how to record music for powerpoint presentation

• 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

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

• Slidesgo School
• PowerPoint Tutorials

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.

Do you find this article useful?

Related tutorials.

How to print PowerPoint notes

Crafting an impactful PowerPoint slideshow and delivering a captivating presentation are distinct skills. The first focuses on designing appealing visuals to convey a clear message, while the second involves employing effective presentation techniques to ensure the audience grasps the idea. The content of this article will help you with the latter part of this process, guiding future presenters on how to print PowerPoint with speaker notes to enhance your presentations success and effectiveness.

Discover Our Online Presentation Software for Free

We have great news for you today! If you’ve been a Slidesgo fan for years (or months, or weeks, or days, or mere hours, we welcome everyone!), you’ll probably know for now that our templates are available mostly in two formats: for use in Google Slides and PowerPoint.Google Slides is a free tool, since you only need a Google account in order to use it. PowerPoint, on the other hand, is part of the Microsoft Office suite, so it’s not a free program, but that didn’t stop it from being one of the most popular options in the world!What if we...

Webinar: Presentation Audit

With more than 15,000 templates released on Slidesgo and a user base composed of millions of people, we estimate that the total number of presentations created adds up to… um, a lot! Our team of professional designers work very hard to provide you with editable slides so that the only thing you need to do is, well, customize the elements to your liking. Starting from any given template, the results may vary a lot depending on the person who edited the contents.Have you ever wondered “Is my presentation good enough?” and wished that an expert on presentations looked at your template...

How to Change Slides Orientation in Google Slides

A change of perspective is always good! Do you want your public to look at your slides in a new way? Changing slides orientation will do the work. In this tutorial you’re going to learn how to go from horizontal slides, to vertical ones (and vice versa!). 

How-To Geek

How to add music to your powerpoint 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.

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.

Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials How to Add Music to PowerPoint

How to Add Music to PowerPoint

When editing PowerPoint templates or creating new presentations from scratch, you might want to insert a narration or add music to PowerPoint. There are two methods by which you can insert music into your PowerPoint slides and control how it is played.

Adding Music to PowerPoint using an Audio File

You can add music to PowerPoint by using an existing audio file via Insert > Audio > Audio on my PC .

Select the music file from your device to insert it into your PowerPoint presentation.

Once the audio file is added, you can drag and drop the audio icon to place it in your slide or keep it hidden via the Playback tab by checking the Hide During Show option. The Playback tab also lets you control whether to start the music by clicking or automatically. 

You can also play the music in a loop and across all slides instead of just one. Other options allow you to preview audio, trim the music file, add a fade duration at the beginning and/or end of the audio track, and adjust the volume.

Adding Music to PowerPoint by Recording Audio

You can also record audio to insert a song or music into PowerPoint. You can use this feature if you intend to add a background score by recording it using a mic. Such as recording Live playback music. To start recording your mic and computer audio, go to Insert > Media > Audio > Record Audio .

Click the Start button to begin recording music from your connected mic.

Once the recording is complete, click Stop to insert the audio into your PowerPoint presentation. Once the audio file is added, you can manage playback settings via the Playback tab to play the video across or a single slide, trim audio, add fade effect, play in a loop, hide in the slideshow, and adjust other options according to need.

While many PowerPoint users might ask the question as to how to add music to a PowerPoint presentation, the process is the same as adding or recording audio in general. The same process can also be used to add narration, be it from an existing file or by recording it.

Like this article? Please share

PowerPoint Tools, Presentation Ideas Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials

Related Articles

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • April 16th, 2024

How to Insert an Equation in PowerPoint

Learn how to create easy-to-understand science slides by mastering how to insert an equation in PowerPoint. Step-by-step guide.

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • April 9th, 2024

How to Remove Notes from PowerPoint

Make alternative versions of your presentation files by learning how to remove notes from PowerPoint. Step-by-step guide with screeshots.

Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials • April 2nd, 2024

How to Round Corners in PowerPoint

Learn how to add rounded corners to shapes and images in PowerPoint. Elevate your presentations with sleek designs. Expert tips and step-by-step guides.

Leave a Reply

• GTA 5 Cheats
• What is Discord?
• Find a Lost Phone
• Upcoming Movies
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Best YouTube TV Alternatives
• How to Recall an Email in Outlook

5 ways to add music to PowerPoint

Depending on the type of slideshow you’re creating in Microsoft PowerPoint , music might be the perfect addition to the show. You may want a fun upbeat song on a slide or a soft subtle melody throughout the presentation.

Upload a song from your computer

Download free music, record music while creating the slideshow, add an offscreen video, play the song or use as background music.

We’ll show you how to add music to PowerPoint a few different ways and then use a single song on a slide or play background music from start to finish.

What You Need

Microsoft PowerPoint

Probably the easiest way to add music to your slideshow is to upload a song from your computer. This can be a tune you’ve saved and listen to often or one from a playlist.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide to add the music.

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab and choose the drop-down arrow for Audio on the right side of the ribbon.

• How to embed a YouTube video in PowerPoint
• How to print a PowerPoint presentation with notes
• This PowerPoint ploy could help hackers empty your bank account

Step 3: Pick Audio on my PC , browse for the music file, and select Insert .

Step 4: You’ll then see an audio icon on your slide for the song.

Step 5: Use the Play button to listen and the Playback tab to adjust the playback options.

Maybe you have the type of song in mind you want, but don’t have a copy saved to your computer. There are a few online resources for obtaining royalty-free songs for presentations at no cost.

Fesliyan Studios Inc. : Choose a genre at the top such as commercial, happy, sad, or relaxing. Press the Play button to listen, then check out alternate versions where available. Choose Download to get the song.

Chosic : You’ll see a slew of songs for presentations from upbeat to soft. When you hear the song you want, select Download > Free Download .

SoundCloud : If you’re already a SoundCloud listener, this is a good option for presentation music. Type “free downloads” or similar into the search box and review the results. When you find the song you want, select More or the three dots to download the tune.

If you can find royalty-free music on YouTube as well, there are a number of ways to download MP3s from YouTube .

Once you download one of these songs, save it to your device and simply upload it to the slideshow as described above.

If you’re lucky enough to be gifted with musical talent, you can use your skills to record a song directly in PowerPoint. Warm up your vocal cords or grab your guitar and make your own presentation music.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide to record the music.

Step 3: Pick Record audio . Note: You must have either a built-in or external microphone for your computer.

Step 4: When the Record Sound box appears, select the red, round Record button to start recording.

Step 5: Press the square Stop button when you finish. To listen to the recording, press the green Play button.

Step 6: When you finish, select OK to insert it onto the slide.

Step 7: You’ll then see the audio icon just like with an inserted audio file. Press the Play button to hear the recording.

Sometimes the ideal song for a situation is attached to a video. While you can’t currently just play the audio and you probably don’t want the video as part of your presentation, there’s a workaround to get that tune in your show.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation and select a slide to add the video.

Step 2: Go to the Insert tab and choose the drop-down arrow for Video on the right side of the ribbon.

Step 3: Pick This Device , Stock Videos , or Online Videos and follow the prompts to insert the video.

Step 4: When the video appears on the slide, drag a corner or edge to make it smaller and then drag it off of the slide to one of the sides.

This allows you to play the video to hear the audio but not see the video in your slideshow.

Step 5: Select the video and use the Playback tab to adjust the options for playing it when clicking the slide or automatically.

Once you add the music to PowerPoint, you can set it to play on a single slide or last the duration of the presentation.

Step 1: Go to the slide containing the music and select it.

Note: If you want the music to play in the background throughout the slideshow, you’ll likely want the file on the first or second slide per your preference.

Step 2: Head to the Playback tab and choose to play the song with the slide or as background music.

Step 3: To play the song only on that slide, choose the Start drop-down box in the Audio options section of the ribbon and pick how you want the music to begin. You can select In click sequence , Automatically , or When clicked on . When you advance to the next slide, the song stops playing.

Step 4: To play the song throughout the presentation, select Play in background in the Audio styles section. This automatically checks the boxes for Play across slides and Loop until stopped . You can also choose an option in the Start drop-down box for how to begin playing the song.

Keep in mind this only works with audio files, not the video file method described above.

Step 5: Adjust any other options on the Playback tab per your preference. You can increase or decrease the volume, rewind the song after it plays, or add a fade in or out effect.

Remember to practice your presentation after you add the music to make sure it sounds the way you want. You might also consider adding closed captioning for the hearing impaired.

Editors' Recommendations

• Best Microsoft Office deals: Get Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for free
• How to convert a PowerPoint to Google Slides
• Apple’s Vision Pro to get bespoke Microsoft 365 apps at launch
• PowerPoint will use ChatGPT to create entire slideshows for you
• Microsoft might put ChatGPT into Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint
• How-To Guides

If you're using Microsoft Office on your Windows PC, then you might want to keep your eye out for potential new security issues.

Microsoft has just backtracked on a decision it made earlier in 2022, and will no longer be blocking Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros in Office files by default across Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, and Visio.

Whether you’re presenting a slideshow to your executives, clients, or peers, you want to convey your message clearly and successfully. Unfortunately, many mistakes can be made when creating PowerPoint presentations.

From hard-to-read fonts to colors that hurt the eyes of your audience, here are some best practices to keep in mind for your next PowerPoint slideshow. Choose the fonts wisely Using a fancy, dramatic, or even whimsical font can be tempting. But you must consider the readability of the font. You want your audience to easily see your headings and bullet points. Consider the two basic font styles: serif and sans serif.

Microsoft PowerPoint offers many features for creating slideshows. Some of those features go a bit unnoticed but can be useful when building your presentation.

Before you create your next PowerPoint, take a look at these tricks. They can save you time, let you customize the show, and stay organized from start to finish. Save time by reusing slides You may not realize it, but you can reuse slides from other presentations to save time. You might reuse a slide with your company mission, contact information, or details of all your locations.

How to Record A PowerPoint Presentation [2022 User Guide]

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

By Nikolay Kaloyanov

in How-To Tutorials

2 years ago

Viewed 587 times

Spread the word about this article:

If knowing how to record a PowerPoint presentation wasn’t necessary a decade ago, this isn’t how things stand today. The pandemic taught us a valuable lesson – if we don’t catch up with technology, we will fall short.

Fortunately, Microsoft’s app is the global leader in presentation software and provides you with all the required tools to create an excellent presentation you can show in front of your audience. But how to record a presentation on PowerPoint, and is it easy to do so?

Article overview: 1. What are the benefits of recording PowerPoint presentations? 2. How to record a PowerPoint presentation? 3. How to live stream a PowerPoint presentation? 4. Frequently asked questions

1. What are the benefits of recording PowerPoint presentations?

I am are pretty sure that if recording presentations weren’t helpful, PowerPoint wouldn’t offer it to its users. Well, we all know that’s not the case. Recording your PowerPoint slides can bring a ton of benefits. Let’s see which they are:

• Save time  – regardless if you’re a lecturer or present in front of colleagues, having a video of your recording will save you many hours. Imagine speaking in front of your marketing team, but 2 members are on summer holidays. It’s fine. They’ll catch up later when they watch your PowerPoint recording.
• Focus on the presentation  – usually, if you’re presenting in front of an audience, it’s typical to get asked many questions that you need to answer promptly. But that is a good reason to get distracted from your core information. Thus, it makes sense to record your presentation beforehand.
• Practice before presenting – the best way to carry out a great presentation is to spend some time at home, focusing on key details. When you record your PowerPoint slides, you can find areas of improvement and work on them.

2. How to record a PowerPoint presentation?

There are many tools that you can use to record a PowerPoint presentation. From Loom and Panopto, and even Apple’s basic Quicktime and Windows’ own recording tool. But here we will discuss none of the other options. Why? The answer is simple: PowerPoint has its own in-built, robust recording tool.

Unlike other options, PowerPoint’s recording feature enables you to record slide by slide. This effectively means you can create as many recordings as you like, until you like the playback version, and move on to the next slide.

Pro tip : PowerPoint doesn’t record slide transitions. You need to start recording each slide when it is opened and finish the recording before you move on to the next one.

Let’s see how to record a PowerPoint presentation with video and audio in just a few steps.

Step #1: Open your PowerPoint presentation

The first step is to open the PowerPoint presentation you wish to record. Ensure you have all the necessary slides and information on them. While this seems logical, there aren’t one or two cases when presenters have recorded wrong or unfinished slides, which leads to a disappointing outcome.

Step #2: Prepare your video and audio devices

Before you start the recording, you should check your camera and microphone. Try to make a sound check and see if your camera works properly.

Step #3: Select the slides you wish to record

PowerPoint gives you the option to record a presentation right from the beginning, or from a specifically selected slide.

• Pick “ From Beginning ” (1) from the Record tab of the Ribbon if you wish to start from the first slide.
• Pick “ From Current Slide ” (2) from the same tab in case you would like to start from a selected slide (which isn’t the first one).
• Click the Record button (3) which is positioned in the top right corner, between the Comments  and Share buttons. It starts the recording from the slide you have currently selected.

Step #4: Start the recording

Once you click on one of the options, you are ready to start narrating your PowerPoint presentation. You will see a countdown timer, after which you can start narrating slides.

Step #5: Manage your PowerPoint recording

You have probably seen a couple of other options aside from the recording one. Let’s see which they are:

• Timer with a grey/red light – if you are recording your narration, you will see a timer and a small circle with a red light that indicates you are recording. If you pause, the small circle indicator will become grey again and the timer will stop counting.
• Refresh icon – right next to the timer there is a refresh-like icon but it serves a different purpose – to re-take the recording. You have the option to record again the current slide or all slides.
• Start/Stop button  – the big red button serves as a start/stop button for your recordings. Only stop the recording when you want to move on to the next slide.
• Pause button – if you would like to stop the slide recording, in order to drink some water or read your speaker notes, you can use the Pause button, and then resume the recording. Bear in mind you cannot pause and move to the next slide. You have to stop the recording, to indicate you have finished with the current slide.
• Camera button  – clicking the camera button will work as a toggle on/off.
• Microphone Button – clicking the microphone button will work as a toggle on/off.
• Ellipsis – this is the place where you can select camera and microphone settings, as well as erase recordings from the current slide or all slides.

Step #6: Export your PowerPoint video recording

The last button from the menu is the Export setting. You can export your narration as an mp4 file in Full HD size by default. However, you can customize your export and get your narration in 4 sizes – 480p, 720p (HD), 1080p (Full HD – standard), and 4K. We don’t recommend Ultra HD exports.

Pro Tip : Exporting 4K PowerPoint presentation recordings doesn’t necessarily mean you will get better quality (unless you have 4K resources within your presentation) but it does guarantee a significantly larger file size – up to 4 times more than on standard Full HD recordings.

3. How to live stream a PowerPoint presentation?

If you have already honed your skills and would like to stream your PowerPoint slides directly to your audience, there are many ways to do so. We are going to cover two of them.

3.1. How to stream a PowerPoint presentation from OneDrive?

Microsoft has invested a lot of resources to make OneDrive a powerful cloud service, and so far they have been quite successful. Let’s see how to record a PowerPoint presentation in front of live audiences.

Step 1 – save your PowerPoint presentation in OneDrive.

Step 2 – open your PowerPoint slides from PowerPoint online.

Step 3 – go to Present Live  from the Slideshow Ribbon tab.

Step 4 – share a  live link with your audience.

3.2. Stream your PowerPoint presentation in Zoom

Zoom is one of the most popular conference call apps which has plenty of tools, including live streaming presentations. Since PowerPoint is the leading presentation program in the world, Zoom developers have created some amazing things, like PowerPoint presentation recording with a web camera on a transparent background. If you’re interested, you can check our guide on how to record a Zoom presentation .

Does PowerPoint have a screen recording?

PowerPoint has a screen recording window and you can select the area you would like to be recorded. Go to Record  (from the Ribbon), then select Screen Recording , choose the area and start recording.

Can I view speaker notes while recording narration?

You are able to access your speaker notes if you have created them beforehand. To insert speaker notes, you have to go to View -> Notes Page  and you will have a text box that you can utilize for speaker notes.

What format does PowerPoint use for video?

PowerPoint records videos in mp4 format. The default resolution is 1080p (Full HD).

Recording your PowerPoint presentations can make the difference between a successful and smooth speech and a bad narration. Being able to record each slide means you can get the best narration possible for your whole presentation.

And if you would like to stream your presentation live, there are more than enough options to do so – both via the online version of PowerPoint or via third-party apps like Zoom.

If you found this article helpful, you can also check some of our other PowerPoint tutorials:

• Add Audio to PowerPoint: The Quick Step-by-Step Guide
• Insert GIFs into PowerPoint – a 2022 Pocket Guide
• How to Convert Your PowerPoint Presentation into Google Slides ?

Add some character to your visuals

Cartoon Characters, Design Bundles, Illustrations, Backgrounds and more...

Like us on Facebook

Subscribe to our newsletter

Be the first to know what’s new in the world of graphic design and illustrations.

• [email protected]

Browse High Quality Vector Graphics

E.g.: businessman, lion, girl…

Related Articles

11 seo and keyword tips for your best google ranking, 25+ wonderful cartoon character design tutorials, how to make an infographic in powerpoint: the beginners’ guide, the 25 absolute best adobe xd tutorials in 2022, how to turn yourself into animated cartoon in zoom.us, enjoyed this article.

Don’t forget to share!

• Comments (0)

Nikolay Kaloyanov

Nikolay is a copywriter with vast experience in Technology, Marketing, and Design. When he isn't playing with words and crafting texts, he watches sports and asks questions. He is a funny person...until you put him on a diet.

Thousands of vector graphics for your projects.

Hey! You made it all the way to the bottom!

Here are some other articles we think you may like:

How-To Tutorials

Character animator tutorials part 3: basic puppet in photoshop.

by Slavena Simeonova

Free Vectors

Simple vector robot character in illustrator (tutorial + freebie).

by Bilyana Nikolaeva

21 InDesign Tutorials To Become a Great Publisher in 2022

by Nikolay Kaloyanov

Looking for Design Bundles or Cartoon Characters?

A source of high-quality vector graphics offering a huge variety of premade character designs, graphic design bundles, Adobe Character Animator puppets, and more.

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.

We're hiring

We're looking for part-time or full-time technical writers to join our team! It's about a remote position that qualified tech writers from anywhere in the world can apply. Click here for more details.

• Recent Posts

• How to Disable Device Encryption in Windows 11. - April 17, 2024
• How to View Permissions on Shared Folders on Windows 10/11. - April 15, 2024
• FIX 0x80070643 error in KB5034441 update (Solved) - April 10, 2024

Konstantinos Tsoukalas

Related posts.

How to , Windows , Windows 10 , Windows 11

How to Disable Device Encryption in Windows 11.

How to , Tutotial , Windows , Windows 10 , Windows 11

How to View Permissions on Shared Folders on Windows 10/11.

How to , Tutotial , Windows , Windows 10

FIX 0x80070643 error in KB5034441 update (Solved)

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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

Try classpoint for free.

All-in-one teaching and student engagement in PowerPoint.

Supercharge your PowerPoint. Start today.

500,000+ people like you use ClassPoint to boost student engagement in PowerPoint presentations.

• Slide Library
• Slide Library for PowerPoint
• Downloadable slides and shapes
• Slide Library search
• Search Library via shortcut keys
• Slide Library update alerts
• Rename or delete objects
• Share Slide Library
• Save slides or shapes to Slide Library
• Save presentation to Slide Library
• Manage Templates
• View all templates and set default
• Agenda Wizard
• Create Agenda Slides
• Update Agenda Slides
• Agenda Slide Numbering
• Navigate via Agenda
• Table of Contents
• Import Agenda Items
• Save Agenda Format
• Manage Colors
• Color Palette Toolbar
• Customize Color Toolbar
• Apply fill with outline color
• Recolor Charts
• View RGB color values & names
• Theme Color Tints and Shades
• Share Color Palette with team
• Insert Shapes
• Standard PowerPoint shapes
• Callouts / Speech Bubbles
• Hand Drawn Circles
• Harvey Balls
• Create Mini Slides
• Move to Multiple Slides
• Right Facing Centered Triangle
• Status Indicators
• Arrange and Align Shapes
• Select same color or size
• Select shapes by attribute
• Align shapes
• Align to first selected shape
• Choose Align anchor point
• Align using shortcut keys
• Copy paste position multiple shapes
• Straighten Lines
• Swap positions
• Distribute evenly
• Set Horizontal Gaps
• Set Vertical Gaps
• Squeeze or expand gaps
• Remove gaps
• Group Objects by Row
• Group Objects by Column
• Send to back, bring to front
• Send backward, bring forward
• Flip or rotate
• Group, ungroup and regroup
• Edit Shapes
• Same height, same width
• Copy paste position, size
• Resize shapes
• Slice shapes
• Multiply shapes
• Stretch shapes and fill gaps
• Toggle line weight and style
• Change margins toggle
• Chevrons same angle
• Paragraph Styles
• Save Paragraph Styles
• Apply Paragraph Styles
• Use PowerPoint Indent Increase/ Decrease to apply bullet styles
• Reset Paragraph Styles
• Ticks and Crosses bullets
• Paint Formatting
• Advanced Format Painter
• Position & Size Painter
• Table Format Painter
• Style Painter
• Text Format Painter
• Change Shape Painter
• Chart Format Painter
• Angles & Curves Painter
• Animation Painter
• Cycle Accent Colors
• Format Text
• Fit text to textboxes
• Wrap Text Toggle
• Merge Textboxes
• Split Textboxes
• Increase/ Decrease Font size
• Change Text Case
• Color Bold Text
• Delete Text or Replace
• Insert Superscript text
• Format Tables
• Create table from text boxes
• Convert table to text boxes
• Convert text to table
• Insert columns and rows
• Paste Excel data without source formatting
• Paste Excel data into text box tables
• Export Table or Box Table Data to Excel
• Set cell margins
• Express Table layout
• Table stripes
• Autofit columns
• Evenly space columns
• Align shapes over tables
• Harvey Balls for Tables
• Status Indicators for Tables
• Customizable PowerPoint Shortcuts
• Extra PowerPoint shortcuts
• Add PowerPoint shortcuts
• Search shortcut keys
• Reassign PowerPoint shortcuts
• Reset PowerPoint shortcuts
• McKinsey PowerPoint shortcuts
• F4 or Ctrl+Y redo or repeat
• Printable PowerPoint Shortcuts PDF
• How to Print a Custom Shortcuts list
• Search Shortcut Keys
• Searchable PowerPoint Shortcuts list
• Format Toolbar Overview
• Format Toolbar Layout Options
• Lock or Unlock Objects
• Lock objects
• Lock objects to the Slide Master
• Unlock objects
• Proofing Tools
• Check Formatting
• Check Fonts
• Check Template
• Check Slide Layout
• Check Content
• Check Punctuation & Spacing
• Reduce File Size
• Flip Slides
• Set Proofing Language
• Change set language for PowerPoint presentations
• Slide Numbering
• Manage Slide Numbering
• Slide Numbers with totals
• Add words to Slide Numbers
• Change Starting Slide Number
• Skip Slide Numbers on Hidden Slides
• Slide Navigator
• Footers & Footnotes
• Filename Footer
• Enlarge Footnotes
• Refine Slides
• Add summary slide
• Format slide title
• Display No Fly Zone
• Send slide to appendix
• Camouflage mode
• Format Painter
• Set Grayscale
• Format Images
• Compress file size
• Format Charts
• Charts Toolbar
• Config Options
• Customize Settings
• Dark Mode Display
• Review Slides
• Customizable Status Stamps
• Sticky Notes
• Tag slides with filename and page number
• Share Slides
• Email selected slides in PPT or PDF format
• Print selected slides
• Save selected slides
• Slide Library for Teams
• Team Slide Library
• Create multiple Team Slide Libraries
• Synchronize Team Slide Libraries
• Synchronize Team Slide Library to your company Dropbox/ Box/ OneDrive folder
• Updating your Team Slide Library
• Import entire presentation to the Slide Library
• Share Slide Library with a colleague
• Share Custom Settings
• Share Custom Settings with Team
• Getting Started
• Getting started with PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint
• Downloadable PowerPoint Elements for Slide Library
• Tutorial - How to Create Custom Paragraph Styles for PowerPoint
• Can I use PPT Productivity on a Mac?
• PPT Productivity Basic Tools Tutorial
• PPT Productivity Plus Tools Tutorial
• New Features
• August 2023 update: Color Toolbar enhancement, new icons and more
• February 2023 update: New Slide Libraries available to download!
• January 2023 Update: Agenda Wizard, Format Painters + More
• How to copy and paste formatting in PowerPoint
• PowerPoint How To
• What are the most popular PowerPoint shortcuts?
• Where are PPT templates stored? Finding templates in PowerPoint
• Pasting data into a PowerPoint table without source formatting?
• Consulting Toolkit
• How to create effective consulting slides using Minto Principles
• Missing the McKinsey PowerPoint Shortcuts?
• Missing the Accenture QPT for PowerPoint?
• Missing the BCG PowerPoint Tools?
• Missing the Bain Toolbox for PowerPoint?
• How to add Stamps or Stickers to PowerPoint slides?
• Looking for a Consulting PowerPoint Toolbar?
• Top 10 PowerPoint Hacks / Shortcuts used by strategy consultants
• PowerPoint Tips

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.

Want to see our tools in action?

Book a personalized demo with our PowerPoint professionals

Download 30 Day Free Trial

Download your 30 day free trial - Microsoft Office for Windows

Related productivity tips

How to add animation to PowerPoint objects

PowerPoint has a number of built in functions that can enhance the impact of your slide ...

How do I create a PowerPoint Agenda / Table of Contents?

PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint makes creating and updating PowerPoint Agenda and Table of ...

How to protect / lock a PowerPoint presentation?

Unless you protect your PowerPoint document, anyone with access to the .pptx file can open, copy and...

You’re using an older browser version. Update to the latest version of Google Chrome , Safari , Mozilla Firefox , or  Microsoft Edge for the best site experience.

• eLearning Blog
• eLearning Basics
• Instructional Design
• Corporate Training
• Course Selling
• Manufacturing
• Products iSpring Suite iSpring Learn
• Use Cases Onboarding Compliance Training Induction Training Product Training Channel Partner Training Sales Training Microlearning Mobile Learning
• Company About Us Case Studies Customers Partnership Course Development Contact Us Academy Blog Webinars Guides
• Community Academy Blog Webinars Guides Experts on iSpring
• Language EN English Français Deutsch Español Italiano Nederlands Português Polski 中文 日本語 العربية Indonesia
• Shopping Cart

Free Online eLearning Conference | May 2nd–3rd

iSPRING DAYS 2024

Seize the human-centric future of learning

How To Record a PowerPoint Presentation With Audio

Table of Contents

3. Select Record from Beginning if you want to start right from the beginning of a presentation. Select Record from Current Slide if you want to record from a specific slide or wish to re-record a particular slide.

4. By default, PowerPoint records both video and audio. If you don’t need a video in your presentation, turn it off by clicking on the camera button. That way, the tool will only record your microphone along with the presentation file.

5. Click on the Record button to begin recording. PowerPoint will count down 3 seconds in the recording window to allow you to get ready, then you can start speaking.

6. Record your narration for a particular slide or the entire presentation. Use the directional arrow buttons to switch slides. You might want to make a one-second break when you go to the next slide, so that nothing will get cut out. Click on Pause if you want to stop and then resume speaking. When you finish, click on Stop in the recording window.

7. Save the file as a PowerPoint presentation. Then go to the File menu and click on Export . Select Create a Video .

For Mac users : You will be directed to the settings menu right after you click Export .

8. Set the desired video quality. Select Use Recorded Timings and Narrations to maintain slide timings for all of the slides. Then, click Create Video .

For Mac users : You can select the desired video format at this point. Once you’ve set the parameters, click Export .

9. Select the video format and the PC location where you want to save your video presentation with narration. Then, click Save .

Congratulations! Once the export process is complete, your video with the complete presentation will be ready.

How to add an existing audio recording to a PowerPoint presentation

Follow these steps if you have an existing audio file with narration that you’d like to add to your presentation.

1. On the main menu, click on the Insert tab.

2. On the sub-menu, select Audio .

3. Choose Audio on My PC . 

4. Then, browse your audio files, select the narration, and click Insert .

How to Record PPT Presentations with Narration in iSpring Suite Max

MS PowerPoint allows you to export presentations with narration in a video format. However, PowerPoint does not offer any audio editing options, so it can be challenging to get good-quality sound and a clear recording without unnecessary breaks, volume differences, and other problems.

If you don’t have time to re-record your audio narration and want great quality with minimal efforts, you might need a more advanced tool like iSpring Suite Max. It works as a PowerPoint add-in and is extremely easy to use. iSpring Suite Max offers many audio recording and editing options for your slide show. 

For example, you can synchronize narration with slide animations, remove background noise, and improve slide transitions in your PowerPoint file. You can even create voice-overs without ever recording your own voice by converting text to lifelike AI-generated speech.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to record presentations with narration in iSpring Suite Max:

Step 1. Install iSpring Suite Max

Download a free 14-day iSpring Suite Max trial and install it on your computer.

Step 2. Choose your presentation

Open your PowerPoint presentation and go to the iSpring Suite tab.

Step 3. Record slide show with audio narration

The next step will vary depending on your needs. iSpring Suite offers 3 recording options:

• Create a simple recording with preset parameters like noise removal and volume options
• Record audio that synchronizes with the PowerPoint slide and animation timings

Convert text to speech

Let’s look at each of these options.

Record audio with preset parameters

Follow this approach if you don’t have any animations or effects in your presentation and just want to add high-quality narration to your presentation.

1. Click on Record Audio  in the top left corner of the menu.

2.  Use the intuitive menu and record your narration.

Please note that you can apply some settings before recording. For example, you can set noise removal and volume, which will make your narration more comprehensible and easier to edit. Click on Options to set the desired parameters.

3. Once your recording is ready, click OK to save it.

Synchronize audio with animations

Use this approach if you have animations in your presentations and want them to appear at specific points during your speech.

1. Click Manage Narration. 

2. Click Record Audio .

3. Now, you can start recording, save, or cancel the changes you’ve made, and preview your presentation. When you click Start Record , that button will change to Next Slide or Next Animation , offering you an easy transition between slides – as though you were delivering the lecture live using a projector. Each of your live clicks will automatically preserve those specific timings for slides and animations.

4. Click Save & Close to save your recording.

Use this approach if you don’t want to record your own voice or that of a voice-over artist, but need to record and play narrations for your presentations.

1. Click Manage Narration on the iSpring Suite Max toolbar.

2. Click the Audio button and choose Text to Speech .

3. Select the language, speaker, and type of voice.

4. Add the text that you wish to convert, and click the Insert button. Then you’ll be able to choose when to start playing narration: right after you open the slide or later.

5. Click Save & Close to save your recording.

Step 4. Save and export your presentation with audio narration

No matter which option you had selected earlier, you now have an audio file. Your next step is to export your presentation. Click Publish on the iSpring Suite toolbar.

Step 5. Publish your presentation

Select where you want to publish your presentation and in which format. You can either publish it as a video or in one of the different online formats. Select:

• Video – if you want to upload your presentation to YouTube. 
• SCORM or xAPI – if you want to upload your presentation to an LMS and track learner progress as they study your presentation.
• HTML5 – if you want to upload your presentation to a website. 

Then click Publish .

Congratulations! Your presentation with narration is ready.

Useful resources

We’ve selected some tutorials that can make you a more effective PowerPoint user.

• How to Record a Voice-Over for PowerPoint Presentations
• How to Create a Video Lecture
• How to Add Narration to a PowerPoint Presentation
• How to Create a Video Presentation
• How to Insert a YouTube Video into a PowerPoint Presentation
• How to Convert a PowerPoint Presentation to an MP4 Video on Windows and macOS
• The Ultimate Guide to Lecture Capture

Fast eLearning authoring toolkit

Have you ever searched for a way to create a course but found the tools and resources too complex to use? What if you could design and produce courses in a familiar environment like PowerPoint with full audio or video narration?

The eLearning authoring toolkit by iSpring allows you to create courses from within PowerPoint with just a few clicks. You can also convert your Word and PDF documents into interactive e-books. 

Some of the other features include:

• Content Library
• Adaptive player
• Extensive LMS compatibility
• Video Editor
• Interactive assessments
• Screen recordings
• Conversion of PowerPoint slides into mobile-ready courses
• Combination of videos with slides
• Course localization in 42 languages with text-to-speech capabilities

There’s so much more you can do with the iSpring Suite 11 fast eLearning authoring toolkit.

Takeaways  

Recording PowerPoint presentations with narration and audio is pretty easy if you follow our guide. And your recordings will sound great and synchronize with your animations perfectly when you use iSpring Suite Max. 

The tool also allows you to:

• Create complex online courses
• Build engaging online quizzes
• Create interactive dialogue simulations
• Record video lectures
• Collaborate with your colleagues on simple courses and quizzes right in a browser
• Use over 81,000 ready-made eLearning assets (templates, backgrounds, characters, and icons)

Download a free 14-day iSpring Suite Max trial and start designing engaging learning content right away!

Fast course authoring toolkit

Create online courses and assessments in record time.

Content creator:

Helen Colman

She enjoys combining in-depth research with expert knowledge of the industry. If you have eLearning insights that you’d like to share, please get in touch .

You might also like this

Subscribe to our blog

Stay tuned to get our latest eLearning tips and tricks!

By clicking “Subscribe”, you agree to our Privacy Policy . All emails include an unsubscribe link, so that you can opt-out at any time.

We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website and also for analytics and marketing purposes. You can enable or disable optional cookies as desired. See our Cookie Policy for more details.

Manage your cookies

Essential cookies are always on. You can turn off other cookies if you wish.

Essential cookies

Analytics cookies

Social media cookies

Win $1000

Free Video Course

Mini AI Tools

Tella Screen Recorder

Try Tella for free

October 16, 2023

How to Record a PowerPoint Presentation (with Audio)

Elevate your PowerPoint presentations with this comprehensive guide on creating captivating, self-paced narrations, enhanced with transformative tools and the power of software like Tella.

Table of contents

Record with powerpoint's built-in features, record with obs, record with tella.

Other solutions

Things to do before you start recording

Tips for creating engaging powerpoint recordings.

Engaging virtual presentations are essential in today's world. This guide will walk you through recording a PowerPoint presentation with voiceover. Doing this makes your presentation more professional and polished for your audience. Let's begin.

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint presentation

First, open the presentation you'd like to record with voice-over. This guide will be for he 365 version of PowerPoint, but bear in mind you can still do this in PowerPoint versions all the way back to 2013. The settings are pretty much the same, just maybe in a slightly different place.

This doesn't work, however, on the Web version of PowerPoint.

Whatever version you're using, ensure all your slides and content are ready for narration. This will save time and provide a smoother recording experience. Far better than simply making it up as you go along.

Step 2: Prepare for recording

Navigate to the slide where you want to start your recording. If you're planning to record the entire presentation, start with the first slide.

Step 3: Start the recording

In the PowerPoint menu, select the Slide Show tab. From here, click on Record Slide Show. This will open the recording window with two options to choose from:

Record from Current Slide : This option allows you to start recording from your selected slide.

Record from Beginning : This option enables you to record the entire presentation starting from the first slide.

Click on your preferred option to proceed with the recording.

Step 4: Recording the narration and timings

When you're ready to start recording, click on the red Record button (round circle with a dot in the center). A three-second countdown will begin, and once it reaches zero, start speaking to record your voiceover.

Remember that the transition between slides isn't recorded, so pause your narration during slide transitions and resume speaking once the next slide appears.

Step 5: Manage your recording

During the recording, you have several tools at your disposal:

Pause: Use this button to pause your recording if needed.

Stop: Click this button to end your recording.

Replay: This allows you to review your recording.

Pen, Highlighter, or Eraser: Use these tools to mark up your slides during the recording, if desired.

Step 6: Edit or remove narration and timings

If you're not satisfied with your narration or timings, you can remove or edit them:

If you're still in recording mode, click on Clear.

Choose one of the following options:

Clear Recording on Current Slide: To delete the narration and timings on the current slide.

Clear Recording on All Slides: To delete the narration and timings from all slides at once.

Consider re-recording the sections that need improvement.

Step 7: Save and share your presentation

Once you're satisfied with your recording, save and share your presentation as either a PowerPoint file or a video:

Click on File and select an option like Save or Export.

Follow the on-screen instructions to save or export your presentation.

Now your voice-over presentation is ready for your audience. They'll be able to view and listen to your narration as they go through the slides.

We hope this step-by-step guide helps you create a polished PowerPoint presentation with a voice-over. Good luck, and happy presenting!

For added flexibility and features, you may want to swing by other recording software.

For instance, OBS Studio offers a good deal of control, allowing you to tweak all sorts of audio and visual settings. However, it may be a little complicated if you're new to the game. Here are the steps to do this.

Step 1: Install OBS Studio

If you haven't already, first download and install OBS Studio from the official website . The software is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Step 2: Open OBS Studio

Open OBS Studio. You'll see a black screen; this is your canvas where you'll be recording your content.

Step 3: Setting Up Your Scene

Click the '+' button under 'Scenes', name your new scene. This allows you to create different recording settings for different types of needs.

Step 4: Setting Up Sources

Underneath 'Sources', click the '+' button. This allows you to add different sources to your scene. You'll want to add two sources:

Display Capture: This captures your entire screen. Name the source, click OK, then OK again.

Audio Input Capture: This captures your microphone. Again, name the source, select your microphone from the dropdown, and hit OK.

Step 5: Positioning Your Sources

You may see the 'Display Capture' source covering up everything. Click on 'Display Capture' source and drag it down the list until it's under your 'Audio Input Capture'. This ensures your voice is picked up over your presentation.

Step 6: Open PowerPoint Presentation

Open your PowerPoint presentation but don't start the slide show yet.

Step 7: Adjust OBS Studio Settings

Go back to OBS. Make sure your Display source is selected, then hover over the canvas. A red border will appear around your display source. You can resize and reposition this to only capture the portion of your screen that your PowerPoint presentation will take up.

Step 8: Start Your Presentation

In PowerPoint, start your slide show. OBS should now be capturing your presentation. Any slides you progress through in PowerPoint will be captured by OBS.

Step 9: Start Recording

When you're ready to start your presentation, go back to OBS Studio and click on the 'Start Recording' button located in the lower right. Once you hit this button, everything captured in OBS is recorded until you hit 'Stop Recording.'

Step 10: Save Your Recording

Once you've finished your presentation, click 'Stop Recording'. Your video is automatically saved in a specific location. To find where your recordings are saved, go to the 'File' > 'Show Recordings' in OBS.

And that's it! Now you know how to use OBS Studio to record a PowerPoint Presentation and voiceover using a microphone.

If you're looking for something simpler, ScreenPal (formerly Screencast-O-Matic) is a great choice. It's ideal for getting the job done without any distractions. However, you get less control over your content and the final product. OBS has a few other contenders, including Streamlabs . Check it out if OBS doesn't do it for you.

Comparatively, this software fares well with a broader set of controls than PowerPoint. However, they might demand a steeper learning curve, so brace yourself for a bit of a climb.

Now you're all prepped and cozy with your goals, spruced-up presentation, and audio equipment, it's time to step into the recording booth.

And folks, today, we'll spotlight this cool little tool called Tella. It's like your Swiss army knife for screen recording, fully equipped to integrate smoothly with PowerPoint, too.

Talk about a dream team!

Step #1 - Getting started with Tella

Alright, first things first. We've got to get Tella onto your computer.

There are several ways you can do this, including;

Running the Web App

Running the Chrome extension

Running the Mac App

Simply download or log into the one you want to use. It's as easy as pie.

Once you've installed Tella through the app, run it, and you'll see a slick little control bar that'll be your best friend throughout this process. If you're working through the web app, just click "New Video" to get started in your browser. Don't worry, you can still screen record through the web app.

Have your presentation ready already?

You can actually upload the presentation to Tella and run the PowerPoint through the app. Just click the "New Video" option, More, and then import your slides. All major presentation formats are compatible!

Now, we've got a couple of settings to tweak.

Click on the mic icon to configure your audio input settings. Make sure it's capturing the right microphone (yes, the one we picked out earlier). Next up, choose your recording area.

You'll want to adjust the recording frame to fit your PowerPoint presentation just right—think of it like framing the perfect picture!

Step #2 - Roll cameras, action!

Start recording your PowerPoint by hitting the red button. As you present, Tella will record your voice and slides.

You can pause, restart, or stop anytime using the controls. If you go off-topic, pause and restart.

When moving between slides, adjust your voice volume to match the mood. Keep a smooth rhythm, and your audience will follow along.

Step #3 - Wrapping it up

Breathe out; you made it!

But before we call it a day, let's give our recording a quick polish. Click on 'stop' when you're done, and Tella will save your recording.

Now, fire up Tella's editing tools and trim any unnecessary bits—like when you knocked over your coffee mid-slide (we've all been there!). You can also add captions, effects, and basically anything you need to bring your presentation to life.

Aaand cut! With your shiny new feed of your PowerPoint presentation, you're all set to captivate your audience, one slide at a time. Isn't Tella just swell?

Other solutions to record a PowerPoint

There's a whole parade of cloud-based tools like CloudApp ( now Zight ) or Loom that lets you record right from your browser! They store your recordings in the cloud, allowing you to access or share your work from anywhere.

If you're using Zight, a basic step-by-step guide would look like this:

Open Zight: Start up the Zight application on your device. Zight is available for Mac, Windows, and Chrome.

Prepare Your Presentation: Open your PowerPoint presentation that you wish to record. Make sure it's in view on your screen.

Capture & Record: In Zight, choose the ' Screen Recorder ' feature to capture and record your screen. Make sure your entire PowerPoint window is in the capture area.

Voice-Over: As Zight records the screen, start your PowerPoint presentation and provide your voice-over. Ensure your device's microphone is on and working. Zight will record the PowerPoint and your voice simultaneously.

Edit & Annotate (Optional): If needed, make use of Zight's editing capabilities. You can trim segments of your recording, add text or highlight areas for emphasis.

Save & Share: Once you're satisfied with the recording, save the file. You can also share your recorded presentation directly from Zight through a generated link.

While easy, remember, even clouds have their gray days. With these tools, you rely on internet speeds to keep things running smoothly. Plus, you might stumble upon some limitations in editing features compared to our pals like Tella.

Before recording, you need to plan and set up. Envision your end product so you can make the right choices. This lays the groundwork for great content. This plan includes;

Setting your goals

Know the purpose of your presentation. This gives it clear direction, like finding your true north.

The purpose could be educating, convincing, or rapport building. Align it with your company or personal goals.

Once you know the purpose, you're halfway there.

Creating content to fit your audience

Tailor your content to your audience. Understand their backgrounds, needs, and preferences.

Align your content accordingly. Use familiar examples and anecdotes to create a personal, engaging experience.

Let your audience know you speak their language.

Polishing your presentation

Use good design - neat layouts, color schemes, legible fonts. Make it visually appealing.

Add informative visuals like diagrams, charts, and images to convey information effectively.

Sprinkle in interactivity - polls, links, videos. This engages your audience.

Review every slide carefully to fix any errors. Consistency is key.

Polish your presentation to make it the best it can be. This will engage your audience and get your message across clearly.

Prepare your audio equipment

Pick a good microphone for clear audio . A USB mic is simple. A condenser mic offers high quality. A lapel mic leaves your hands free.

Tune your audio settings for the best sound quality. Monitor your audio live to avoid background noise.

With your microphone and settings ready, you're set to start recording high-quality audio.

Creating an engaging PowerPoint presentation takes skill. Follow these tips to boost engagement:

Speak clearly and expressively. Your voice guides the audience, so use a friendly, steady tone.

Use visuals. Graphics, charts, and animations complement narration. Strike a balance between visuals and audio.

Provide resources. Include downloads, links, or CTAs to encourage interaction after the presentation.

Edit thoroughly. Refine audio levels and flow. Even basic video editing goes a long way in delivering a seamless presentation.

With these techniques, you can create compelling presentations that captivate your audience.

Wrapping up

We've covered every tool to record PowerPoint presentations with audio. Tella stands out for its easy interface, audio settings, and editing tools. It works seamlessly with PowerPoint, too. But the tool is only part of the equation.

You must also speak clearly, use visuals, provide resources, and edit your recording.

Whether making webinars, tutorials, or virtual classes, you've got this.

Are you ready to record your next award-winning PowerPoint?

Try Tella for your recording needs. Let your ideas take flight. Use Tella to captivate your audience, one slide at a time. Create presentations that engage, excite, and inspire.

Happy recording! Go make memorable presentations that resonate with audiences.

Jul 24, 2023

The Ultimate Chrome Screen Recorder Extension (with Audio)

May 19, 2022

How to Record Your Screen on a Mac

Aug 18, 2022

How To Record Your Screen And Webcam Simultaneously

Tella — Screen recording for creators

Learn more ->

Learn more about Tella ->