🎤 How to Add Voice in PowerPoint Presentation

Summary

In this tutorial, Kevin demonstrates three methods for adding voiceovers to Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. He begins with a simple method of inserting audio, followed by recording a slideshow with added annotations, and finally using a free app like Audacity for advanced audio editing. Kevin also explains how to customize the PowerPoint ribbon for easier access to recording tools and how to distribute the presentation as a video or slideshow. This step-by-step guide provides practical tips to make presentations more engaging and polished.

Takeaways

• 🎤 **Voiceover Addition**: You can add a voiceover to a PowerPoint presentation to guide viewers through the slides.
• 🔊 **Simple Technique**: Insert pre-recorded audio or record directly within PowerPoint for a straightforward voiceover.
• 🎬 **Record Slideshow Method**: Record a slideshow to include voiceover, annotations, or video, offering more interactive options.
• 📱 **External App Integration**: Use a free app like Audacity to edit audio with more control before importing it into PowerPoint.
• 🖥️ **Customize Ribbon**: Add a 'Recording' tab to the PowerPoint ribbon for easy access to all recording tools.
• 🔊 **Audio Playback Controls**: PowerPoint allows you to play, rewind, fast-forward, and adjust the volume of voiceover recordings.
• 🎛️ **Audio Format Options**: Customize the appearance of the audio icon and choose playback settings like fade in/out and volume.
• ⏯️ **Playback Settings**: Decide if the audio should play automatically, on click, or follow a sequence when presenting.
• 🎥 **Annotation and Video Tools**: Use annotation tools like a laser pointer or circle highlighter during voiceover recording.
• 📹 **Multi-Session Recording**: Record voiceovers in multiple sessions, allowing for flexibility and editing before finalizing.
• 📊 **Audacity Editing**: Use Audacity to trim, split, and clean up audio recordings before inserting them into PowerPoint.
• 💾 **Distribute Voiceover Presentations**: Save presentations as a show for automatic slideshow mode or export to video for easy sharing.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of adding a voiceover to a PowerPoint presentation?

The main purpose of adding a voiceover to a PowerPoint presentation is to guide the audience through the deck, providing explanations and context even when the presenter is not physically present.

How many methods does Kevin mention for adding a voiceover in PowerPoint?

Kevin mentions three different methods for adding a voiceover in PowerPoint.

What is the 'simple technique' for adding a voiceover in PowerPoint?

The 'simple technique' for adding a voiceover in PowerPoint involves using the 'Insert Audio' option from the Recording tab to either insert pre-recorded audio from the PC or record sound directly.

How can you customize the PowerPoint ribbon to include all recording tools in one place?

You can customize the PowerPoint ribbon by right-clicking on the ribbon, selecting 'Customize the Ribbon', checking the 'Recording' option, and then clicking 'OK' to add a new Recording tab with all recording tools.

What playback controls are available for audio in a PowerPoint presentation?

Playback controls for audio in PowerPoint include play, rewind, fast-forward, volume adjustment, and the ability to set bookmarks for specific points in the audio.

What is the difference between recording a voiceover directly in PowerPoint versus using a third-party app like Audacity?

Recording directly in PowerPoint is simpler and quicker but offers less control over the audio quality and editing. Using a third-party app like Audacity allows for more detailed editing, such as cutting out unwanted parts or improving audio quality, before importing the final recording into PowerPoint.

How can you ensure that the audio plays automatically when someone lands on a specific slide?

In the Playback tab of the audio settings, you can set the audio to play automatically when the slide is displayed by choosing the 'Automatically' option.

What is the benefit of using the 'Record Slide Show' feature in PowerPoint?

The 'Record Slide Show' feature allows for recording a voiceover along with annotations and, if desired, video. It also permits pausing and resuming the recording, which provides flexibility during the recording process.

How can you distribute a PowerPoint presentation with voiceovers to others?

You can distribute a PowerPoint presentation with voiceovers by saving it as a PowerPoint show, which launches directly into slideshow mode, or by exporting it to a video file that includes both slides and voiceover.

What additional audio editing features does Audacity offer that PowerPoint does not?

Audacity offers advanced audio editing features such as splitting clips, cutting out pieces from the middle of recordings, and adjusting audio levels, which are not available in PowerPoint.

Outlines

00:00

🎙️ Adding Voiceovers to PowerPoint Presentations

Kevin introduces three methods to add voiceovers to a PowerPoint presentation, enhancing the ability to walk someone through the deck even when the presenter is not present. The first method involves inserting pre-recorded audio or recording directly within PowerPoint. The second method is recording a slideshow, which allows for more interactive features like annotations and video inclusion. The third method, using a free external app for audio editing before importing it into PowerPoint, provides more control over the audio quality.

05:02

🔊 Customizing Audio Playback in PowerPoint

This section delves into the detailed process of customizing audio playback within a PowerPoint presentation. It covers how to adjust the audio icon's appearance, control playback settings such as fade in/out, and volume. Additionally, it explains how to set audio to play automatically or upon user interaction. The use of bookmarks for quick navigation within the audio and the ability to trim and split audio clips are also discussed, highlighting PowerPoint's robust audio editing capabilities.

10:02

🎥 Advanced Voiceover Techniques with External Tools

Kevin demonstrates how to use Audacity, a free audio editing software, to refine voiceovers before importing them into PowerPoint. He guides viewers through recording, editing, and exporting audio in Audacity, then shows how to insert this edited audio into a PowerPoint presentation. The summary also touches on distributing the presentation, either as a slideshow that automatically plays in presentation mode or as a video file that includes both slides and voiceover, ensuring a seamless and professional delivery of the presentation.

Keywords

💡Voiceover

A voiceover is a recording of a voice that is played over other elements of a presentation, such as images or text. In the context of the video, voiceover is used to guide viewers through a PowerPoint presentation, providing narration that can enhance understanding and engagement. The script mentions adding a voiceover to walk viewers through a deck even when the presenter is not physically present.

💡PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a widely-used presentation software by Microsoft that allows users to create visual aids, including slides with text, graphics, and multimedia content. The video's theme revolves around enhancing PowerPoint presentations with voiceovers, making them more dynamic and interactive.

💡Ribbon

In PowerPoint, the ribbon is a panel at the top of the application window that contains various tools and options organized into tabs and groups. The script discusses customizing the ribbon to include a 'Recording' tab for easier access to voiceover tools, streamlining the process of adding narration to slides.

💡Annotations

Annotations are notes or markings added to a document or presentation to provide additional information or clarification. The script mentions the ability to include annotations, such as highlighting or circling text, alongside voiceovers in PowerPoint, which can help draw attention to specific points during the presentation.

💡Slideshow

A slideshow is a sequence of images, text, or objects displayed on a screen one after the other, often used in presentations. The video explains how to record a voiceover while creating a slideshow in PowerPoint, allowing for a synchronized audio-visual experience.

💡Recording Tools

Recording tools refer to the features within PowerPoint that allow users to capture audio or video directly within the application. The script provides a walkthrough of using these tools to record voiceovers for slides, emphasizing the integration of audio with visual content.

💡Audacity

Audacity is a free, open-source audio editing software that offers a range of features for recording and editing audio files. The video suggests using Audacity to refine voiceover recordings before importing them into PowerPoint, allowing for more precise control over the audio quality and content.

💡Export

Exporting in the context of the video refers to the process of saving a PowerPoint presentation in a format that can be shared or displayed outside of the original software. The script discusses exporting the presentation as a show or video, ensuring that the voiceover plays correctly when the presentation is viewed by others.

💡Audio Icon

The audio icon in PowerPoint represents an audio file that has been embedded in a slide. The script describes how this icon appears on slides with voiceovers and how users can interact with it to play, pause, or adjust the audio playback.

💡Playback Controls

Playback controls are the interface elements that allow users to manage the playing of audio or video content, such as play, pause, rewind, and fast-forward. The video mentions that these controls become available when an audio icon is hovered over in a PowerPoint slide, providing a user-friendly way to interact with the voiceover.

💡Bookmark

A bookmark in PowerPoint is a feature that allows users to mark a specific point in an audio or video clip for easy reference or return. The script explains how to add bookmarks in voiceover recordings, which can be useful for jumping to important parts of the presentation.

Highlights

Introduction to adding voiceover to PowerPoint presentations

Three different methods for adding a voiceover

Customizing the ribbon for easy access to recording tools

Using the simple technique to insert pre-recorded audio or record directly

Playback controls and audio format options

Recording a voiceover directly from the slide

Editing audio with trim and bookmark features

Playback options for voiceover

Recording a slideshow with voiceover and annotations

Using third-party tools like Audacity for advanced audio editing

Importing edited audio from Audacity into PowerPoint

Distributing the presentation with voiceover

Saving the presentation as a show for automatic slideshow mode

Exporting the presentation to a video format

Encouragement to like and subscribe for more tutorials

Invitation for feedback and suggestions for future content

Closing remarks and farewell

Transcripts

hi everyone kevin here today i want to

show you how you can add a voice over to

a microsoft powerpoint presentation now

one of my pet peeves is you get a

powerpoint presentation deck and you

just wish that the person who pulled

together the presentation could walk you

through it well now when you add a

voiceover you can have that person walk

you through the deck even if they're not

there i'm going to show you three

different methods for adding a voiceover

first i'm going to show you what i like

to call the simple technique you could

simply insert some audio then i'll show

you how you can do it when recording a

slideshow you could also include things

like annotations or video and third i'll

show you how you can add audio using an

app outside of powerpoint that's free

and then you can import it in this

allows you to go in you could edit your

audio you can make sure it's perfect

before putting it into your slide

presentation as always you can use the

timestamps down below in the description

if you want to jump around all right

well let's jump in there are a few

different ways that i could insert a

voiceover in powerpoint up here i can

click on the insert tab up on the ribbon

and over on the far right hand side i

can insert audio also i can click on

slideshow and i could record a slideshow

to insert audio as well however all

these different tools are spread

throughout all these different tabs and

it takes a little bit of time to find

them instead first i want to show you

how you can bring all of your recording

tools together into one place

with the ribbon open here on top let's

right click on the ribbon and we can now

customize the ribbon let's click on that

this opens up powerpoint options and

here i can customize the ribbon over on

the right hand side you'll see all these

different items that appear on the

ribbon if there's a checkbox with a

check mark in it that means that the

item's currently on the ribbon anything

with an empty box means that it's not

showing up on the ribbon today if we

scroll down just a little bit you'll see

an option for recording let's check that

box and then click on ok this inserts a

new tab up on our ribbon for recording

and here we have all of our recording

tools in one place this is going to make

it a lot easier to add a voice over to

your presentation now that we have

access to all of our recording tools

let's use the first method or the simple

method to include a voiceover over on

the left hand side choose the slide

where you would like to include a

voiceover and here on side three all i

say is join a high performing team but i

think i could also include a voiceover

just to make it clear why that is to

include a voiceover on this slide let's

go up to the recording tab and there's

an option to insert audio when we click

on this you'll see a menu with two

different options you can include audio

from your pc so basically pre-recorded

audio or you could record sound directly

from here let's click on record sound

this opens up a record sound prompt down

below and it's pretty simple here we can

give a name for our recording i'm just

going to leave it set to the default and

then after that we really have two

different options we can kick off the

recording or we could cancel now i came

here to record so let's kick off a

recording by clicking on the record

button the kevin cookie company has one

of the highest performing teams in the

industry in fact when you look at

employees who joined over the past week

our employee retention is a hundred

percent once i'm all done i simply click

on the stop button and then i can click

on the play icon if i want to listen to

the recording again or if i want to take

maybe a second take i could record again

and that'll wipe out my existing

recording and then i could re-record

once i'm all done let's click on ok

congratulations we have now finished our

first voiceover you'll notice that

there's an icon on the slide with a

speaker and when we hover over that you

see different playback controls here i

can play the recording the kevin cookie

comes i could also move back and i can

move forward in the recording and over

here i can also adjust the volume when i

have the icon selected you'll also

notice that we have two additional tabs

on top of the ribbon first let's click

into audio format and with audio format

we can use all of these tools up here to

change what this icon looks like in fact

we could even change the icon to

something else by clicking on this menu

now here i can click on different

picture styles let's say i want to add a

black background behind this i can do

that to make it stand out a little bit

more next let's click into the tab that

says playback to see what we can do here

this has a whole bunch of different

playback tools for this audio over on

the far left hand side we can play the

audio if we want to hear what it sounds

like over here we can also add a

bookmark you might be wondering what is

a bookmark well here if i let's say i

jump forward maybe about halfway through

my audio maybe i'm making a really good

point you can add a bookmark in so you

could very quickly get back to that

point up above i also have the option to

trim my audio so when i click on this i

can set the beginning point so maybe i

take a few seconds before i start

talking i can trim that out of the track

here at the end too it looks like

there's a little bit of downtime at the

end where i'm not speaking so i can also

trim the end of it one tool that's

missing here is you don't have the

ability to split the clip and you don't

have the ability to cut out pieces in

the middle later on in this tutorial

i'll show you a way you can do that

using an app outside of powerpoint for

now let's click on ok backup on the

playback ribbon you can also have it

fade in you could have it fade out you

could also adjust the volume of the clip

and over here we have a few different

controls that affect the playback i can

have it play in the click sequence so

when someone lands on this slide once

they click then the audio will

automatically start playing also there's

another option for just automatically

what this means is when someone lands on

this slide the audio will just play on

its own down below there's also the

option when clicked on when someone

lands on this slide to listen to the

voiceover they have to actually come

over here and click on this icon or

click on the play icon to listen to the

voiceover now that we've looked at the

simple method for including a voiceover

next i want to show you how you can

record a slideshow as another approach

for including a voiceover once again

let's go up to the top ribbon and let's

click into recording over on the far

left hand side there's the option to

record a slideshow when we click on this

we can start recording from the current

slide so here i'm on slide three or i

could record from the very beginning

back on slide one i want to record from

the beginning so let's click on this

option this opens up the powerpoint

record slideshow view and this takes

over our entire screen and there's quite

a bit of functionality here so let's

take a quick look at what we can do

compared to the simple approach we can

do quite a bit more up in the top left

hand corner we can kick off our

recording by clicking on the prominent

red button we can also stop the

recording and we can listen to it again

to make sure that we're satisfied with

it over in the center you also have the

option to look at all of your slide

notes when i click on this this will

show me my notes and i could expand the

font size or i could reduce the size

again to the right of that there's an

icon that says clear if i've done any

recordings in my deck i can simply clear

out all of those recordings i haven't

done any yet so there's nothing to clear

also i have a settings menu over here

here i could choose my microphone and a

new addition now i could also choose a

camera if i want to have a video go

along with my voiceover one of the neat

things about using the record slideshow

view is you also have access to all of

these different annotation tools here

for example i could use a laser pointer

to point things out on the slide or i

could circle things like this really is

a great place to work so i want to make

sure i underline that the neat thing too

is as you're doing your voiceover all of

your different annotations will be

synced with your voiceover down in the

bottom right hand corner i can also

toggle my microphone off or i could turn

it back on and i could also turn my

video on or off hey now you can all see

me down here i could also turn the

camera preview off or on depending on

what i want for now i just want to do a

voiceover so i'll turn the video off now

that we've looked at all of the

functionality here why don't we try

kicking off a recording up in the top

left hand corner let's click on record

we're going to see a countdown timer to

the beginning of the recording hello

employees of the kevin cookie company

today we are going to run through our

benefits handbook and i'm sure all of

you already know that this is a great

place to work at but just to remind all

of you you get free cookies why would

you ever want to work anywhere else

now one of the great things about using

this recording mode for voiceover is you

can pause a recording so maybe i want to

collect my thoughts think about what i

want to say next and once i'm ready to

go i can click on record again and this

once again resumes the recording now

once i'm all done i can click on the

stop icon and now i could replay it to

listen to it again or maybe i'm

unsatisfied with it if i want to

re-record i can go over to clear once

again and i can clear the recording on

the current slide also if i go over and

if i click on the record icon again this

will overwrite the recording that i just

did so i could simply record again and

maybe my next take is better in which

case i can keep the new one once i'm

satisfied with my recording i can simply

click on this icon over on the right

hand side to advance to the next slide

here again i could start recording a

voice over just for this slide now one

of the things you might notice is i can

continue advancing through the slides

even when a recording is in progress now

right now it's recording on this slide

when i advance to the next slide the

recording on the previous slide stopped

and now it's kicked off a new recording

for this slide so the one thing you want

to watch out for is if you're talking

and then you advance to the next slide

you want to make sure you take a break

before you advance to the next slide

otherwise your speech might get cut off

i've now exited the record slide show

view and in the bottom right hand corner

now you'll see that every slide has its

own audio icon so here i could play back

the audio by clicking on this now each

slide has its own so each slide is

independent from the other slides the

great thing about this is if i want to

move slides around or if i want to

rearrange things i could simply take

this slide move it around and this audio

is associated with this slide so i don't

have to go back and re-record everything

if i just happen to move some slides

around the nice thing too is i don't

have to record everything in just one

session instead i could go through the

first two slides i could record all of

my voice over then i could take a break

and i could come back later and resume

on slide three now let's say i go back

and i listen to one of my audio

recordings and i'm not really satisfied

i can go back and once again i can redo

it very easily i can go right back on

top and i could record from the current

slide i could record this slide and then

exit and that'll only update the audio

recording on this one individual slide

now one more thing to call out about the

record slideshow view if we click over

to the tab that says slideshow you'll

notice these different checkboxes by

default it'll use the timings of your

recording so if you spent 20 seconds on

the slide while you were narrating it

it'll stay on that slide for 20 seconds

and it'll automatically advance also

it's currently set to automatically play

narrations so you can go through and you

can update this to match whatever your

needs are powerpoint offers some

incredibly rich voice over tools however

sometimes you just might want even more

control let's say for example that

you're narrating you're doing a

voiceover and maybe uh you know you

include a lot of um's that you want to

cut out you can use a third-party tool

called audacity to remove those and then

you can import it back into powerpoint

let's jump over to our web browser

audacity is an incredibly powerful audio

recorder and editor and best of all it's

entirely free to get to get audacity

head to the website audacityteam.org

and on the website click on download and

then run through the install process

once you finish downloading audacity go

ahead and launch the application and

you'll see an interface that looks like

this now once again audacity is an

incredibly powerful audio editor and you

can do a lot with it today i'm just

going to show you some of the basics of

how you can record make a few simple

edits and then import that into

powerpoint up on the top bar you can

choose the microphone that you want to

use once you have your microphone

selected you can click on this red icon

to kick off a recording welcome to the

kevin cookie company benefits handbook

we're going to talk about all the great

benefits we offer here

once i'm done with my recording i'll

click on the stop button i've now

finished my recording and here i can see

waveforms that match with everything

that i said at the very beginning it

takes me a little bit of time before i

start speaking here i could select that

and i could delete that portion let's go

and listen and see if there are any

other edits we need to make welcome to

the kevin cookie company benefits

handbook uh

one thing you'll notice right in the

middle of my recording i stutter and i

say um and that doesn't really sound

good in a voiceover i can highlight this

portion of the clip and i'll press the

delete key on my keyboard to remove it

that gets rid of it now you'll notice

that my sentence flows a lot better if

it's handbook we're going to talk about

all the great benefits we offer here

once i'm done with my recording and then

here you notice that i talk about

stopping the recording so i'll also cut

off the end portion of this now this is

a perfect clip i've gone through i've

removed some sections in the middle and

now i'm ready to get it into powerpoint

to get it into powerpoint let's go to

the file menu and here i can click on

export and i can export it as an mp3 as

a wave powerpoint will accept either one

of those formats i'm going to export as

an mp3 i'm going to title my file intro

and i'll simply save it to my desktop

and then click on save back within

powerpoint i can now insert my recording

from audacity up here i can click on

audio and let's insert audio on my pc

when i click on this this opens up my

file picker and here i see my file on my

desktop i'll simply click on that and

then click on insert i've now inserted

my audio and let's listen welcome to the

kevin cookie company benefits handbook

we're gonna talk about

so there you notice that my audio plays

back perfectly and it keeps all of the

edits that i made within audacity once

i'm all done inserting all of my

voiceovers the next question then is

well how do i want to distribute this

out to people i could simply save it as

a powerpoint presentation and then i

could send it out and people can open it

and launch it into slideshow mode

however let's go back to the recording

tab to see what other richness is there

when i click on recording not only can i

insert recordings but it also helps me

prep the presentation for distribution

here for example i can save it as a show

so when i save it as a show when people

click on it it'll automatically launch

into slideshow mode also i could also

click to export to video so this way

it'll be an mp4 file that people can

click on and this will automatically

play the slides along with my voiceover

all right if you now know how to include

a voiceover in your powerpoint

presentation please give this video a

thumbs up to see future videos like this

make sure to hit that subscribe button

also if you want to see me cover any

other topics in the future leave a note

down below alright well that's all i

have for you today i hope you enjoyed

and as always i hope to see you next

time bye

[Music]

you