other cases, instead of expanding the information, it will be necessary to summarize the presentation and adapt it to a medium where smaller pieces of information predominate, as is the case of Twitter posts or other social media posts.

Time Efficiency

Since we’re already working with content previously created, it’s not making content for new mediums from scratch but reusing the material we own. For example, if we talk about converting the slides into social media posts, we can work with templates and save countless hours. It would be taking the text or the images from the slides and fitting them into the new size format . The color scheme for both visual channels is precisely the same; thus, branding consistency is granted.

Extended Reach

Another benefit of repurposing your presentations into other content is to boost your visibility and reach a wider audience.

Let’s say we belong to a local community, and we recently delivered a talk about a potential business solution that addresses the pain points of a 10M people market. Our reach to share our research, proposed solutions, and close business deals will be significantly smaller in a local community than engaging with users across the internet, getting an endorsement from authority websites that can find our solution a cutting-edge technology or even cost-effective. 

That kind of reach can only be accomplished by extending the mediums through which we share content, taking a multi-platform approach, and interacting closely with our target audience. In other words, we can build on the reach of our initial presentation by extending the potential network.

Ways to Repurpose Your Presentation or Slide Deck

How do you make your presentation into new content? This section will present tactics to convert presentation slides into different formats. The methodology used is as follows:

• Extracting the key points and text from the slides.
• Repurposing images and other graphics generated for the slides.
• Using the presentation’s outline to guide the newly created content.
• Specific requirements from the new medium.
• How to cater to different audiences.

Our first approach to content repurposing from presentation slides is written copy. Although more flexible than a book, both blog posts and articles have their requirements to grab the audience’s interest and be accepted in a community (this applies explicitly to articles since they go through a moderation process by the editorial team).

From Slide Deck to Blog Post

Start by reviewing each slide in your deck, assuming each slide represents one topic or point. Write down the main points, statistics, quotes, and critical information. Copy significant text and descriptions that explain the slides’ content; if there’s a reference slide, be sure to extract all that information, as it will serve as your reference section at the end of the blog post.

Pro Tip: In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can use Outline View (go to View -> Outline View) to see the structure of your presentation, and in this way extract an initial structure that you could use for your blog post.

Gather all the images, charts and graphs used in the presentation. Sometimes, where the graphics may be insufficient for the post’s length, we can hire a graphic designer to generate new pieces, use AI to generate images ( Midjourney , DALL-E, etc.), or use the templates provided by SlideModel. The visuals should support your narrative and not feel disconnected from what you’re explaining in the blog article. Regarding their quality, the images should be web-optimized to avoid lengthy loading times that can hurt your SEO performance regarding Core Web Vitals. 

The outline of the presentation will be the basis for the blog post’s structure. Each slide can become a section or a subheading in the blog.

• Introduction: Introduce the topic and state the purpose of the blog post.
• Body: Use the main sections of the presentation as headings. Under each heading, elaborate on the points made in the corresponding slide. Consider relevant keywords and optimize the copy for SEO.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key takeaways and provide a call to action or final thoughts.

Avoid overusing bullet points; use short phrases, considering the context and potential explanations. Remember to format the content properly since readability is a factor, so remember to use headings, subheadings, and white balance. Unlike the presentation’s speech, preserve a conversational tone so the content doesn’t feel dense—particularly important in technical-styled articles.

From Slide Deck to Article

If we discuss academic articles, the context becomes a bit more restricted since we ought to follow the typical framework for presenting the content. After reviewing the slides, note the main arguments, hypotheses, methodologies, results, and conclusions. Copy significant text, definitions, and explanations that form the backbone of your academic argument.

Process the graphics in the same manner as you did for the blog post, but consider that quality is the most important aspect. Adjust visuals to meet academic standards (high resolution, properly labeled, and cited). If your presentation meets these standards, such as citing APA references in PowerPoint , you have already come a long way.

Base your academic article’s structure on the presentation’s outline. Typically, academic articles follow a structured format:

• Title: Create a concise and informative title.
• Abstract: Summarize the main points and findings.
• Introduction: Introduce the topic, provide background information, and state the research question or hypothesis.
• Methodology: Describe the methods and procedures used in the research.
• Results: Present the findings of the study.
• Discussion: Interpret the results, discuss their implications, and relate them to existing research.
• Conclusion: Summarize the key findings and suggest future research directions.
• References: List all sources cited in the article.

Adhere to the academic standards regarding styling citations (APA, Chicago, MLA, Harvard, etc.) and write in a formal and objective tone appropriate for scholarly work.

Consider the academic audience, including researchers, scholars, and students. Use technical language and in-depth explanations. Explain concepts thoroughly to ensure readers from various educational backgrounds can understand.

Infographics remain amongst the most sought-after pieces of visual communication . Professional graphic designers often work with agencies to transform their presentations or reports into sharable infographics that can easily acquire viral distribution through social media. For this purpose, you need to extract the contents of your presentation (text, graphs, images, icons, and anything else you can find relevant) and convert them into a sort of content brief to deliver to the person in charge of creating the infographic .

Focus on the most impactful and relevant main points, statistics, and essential information. Select brief, punchy text that conveys the main message clearly and can be easily read on an infographic. Then, create an infographic outline based on your presentation’s outline:

• Title: A compelling title that summarizes the infographic’s content.
• Introduction: A brief introductory section to set the context.
• Main Sections: Use key points from the presentation as the main sections of the infographic.
• Conclusion: A concise summary or call to action at the end.

Although graphic designers are well-seasoned at detecting elements with higher visual hierarchy, if there’s any element you consider worth highlighting, please indicate it. Ask for a consistent color scheme; matching your branding’s color palette is best.

Video presentations are a common audiovisual medium, allowing the presenter to introduce many facts engagingly. However, we can repurpose those same videos to create webinars, upload them to social media platforms, and even upload them to our websites. 

The first element to consider is deciding whether you intend to repurpose existing videos or if you’re making a video from scratch out of a presentation. In the first case, consider your video’s format, extension, and aspect ratio – then check if it’s suitable for your destination. If yes, upload it, considering the required captions, description, and SEO optimization. If the video requires adjustments, opt for high-quality editing software like Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, or similar to perform the necessary tweaks to ensure it meets the destination’s guidelines.

In the second case, you should check all the written or graphical elements and use them as a script for your video. Images such as photos, graphs, charts, etc., can be used. AI video-making tools can make the job easier as you just upload a script and let a human prop speak in your name. The results may look off-putting for some niche audiences, as the characters typically don’t blink during the speech’s length. 

How do you convert your presentations into videos? You can easily repurpose your existing PowerPoint presentations into videos by exporting the presentation to video format . Go to File -> Export -> Create Video and create a video presentation with or without your own narration.

Off-camera audio is an option while you present reels or images describing the scenario extracted from your presentation. This is an option used by camera-shy people who intend the focus to be on the content rather than themselves. Finally, you can go all in and record yourself delivering the presentation but to a much deeper level of detail, as there are virtually no time constraints except the ones assigned by you.

In some cases, live webinars may not adhere to the concepts explained above due to the spontaneity with which users can ask questions. In such cases, it’s best to speak with the event’s organizers beforehand and get in touch with the protocols to moderate questions and answers , as well as the allotted time for your talk and if you need to present a handout out of your presentation.

Podcasts are rich experiences in which the audience consumes knowledgeable content at multiple venues, such as at home, driving, at the gym, etc. For this reason, your tone must be attuned to boost audience engagement with the target audience. 

First, consider your presentation outline and craft a speech based on it. Depending on how much content you can extract, you can structure the presentation as a one-episode podcast or a series of episodes covering one chapter of your presentation in much broader detail. This last take tends to work better as you can pour in more knowledge and content than what you used for the slides, probably reviewing your research data. Once you have repurposed your presentation as a podcast, you can publish the podcast to distribution platforms, such as Spotify and Anchor.

If your presentation contained audio files, such as brief interviews, you can trim them to fit into the podcast’s episode as an interview you did in the past but currently fits your context. Another approach is to use multiple audio files from the same presentation and create a sort of “guide” covering content you have already delivered. This approach requires a greater editing effort in terms of transitions, balancing volume, and where your new input will be added.

Although they work in different aspect ratios, presentation slides can be repurposed into social media posts quite easily. From the 16:9 aspect ratio of the PPT slide, we ought to transform it to a 1:1 square format if the distribution channel is Instagram or LinkedIn. For example, a presenter can work with our PowerPoint Carousel Templates , which emulate the look of a LinkedIn Carousel. Then, the slides can be exported directly as JPGs and uploaded to LinkedIn or Instagram.

Facebook posts require some additional tweaking, as it admits the following sizing options:

• Square: 2048 x 2048 pixels 
• Portrait: 2048 x 3072 pixels 
• Landscape: 2048 x 1149 pixels
• Featured image: 1200 x 628 pixels (this is the preferred sizing for Facebook Ads)

NB: If you intend to use your slides as Facebook Ads, be mindful of the rule that ad images should contain less than 20% text.

Turning Presentations into e-books or PDFs

Finally, we can convert our presentation slides into an e-book or a distributable PDF file. This method converts your graphics and written content into something easy to deliver to the target audience, aiming for networking. 

Consider which elements inside your slide deck bring the highest value, then decide the length of the PDF or e-book. In the case of a concise PDF, the job is much faster as you have to condense the data into 2 to 3 pages at the top. An e-book, on the other hand, most certainly requires more content than what you already produced. Hence, the outline of your presentation can easily become the book’s outline.

Take graphics into account, as no one would read a dull e-book no matter how interesting your topic may sound (especially if you are a newcomer as an author). Dedicated software like Adobe InDesign makes the job much faster as you can seamlessly integrate text with graphics, allowing you to repurpose graphs, charts, and illustrations without worrying about altering the layout. 

Always include your branding information and contact channels for social media, as this printed/digital medium is another networking source. If your e-book falls into the academic/technical side, hire the services of a professional proofreader or editor to ensure the quality standards.

The possibilities for repurposing your presentations in other formats are vast, limited only by your creativity and the needs of your audience. By thinking outside the box and adapting your presentation content to different mediums, you can ensure that your message reaches a wider audience with your content. Here are some other creative ideas and formats for repurposing your presentations.

• Checklists: Develop actionable checklists or cheat sheets from the presentation’s action items or steps.
• Guides: Create step-by-step guides, training manual , or how-to documents from the presentation content.
• Case Studies: Turn any real-life examples or case studies from the presentation into standalone documents.
• Interactive PDFs: Design interactive PDF documents with links, videos, and other multimedia elements.
• Workshops: Use the presentation content to conduct in-person or virtual workshops.
• Quizzes: Develop quizzes or assessments based on the presentation content for educational purposes.
• Slide Decks for Sharing: Optimize and share the slide deck on platforms like SlideShare or LinkedIn.
• Press Releases: Craft a press release highlighting key findings or announcements from the presentation.
• Online Courses: Develop an online course or training program using the presentation material.
• Visual Quotes: Extract impactful quotes or statistics and design them into shareable content and visuals for social media.

Ways to Repurpose Other Content as Presentations

As we reached the second part of this article, we explored multiple options for converting presentations into another format. Now, it’s time to talk the other way around: when we have multimedia elements, reports, articles, etc., that we consider can fit into a presentation format.

Experience tells us it’s best to consider the following questions before approaching this task:

• Is the content ready-made for a presentation slide?
• Do I need to cite sources or request permission to divulge data/research?
• Are there royalty limitations? (In terms of images to be used)
• How can I build a narrative around this point?

Using blog posts or articles as a content source for a presentation follows the same structure, so the instructions work for both origins. First and foremost, we have to grab our reference notes in terms of:

• Cited sources
• Royalty-bound images

Then, for an article, we should consider a storytelling approach , as in Freytag’s Pyramid , where an initial exposure to the topic is made, the rising action leads to the story’s climax, and then the falling action takes us to the resolution. 

If you want to save time, you can try out SlideModel.AI, the AI presentation maker by SlideModel . With SlideModel.AI, you can create a presentation starting from a text prompt or convert a text document into a presentation format.

Some images used in blog posts may fit the presentation, although we should check sizing and resolution, as web-optimized images may usually look pixelated in large-screen projectors. Instead, reuse the source files that you worked on to create the web images

Content retrieved from academic articles may require some extra effort to cull the tone for the presentation, but that’s nothing that a presenter with some well-trained presentation skills cannot accomplish. 

Reports and whitepapers are technical documents. This means we ought to consider all possible scenarios of data presentation to embellish the information and work with a clean layout—that is unless your aim is to deliver death-by-PowerPoint as your presentation style.

The information extracted from reports and whitepapers must be legible, easy to relate to the original report data, and accompanied by contextual information on its repercussions and how they can influence decision-making . Use the same aesthetic across your slide deck and avoid flashy transition effects. These professional-cut presentations focus on content rather than ‘wowing’ the audience with graphics. 

If a chart or graph must be introduced, do not copy/paste it into the slides, as it will most likely not look legible. Instead, search for a presentation template that emulates the same model used and recreate it inside your slide deck. Check out some of our slide deck templates for an appropriate presentation design.

Turning Books and E-books into Presentations

Large-format written media like books and e-books require an additional effort in condensing information. Not all data is relevant to the audience, so you must clearly see the presentation’s objectives and your target audience’s interests. Synthesis skills are important here since you must summarize the important information in a few slides.

You can use chunks of highly important text as a self-quotation, but proceed to explain in your own words rather than reading out loud and leaving the topic as such. Avoid bullet points and excessive walls of text. Instead, opt to include infographics from the content you condensed – that balances texts and graphics well.

Case studies can be theoretical or factual. If the second option is to present, ask for permission from all interested parties before laying out your content in a slide. 

Repurposing a case study into a presentation can be an effective way to communicate key insights and findings to an audience in a more engaging and visual format than text content. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you convert a case study into a compelling presentation:

• Identify key components of the Case Study
• Structure your presentation
• Create visual aids and graphics for your slides

We have created a detailed guide on creating and delivering case study presentations , which we invite you to visit.

Finally, social media posts can be repurposed into presentation slides, as in the case of product presentations where we show the social proof or teaser images released to craft an investor pitch deck .

From our experience, we can recommend using mockups of smartphones, laptops, or tablets to introduce social media content in your presentations. You can directly screenshot the publication, displaying the number of likes, comments, and interactions as clear social proof of the value of your product or service. Working with a highly visual slide deck makes the job easier, but you must mix and match the social media content with the slide deck’s color theme . Use call-to-action slides to boost the potential of your social media content.

We saw multiple methods for recycling content from different mediums into presentation slides and vice versa. The idea is not to let the original source condition your work and hinder your creativity. Rather, consider the content a plus that you can alter to meet your new required conditions.

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How to make your presentation sound more like a conversation.

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The main difference between strong, confident speakers and speakers who seem nervous in front of the room is in how relaxed and conversational they appear. Here are some basic pointers that will help you create a conversational tone when speaking, regardless of the size of your audience.

1. Avoid using the word, “presentation.” Every time you say, “I’m here to give you a presentation on X,” or, “In this presentation, you’ll see…,” you are emphasizing the formal, structured, sometimes artificial nature of the interaction. No one wants to be “presented” to. Instead, use language that emphasizes a natural, conversational exchange. “We’re here today to talk about X,” or “Today I’ll be sharing some ideas regarding Y.” You can even go so far as to say, “I’m glad we have time together today to discuss Z.” Even if your talk is not going to truly be a dialogue, you can use language that suggests engagement with the audience.

2. If you are using PowerPoint, avoid using the word “slide.” Instead of talking about the medium, talk about the concepts. Swap out, “This slide shows you…,” for, “Here we see….” Instead of saying, “On that slide I showed you a moment ago,” say, “A moment ago we were discussing X. Here’s how that issue will impact Y and Z.” Casual conversations don’t usually involve slide decks. Just because your complicated presentation on tax exposure, supply chain issues, or new health care regulations requires you to use slides, doesn’t mean you have to draw attention to that fact that the setting is formal and structured.

3. For many large-group events, speakers are provided with what’s called a “confidence monitor,” a computer screen that sits on the floor at the speaker’s feet showing the slide that appears on the large screen above the speaker’s head. Avoid using confidence monitors. Our natural inclination when using a confidence monitor is to gesture at the bullet point we’re discussing at the moment. However, we are pointing to a bullet point on the screen at our feet, which the audience can’t see, so it creates a disconnect between us and the audience. Instead, stand to the side of the large screen and gesture at the bullet point you’re talking about so that the audience knows which point you are discussing at the moment.

4. Don’t tell your audience, “I want this to be interactive.” It’s your job to make it interactive. If you are delivering the type of presentation where your audience size allows you to create true engagement with your listeners, create that connecting in stages to “warm up” the audience. Stage One engagement is to ask the audience a question relevant to your topic that you know most of the audience members can respond to affirmatively. “Who here has ever bought a new car?” or, “How many of you have ever waited more than 5 minutes on hold on a customer service line?” Raise your hand as you ask the question to indicate to the audience how to respond. Whoever has raised their hand has now participated in the discussion. They have indicated a willingness to engage. Stage Two engagement is calling on one of the people who raised their hand and asking a specific, perfunctory question. Again, it needs to be a question they can answer easily. If your first questions is, “Who here has bought a new car?” you can then call on someone and ask, “How long ago,” or “What kind of car did you buy most recently?” If your first question was, “Have you ever waited on hold for more than 5 minutes,” you can’t ask, “What company were you calling at the time?” The people who raised their hands weren’t thinking of a specific instance; they were just thinking broadly about that type of experience. You could, however, call on someone and ask, “Do you prefer when they play music or ads for the company’s products?” Anyone can answer that question. At that point, you are in an actual dialogue with that person. Stage Three engagement is asking them a question where they need to reveal something more personal. “How does that make you feel when you hear those ads?” You’ve warmed up your audience and drawn them in with baby steps. Now you have actual, meaningful audience participation.

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5. Use gestures. When we’re speaking in an informal setting, we all use hand gestures; some people use more than others, but we all use them. When we try to rein in our gestures, two things happen that diminish our speaking style. First, we look stiff and unnatural. We look like we are presenting a guarded or cautious version of ourselves; we look less genuine. Second, hand gestures burn up the nervous energy we all have when speaking in front of a large group. That’s good. When we try to minimize our hand gestures, we tie up that nervous energy and it starts to leak out on odd ways, where we start to tap our foot, fidget with our notes or microphone, or tilt our head side to side to emphasize key points. Just let the gestures fly. It’s unlikely they will be too large or distracting. I have coached people on their presentation skills for 26 years. In that time, I have met three people who gestured too much. Everyone else would benefit from using their gestures more freely.

The impact we have as communicators is based on the cumulative effect of many different elements of our delivery. These suggestions alone won’t make you a terrific presenter. They will, however, add to the overall package your present of yourself when speaking to large audiences.

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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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