How to record voiceover narration in powerpoint

Posted on: 20 October, 2020 – 14:52

Recording presentations is a useful feature on Microsoft PowerPoint, which enables adding a vocal explanation to existing slides. Making it easier for students to understand content and get an experience that is similar to live class delivery. To have good narration, it may be helpful to prepare a script before recording a presentation. Practice reading through the script a few times so that the narration sounds natural and fluid.

To start recording a Powerpoint presentation, you can do the following:

Step 1
Open the PowerPoint presentation in which you would like to record a voiceover narration. Navigate to “Slide Show” tab and select “Record Slide Show” as seen in the image below:

Step 2
To record from the current slide and not the beginning of your presentation, you can click on the dropdown and then select your preferred option. If you choose to start recording from the current slide, make sure that you’re on the slide you would like to start recording. By default, when clicking “Record Slide Show” without expanding the dropdown menu, recordings will start from the beginning of the presentation.

Step 3
Once you select any of the two options, a dialog box will appear from which you can choose what to be included in the recording.

Other than voice overs, recordings can include edits done on slides during the slideshow, such as using ink to hand write or doing highlights on slides. They can also include laser pointers to record mouse movements. These Editing options can be found at the bottom-left corner after starting a slideshow.

Additionally, recordings can include mouse clicks to start slide animations and clicks to transition to other slides. Recording slide animations and timings make it easy for students to watch recordings without timing their mouse clicks to match the voice narration. Note that recording slide and animation timings will overwrite any old timings if they were previously set.

After checking the desired checkboxes from the dialog box, click on the ‘Start Recording’ button.

Step 4
Now, you’ll be in the full-screen slideshow mode and you can start recording your voiceover narration. You will notice a small box at the top-left corner of the screen which shows the recording progress and gives you a few other options. Continue through the presentation by clicking the right arrow to go to the next slide.

Step 5
Once you reach the last slide, the recording will automatically end. After saving the recording, a speaker icon will appear at the bottom-right corner of each slide that has a recorded narration. You can also play your narration on each slide by hovering over the icon and then pressing the play button.

Now every time you start the slideshow for the presentation, the recorded explanation will play, along with any highlighting, writing or laser pointing done on the slides.

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

In this course:

Try it!

Add or record audio, such as music, narration, or sound bites, to your PowerPoint presentation.

Add audio from your PC

Select Insert > Audio.

Select Audio on My PC.

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

Record audio

Select Insert > 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.

Change playback options

Select the audio icon and then select the Audio Tools 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.

For a presentation that you aren’t actually giving in person, you can narrate it within PowerPoint, recording your voice so that others can play it back when they watch the presentation.

It’s a nifty trick that popular with slide shows and presentations on networks such as SlideShare, YouTube, and even individual websites. And it can even help you when rehearsing your presentation as well.

Here’s how to narrate a PowerPoint presentation by recording your voice, in a few quick steps!

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Create and Design Your Presentation

The first step to preparing a narrated or recorded PowerPoint presentation is to design the presentation and refine the content. During this step you may even want to think about how you will script the presentation so that you are designing with a flow in mind.

Make sure to include any specific transitions you want to use from slide to slide, and don’t forget to read our guide on how to design a professional presentation for tips and pointers.

Prepare for Recording

Before recording a narration, it is advised to write out a script and check your computer microphone to ensure that the sound is correct and that recordings will be at an appropriate volume. You can do this with a short test recording.

Now it is time to record the narration. You can record narration for all slides or select slides.

Open your presentation and navigate to the Slide Show tab.

If you are recording narration for all of the slides, you are ready. If you plan to record a voiceover for only some of the slides, you want to hide the slides you won’t have a recording for.

You can do this by selecting the slides you don’t want to include, right- or ctrl-click and then Hide Slide.

The other option is to create a custom show. From the menu select Custom Show > Custom Slide Show > use the + to add slides. You will need to know which slide numbers you want for this option because you can’t see previews.

Record the Narration

Now you are ready to record. (Good luck!)

In the Slide Show tab, click the Record Slide Show Button from the first slide in your presentation.

Recording starts automatically. (You’ll notice the screen shifts into full presentation mode.) As you record the narration, you can use the navigation tools on the screen to advance slides. This will override any previous timing settings so that slides advance in tandem with your voice narration.

When you are finished, click End and you will be prompted to save the recording. Only one recording can be saved at a time. A new recording will override any previously saved recorded narrations.

You can preview the recording using the start button.

Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts during recording can make it a little easier.

Some shortcuts you might use include:

• Click, spacebar or right arrow: Advance to the next slide
• Delete or left arrow: Go back one slide
• B: Toggle to black screen
• Esc: End slide show recording

Choose a Playback Option

Finally, you’ll want to determine how the presentation will be played back for users.

Click on Set Up Slide Show from the menu and make your selections from the options on the screen. Then you can save or export to a desired file format.

Conclusion

A PowerPoint presentation with a narrated recording can be a useful tool to help get your information in front of more people. All you need to do it is a quiet room to record and a microphone attached to your computer.

Don’t forget to take a look at our full PowerPoint templates guide, or our collection of the best PowerPoint templates for your next project!

PowerPoint Templates

Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) is the go-to choice for creating presentations. This series shares tips and ideas for working with PowerPoint, as well as beautiful PowerPoint templates and themes to make your presentations look stunning.

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

Preparation

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

Set Up Your Mic

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

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

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

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

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

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

Take Notes and Rehearse

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

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

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

Record a Voiceover for Your Presentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Doreen | Follow | Last Updated December 29, 2020

Summary :

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation maker that empowers you to create clean slide presentations to tell your story. And all of us know that recording and adding narration is a useful way to make your presentation compelling. Therefore, this article will discuss how to record audio on PowerPoint presentations.

Quick Navigation :

• How to Record Audio on PowerPoint?
• How to Edit the Recorded Audio on PowerPoint?
• Bottom Line
• User Comments

Adding video/audio clips to PowerPoint presentations is very popular. Is there a way to record audio narration in a PowerPoint presentation? The answer is yes. And this article details how to record audio narration on PowerPoint. If you need to add audio to the video, it is recommended to use MiniTool MovieMaker.

How to Record Audio on PowerPoint?

Here’re the steps on how to record and add audio narration to your PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and locate the slide where you’d like to record a voiceover narration.

Step 2. Click the Insert tab from the top menu and open the Audio drop-down arrow to select Record Audio.

Step 3. Enter a name for the audio file you’re about to record.

Step 4. Press Record to start recording and then a timer will start which shows you the total length of the sound being recorded.

Step 5. Once you’re ready to stop recording, press the Stop button.

Step 6. To listen to play what you’ve recorded, you can click the Play icon.

Step 7. If you’re happy with what you’ve recorded, click OK to insert it into your presentation. Then select and drag the audio icon to where you want it on the slide.

How to Edit the Recorded Audio on PowerPoint?

After recording your narration, it’s time to edit it. Simply click the audio icon on the slide, and then A new tab, called Audio Tools, will appear on the toolbar.

Option 1. Format

If you want to change or modify the standard audio file icon, use options under the Format tab, such as Change Picture, Picture Style, Picture Effects, and so on.

Option 2. Playback

1. Preview

Preview the recording with all the formatting changes you made.

2. Bookmarks

In the Bookmarks group, there is an Add Bookmark option, which will be visible in the timeline. These can be helpful if you want to quickly find the main points in your recording.

3. Editing

In the Editing group, there are multiple options, such as Trim Audio, Fade in and Fade out.

4. Audio Options

In the Audio Options group, you’ll find several advance options as follow:

• Volume: Set the volume of the recording.
• Start: Click the drop-down arrow to choose how you want the recording to start.
• Play Across Slides: Enable it and the recording will be played during the entire presentation.
• Loop until Stopped: Enable it and the recording 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 during playing the recording.
• 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.

5. Audio Styles

• No Style: Select it to reset the audio clip’s playback options.
• Play in Background: Enable it to set the audio clip to continuously play across your slides in the background.

Bottom Line

A step-by-step guide on how to record audio on PowerPoint has been detailed above. If you have any questions or suggestions about it, please let us know via [email protected] or share them in the comments section below.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

Majoring in Business English at the university, Doreen is an editor of MiniTool at present, mainly writing tech articles.

In her view, technology changes lives and all she wants is to share the lastest tech thoughts and knowledge with people.

She enjoys reading books, watching movies, and climbing mountains with friends in her spare time.

Every student and Teacher has access to Microsoft Office 365 here:- Office365

These instructions are for Office 365 PowerPoint for PC. (However all versions of PowerPoint for PC are similar). Instructions for and issues with doing this on the Apple version of Powerpoint and are here.

Voice Narrated PowerPoint can be used for the following:-

• Flipped Learning – threshold concepts, mini lectures
• Introduction to Subject
• Instructions for students for an assignment – the possibilities are endless!

TIP With Voice Narrated PowerPoint for PC, when you record a narration, you run through the presentation and record on each slide. You can pause and resume recording.

Lets Get Started

Have your powerpoint ready to go – have some dot points to help you remember what you are going to say – and the great thing about PowerPoint is you can practice as many times as you like!

1. Select the slide that you want to start your recording on.

2. On the Slide Show Tab Click Record Slide Show

3. When you click Record Slide Show the following will appear:-

TIP – If you selected a different slide to begin the recording on, the Record Narration dialog box

Do one of the following:-

To start the narration on the first slide in the presentation, click First Slide.

To start the narration on the currently selected slide, click Current Slide.

4. Once you have chosen the where you are going to start your recording the following will appear

5. Press Start Recording

6. In Slide Show view,speak the narrative text into the microphone and then click the slide to advance to the next slide. Follow this process for each slide that you want to add narration to

TIP – You can make changes to the slide content but not the recording.

7. You can Pause recording at anytime

Tip You can also pause or resume the narration, right-click the slide, and then on the shortcut menu, click either Pause Narration or Resume Narration.

8. When you have finished recording click the exit X and it will ask you the following:-

Click yes if you are happy.

Now to Save as a Movie

9. Go to File – Save and Send – create Video

10. You can now choose how you are going to save your presentation movie

TIP – click Computer & HD displays

Click Drop down arrow next to Don’t Use Recorded Timings and Narrations and click on

Use Recorded Timings and Narrations

TIP – when you save your video – remember to give a name that makes sense to you and save it onto you computer or flash drive.

When you upload it on to UTSOnline you can use the insert video link

PowerPoint audio feature enables its users to add audio from the computer, internet and also record audio for narration in the presentation for each slide separately. It only follows a few steps to begin recording and adding the audio to a slide. Let’s see what are these steps that we need to take.

Steps

• Click the “Insert” tab from the top of your PowerPoint Slide page, where all the functions and features are given.

• Under the Insert tab, click the Audio Icon or Audio option at the end of the features ribbon, Audio option adds music or sound clip to your slide or presentation.

• A small list of audio options will appear, click “Record Audio…”

• A small “Sound Record” window will open. Type the name of your audio segment for the slide.

• Now click the red record button.

• To examine your recording, select the Stop button and then select the Play button.

• When the recording is done, click the “OK” button.

That’s all you need to do for recording audio for your presentation slide. Also to record and a playback sound, the computer must be equipped with a sound card, microphone, and speakers. Also do not use any other sound recording applications while recording on PowerPoint.

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Record Audio Narration Along with PowerPoint Slides

There are a plethora of tools one can use to record your voice over a set of PowerPoint slides. For this resource, we focus on tools that are free and easiest to use. If you’re already ready for something beyond the basics, check out Richard Byne’s resources for video creation.

Record Audio Narration Over PowerPoint Slides on a PC

If you’re a Window’s user, you have the option of using the built-in features in PowerPoint. This step-by-step guide walks you through how to record your voice on top of PowerPoint slides you’ve created.

Record Audio Narration on a Mac

Mac users can record your voice over PowerPoint slides using the free Quicktime application that is a part of the Mac operating system (meaning you don’t have to purchase it or download it, separately).

Take a look at this set of instructions from OSU for how to record PowerPoint with Quicktime on a Mac.

Use Screencast-O-Matic to Record

On either Windows or the Mac, you can alternate between a webcam (so people can see your face, as you present), your slides, or stick with one of those approaches. Their free version allows for up to 15 minutes of recording. If you want to be able to edit the video after you record, or require more than fifteen minutes, check out their Deluxe Recorder.

Guidance on How to Approach These Types of Recordings

Remember when you’re creating these types of videos that our attention span online is much shorter than it is in a traditional classroom. Keep your videos under 15 minutes and you’ll be a lot more likely to have students actually watch them. If you need more than 15 minutes to address a topic, consider having some type of interactive activity and breaking the video up into more than one chunks.

Also, slides should be as simple as possible, relying on images to convey ideas. Nancy Duarte asserts in Harvard Business Review that we should ask ourselves whether or not our slides pass the glance test.

PowerPoint is an app that enables you to create and deliver presentations to audiences. Adding narration to PowerPoint is an important way to make your presentations appealing. Moreover, the narration lets your audiences get the information without looking at the presentation. Microsoft PowerPoint has the capacity to record the narration inside your presentation so that it plays while audiences watch. This article will discuss how to add audio narration to a presentation in different version of PowerPoint. If you are ready to get the desired information, let’s start the guide.

Part 1: Add Audio Narration to PowerPoint

In order to add audio narration to PowerPoint, you should learn more about the preparation you should take into consideration as below.

1. A microphone attached to your computer or your device has a built-in microphone.

2. Write down a script or an outline for the narration, or even familiar with the narration instead.

The workflows to add narration to different versions of PowerPoint are a bit various, so we discuss them independently.

How to Add Narration to a Single Slide in PowerPoint 2019

Step 1: Open your PowerPoint 2019/2016/2013 on your computer. You can select the slide where you want to add the narration on the left side.

Step 2: Go to the “Insert” option, choose the “Audio” option and select the “Record Audio” button to activate the Record Sound dialog.

Step 3: Enter a Name for the audio narration and hit the “Record” button. Now you can read the script. When narration is complete, hit the “Stop” button.

Step 4: Press Play to pre-listen to the narration and hit “OK” to add narration to PowerPoint. Then you will see an audio icon in the slide. Move the icon to the blank area.

How to Add Narration to Entire Presentation in PowerPoint 2019

Step 1: In order to add narration to entire PowerPoint, you can click the “View” menu and choose the “Normal” option and select the first slide where you want to add audio.

Step 2: Head to the “Slide Show” option and choose the “Record Slide Show” icon. After that, you can click on the “Record from Current Slide” option to add voice narration to PPT.

Step 3: Then you will get two options on the “Record Slide Show” dialog: Slide and animation timings: PowerPoint tracks the timing of slide changes and animations when recording.

Narrations, ink, and laser pointer: PowerPoint tracks any narration, inking and laser pointing when recording. Check either option or even both of them base on your need.

Step 4: Select the “Start Recording” or Record to record your narration on the first slide. When a recording for the first slide is done, select Advance to the next slide.

Step 5: Click the “Stop” icon when you are done recording your narration. Close the recording window and back to the presentation. If you can see the control bar at the bottom, it means the narration is added to your PowerPoint. The control bar provides forward, backward, and some handy tools, such as Laser Pointer, Pen, Highlighter and Eraser.

How to Add Narration to PowerPoint 2007

Step 1: Start PowerPoint 2007 on your computer and open the presentation you want to add narration.

Step 2: Go to the “Slide Show” tab and click the “Record Narration” button to open the “Set Up” dialog. It shows you how much space you have on hard drive and how long the narration you can record.

Step 3: Click the “Set Microphone Level” button to open the popup dialog. Talk to your microphone and PowerPoint will adjust the microphone sensitivity. Click on the “OK” when checking finishes.

Step 4: Now, the first slide will display. Speak into your microphone. Hit the Enter key on your keyboard to head to the next slide.

Step 5: Hit the “Save” button to add narration to PowerPoint 2007. When you play the slideshow, your narration will start through your speakers.

Part 2: Add Voice Narration to PowerPoint

The built-in narration tool in PowerPoint is a simple method to add narration to PowerPoint. But there are some limitations for the recording, such as edit the voice narration, remove unwanted clips and more. WidsMob Capture is the alternative resolution to capture audio/voice to PowerPoint with a high quality. Moreover, you can also add narration, draw on the recording, or even add shape, text and subtitles for the files with ease.

1. Capture your voice via built-in or external microphone to the recording.

2. Save the voice recording as MP3 and other audio formats with ease.

3. Edit the audio narration for adding to PowerPoint, or even facecam file.

4. There is no limitation on the length of voice narration for PowerPoint.

How to Add Voice Narration to PowerPoint

Step 1: Launch the voice recorder for PowerPoint once you install it on your computer. Then select the “Record Screen” from the home interface to start narration recording. Turn off the “Display” option and the “Webcam” options, while enable the Microphone option.

Step 2: Click on the “Record” button on the toolbar to start recording narration for PowerPoint. When it is done, you can click the “Stop” icon to save the voice narration to Media Library. If you are not satisfied with it, you can have another record, or even edit the voice narration.

Step 3: Now, open the presentation in PowerPoint, in which you want to add voice narration. Go to the “Insert” tab and choose “Audio” option. Then select the Audio from File option and find the voice narration file on your hard drive. Click the “Insert” button to add narration to PowerPoint.

Step 4: Go to the Playback tab and select the Play across slides option from the Start list. In the new version of PowerPoint, you can select Play in Background option from Playback tab instead. Now, the voice narration will be added to all slides.