how to make a video presentation with narration

How to Record a PowerPoint Presentation with Narration

Can be helpful in creating a dramatic narrative

Microsoft PowerPoint has a built-in recording tool that allows you to narrate your presentations using recorded audio. You can export and share recorded presentations as video files.

This tutorial covers everything about recording PowerPoint presentations on Windows and Mac computers.

Record PowerPoint Presentation with Narration

Open the PowerPoint file/presentation you want to record and follow the steps below.

Record PowerPoint Presentation on Windows

• Select the slide you want to start recording from on the slide thumbnail pane.

• Head to the Record tab on the ribbon and select the Record button to start recording from the current/selected slide.

To record from the first slide, select the down-facing arrow icon below the Record button and select From Beginning .

You can also record a presentation from the Slide Show tab. Select Slide Show on the ribbon and select Record , From Current Slide , or From Beginning .

That’ll open PowerPoint’s presentation recorder in a fullscreen window.

• Select the Record icon and start speaking after the three seconds countdown.

PowerPoint records the presentation window and captures your voice and webcam feed as you navigate the slides. Select the left-facing and right-facing arrows to move to the previous and next slides in the presentation.

Record PowerPoint Presentation in macOS

• Open the Slide Show tab and select Record Slide Show .

• Select the Record button on the toolbar to start recording your narration.

Use your keyboard arrow keys to move back and forth between slides. Press N or Space Bar to move to the next slide or animation in the presentation. Press P or Backspace to return to the previous slide or animation.

Select Tips in the top-left corner for more keyboard shortcuts and other presentation tips.

Note: The narration tool doesn’t record slide transitions. When moving between slides, wait for the destination slide to appear on the screen before speaking.

PowerPoint Recorder Control/Settings

You’ll find a handful of controls and options on the recording tool. We’ll show you how to use these controls to include voiceovers or audio recordings in your presentation.

Using Presentation Pointer Tools

PowerPoint provides several tools to mark up your slides when narrating your presentation. There’s a pen tool, eraser, laser pointer, and highlighter.

With the Pen tool, you can draw on slides during narration/recording. Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or Command + P (Mac) to use the pen tool. You can also select the Pen icon to convert the pointer to a pen.

The Laser pointer tool converts your cursor to an onscreen laser. Use the laser pointer to draw attention to something on a slide/presentation.

Press Ctrl + L (Windows) or Command + L (Mac) to use the laser pointer. There’s also a Laser pointer icon on the toolbar.

Pressing Ctrl + I (or selecting the Highlighter tool ) converts your cursor to a highlighter.

Use the Eraser tool to remove inks and highlight from slides. Select the Eraser icon or press Ctrl + E and select the ink to erase.

On macOS, select the Erase Pen icon (or press E ) to erase all drawings and highlights on the slide.

You can change the pointer tools ink from the color selection boxes. However, one major limitation is that you can’t change the size of these pointer tools.

Pause and Resume Your Recording

In Windows, press I on your keyboard or select the Pause button in the top-left corner to pause your recording.

Press I again or select the Record icon to resume the recording.

If you use a Mac, select the Pause icon in the top toolbar to pause the recording.

Unmute or Mute Microphone

Check that your microphone is unmuted before recording. Select the microphone icon in the bottom-right corner to mute or unmute your mic.

PowerPoint for Windows allows you to mute and unmute your microphone in real time while recording video/audio narrations. The macOS version of PowerPoint only lets you configure your camera and microphone settings before recording.

Switch Microphone or Camera

Want to record your presentation with an external microphone or camera? Press Ctrl + M or select the audio/camera settings icon in the top-right corner and choose your preferred microphone/camera.

In macOS, select the microphone icon to mute or unmute your microphone. Select the arrow-down icon next to the microphone or camcorder icons to switch input devices.

Enable and Disable Camera

The recorder displays your camera or webcam feed in the bottom-right corner of the presentation slides.

Select the camcorder icon to remove your webcam feed from the recording. Select the icon again to display your webcam feed in the presentation.

You can also use the Ctrl + K keyboard shortcut on Windows computers to enable or disable your camera.

On Mac computers, you’ll find the video control icon on the top toolbar.

Note: The recording tool greys out the camcorder icon if your microphone is turned off.

Enable or Disable Camera Preview

PowerPoint allows you to disable the camera preview without turning off your camera or webcam.

Press Ctrl + J (Windows) or select the Camera Preview icon in the bottom-right corner to disable or enable the camera preview.

End a Recording

Press S on your Windows keyboard or select the Stop icon to end the recording.

Replay or Preview Your Recording

When you end a narration, press V on your keyboard or select Replay to preview or watch the recording.

The recorded narration will include all pen inks, highlights, and laser pointer gestures made during the presentation.

You can also preview/replay the narration outside the recording tool. Open the Slide Show tab and choose to watch the playback From Beginning or From Current Slide .

PowerPoint allows you to preview the playback on individual slides. A speaker/audio icon appears in the bottom-right of PowerPoint slides with narrations.

Choose the slide you want to preview, hover your cursor on the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner, and select Play .

Delete Current Narration/Recording

Did you spot an error when previewing your presentation? Want to delete the current narration and start from scratch?

Select the Clear existing recordings icon and choose whether to Clear Recordings on Current Slide or Clear Recordings on All Slides .

On Mac, select the Bin icon to delete the entire narration/recording.

Close the Narration Tool

Select the X icon on the title bar to close the presentation narration tool and return to Powerpoint.

Select End Show in the top-left corner to close the recording tool on a Mac computer.

Delete Narrations from Slides

Want to delete the narration or timing on an individual slide or the entire presentation? Select the slide with the narration you want to delete and follow the steps below.

• Open the Record tab and select the down-facing arrow below the Record icon.
• Select Clear and choose to clear timing or narration on current or all slides.

Export Recorded or Narrated Presentation

You can export a narrated PowerPoint presentation as a video file. The video output includes ink strokes, recorded audio/video, laser pointer gestures, and webcam/camera recording.

• Open the Record tab and select Export to Video .

Alternatively, open the File menu, select Export on the sidebar, and select Create a Video .

• Choose the quality of the video export in the first drop-down box—Ultra HD (4K), Full HD (1080p), HD (720p), Standard (480p).

• Choose Use Recorded Timings and Narrations in the next drop-down box and select Create Video .

• Give the recorded presentation a file name and select Save .

Narrate Your PowerPoint Presentations

The Microsoft PowerPoint web app doesn’t have a recording tool. As a result, you can only record presentations with narrations using PowerPoint for Windows or Mac.

You might meet issues recording a slide show if you use an outdated version of PowerPoint. Also, the recording tool on older versions of PowerPoint has a different interface and lacks some controls. Update PowerPoint and restart your computer if you cannot record a slide show.

Sodiq has written thousands of tutorials, guides, and explainers over the past 4 years to help people solve problems with Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows devices. He also enjoys reviewing consumer tech products (smartphones, smart home devices, accessories, etc.) and binge-watching comedy series in his spare time. Read Sodiq's Full Bio

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How to Create Video Voice Over Presentations (With Templates!)

Mar 14, 2023

Presentation videos allow you to make your pitch to anyone, from anywhere. With the right combination of text, music, visuals, and voice over, you can engage and persuade any audience. With a voice over video, you can create a presentation that sparks emotions and helps you connect with everyone who watches.

In this blog, we’ll show you how to do a voiceover on a video and share tips to create impactful video voice over presentations.

The benefits of adding voice overs to presentation videos

Presentation videos can be leveraged throughout your entire organization. Any department, from sales to marketing, customer support, and HR can create a voice over video to share information in an engaging way.

Many of today’s top hybrid companies are already using videos in meetings to inform their teams, clients, and online audiences. Just last year, in fact, presentation videos were among the most commonly-made videos by businesses. Here are just a few reasons why they are becoming such a popular communication tool.

• Improves information retention: Video appeals to a wide variety of learning styles by using both audio and visual storytelling. When you share information in a way that resonates with your audience, their recall and retention rates will surely improve. Some studies have even shown that viewers retain 95% of a message after watching it in a video, compared to only 10% when reading it.
• Adds personalization: Voice over narration adds a unique element that only you have – your voice! These recordings add a personal touch to your videos that draws viewers in. A little personalization can go a long way for attracting and retaining attention!
• Complements your on-screen visuals: Voice overs actually complement and add value to your visuals. Rather than overloading your video with text, you can use voice over narration to go into more detail. Then, the text can be used to summarize main points and key takeaways.

How to make video voice over presentation with Animoto

Animoto makes it easy to create video voice over presentations! Just follow the steps below to record your custom voice over narration and create a polished presentation video that can engage any audience.

1. Choose a video template or start from scratch

First things first, choose a template! Use one of the free presentation templates below, or browse through our template library for a great starting point. You can also create your own voice over video from scratch for the perfect fit!

2. Customize your video with text, photos, and more

Now it’s time to make your video your own! Apply different themes to transform the design of your video with a single click. Or, make your video on-brand by adding your logo and brand colors. Then add supporting text, photos, video clips, and screen recordings to create a engaging and easy-to-follow business presentation .

You can even use music and voice overs together to craft a compelling story! Just remember to choose a neutral music track that won’t compete with your voice over tracks, and adjust the volume of your music to play quietly in the background.

3. Record or upload your voice over tracks

Next, create your voice over. You can either record a voice over track from scratch or upload existing voice overs right into Animoto. Just follow these simple instructions or dive into our [complete guide to voice over narration]( https://animoto.com/blog/video-marketing/voice over-animoto-guide) to learn how:

• Click on the “Audio” icon at the top of the page to open the audio menu.
• Click the microphone button below your video preview.
• Click “Upload voice over” and select your track or click on “Record voice over”
• Click the red button to record. You’ll see a three-second countdown, after which your recording will begin. Click the stop button to end your recording.

4. Trim or reposition your voice over tracks

Now it’s time to edit your voice overs. You can drag the buffers on either end of the recording to trim off any unwanted sound. Then, drag and drop the recording throughout your audio timeline to align with the visuals on screen.

5. Adjust the volume of your voice over tracks

Select on your voice over track and click the volume button. Then, increase or decrease the volume of your track to help it shine over any background music.

6. Download and present your voice over presentation

Finally, your presentation is ready to share! Download your presentation video to your device for easy sharing and storage. You can then add your presentation to a portable USB to present it in person. Alternatively, you can embed your presentation in an email or share it directly to social media to connect with your online audiences.

Tips for creating professional voice over presentation videos

If you don’t have much experience with voice over narration, it can be hard to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together some tips to help you record great voice overs in fewer tries!

Write a voice over script

Scripts can save you a lot of time! Instead of having to cut out pauses and “umms” from your voice overs, try writing a script so you can stay on track. This will boost your confidence, help you sync your voice over with your video, and ensure that you know exactly what to say and when.

Find a quiet place to record

Cut down on background noise to create more professional and crisp-sounding recordings. Small confined spaces like closets are great at filtering out background noises. Even recording in a room away from windows can eliminate unwanted outside noises and let your voice shine through.

Practice first before hitting record

Go through a practice run before the “real deal”. This will help you feel more comfortable and confident once you click the record button. Practice makes perfect, you know!

Don't record everything all at once

Recording a long voice over presentation can be quite the mouthful. Instead of worrying about saying everything all at once, record multiple voice over tracks and piece them together! Doing so makes it easier to trim bit by bit and drag your recordings throughout the video so they align perfectly with your visuals.

Use a good microphone

Last but not least, use a good microphone. Even using the microphone on your headphones will provide you with crisper audio than your computer’s mic. But if you’re creating a series of video voice over presentations, you may want to consider using a high-quality external microphone like the ones on this list .

Types of presentation videos you can make (plus templates)

Presentation videos can be made for virtually any topic! From recapping a meeting, to sharing quarterly results and making a sales pitch, you can personalize any presentation with voice over. Here are some video ideas and templates you can use for free to start off on the right foot.

Presentation

This template is a great place to start for your next presentation. Simply record your screen as you run through your presentation slides and speak through them as you go. You can create this video with voice over narration or turn on your webcam and speak directly to your audience!

Educational presentation

Present to your peers, board members, or classroom with a voice over video! This template brings topics to life with simple text boxes, animations, pictures, and video clips.

Team update

Keep the teams across your organization up-to-date and engaged with a voice over video! Use this presentation to share your progress, hurdles, and next steps with any audience. In addition to voice over, you can also include screen and webcam recordings to help tell your story!

Workplace explainer

Explain the importance of new workplace policies with a business presentation ! These are great assets for managers, HR professionals, and anyone who wants to educate their teams.

Meeting recap

Recap the best parts of your latest in-person and online meetings in an engaging way. With meeting recap videos, you can make sure your key takeaways are front and center. It’s also an impressive delivery method for sharing findings and results with clients!

Customer onboarding

Make sure new customers hit the ground running by creating an engaging onboarding video! This can be used to get new clients setup with a new product or make sure that they know where to go for help. It’s a great touchpoint to include right at the start of your relationship.

Training videos can also come to life with a lively voice over track! Check out this Manager Training video that outlines an upcoming training course. Just add the details of your own training program, including due dates, add your branding, and make it your own with voice over narration.

Make a personal connection through video voice over presentations

Whether you want to make personal connections online or build excitement for your next presentation, you can do so with voice over! And with professional templates at your fingertips, you can create a voice over video in less time with double the impact. All you need is an idea and your voice!

Voice over video presentation video FAQ

How long should a video presentation be.

Video presentations should be around thirty to sixty seconds for maximum engagement. These presentations engage your audience through visuals and audio to engage viewers with multiple learning styles.

What tools do I need to record a voice over?

All you need is a [voice over recorder]( https://animoto.com/features/voice over-video) and a microphone to record voice overs! As a bonus, you can use an integrated recorder and video-maker to turn your recordings into engaging presentation videos.

Are USB microphones good for voice overs?

External USB microphones can make your voice overs sound more crisp and professional. Oftentimes, even using the mic on your headphones provides better quality than computer microphones.

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

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

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

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

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

Features of this tool include:

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

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

The features here are:

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

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

Narration definition in PowerPoint

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

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

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

1. You don’t need fancy recording equipment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Check your microphone

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

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

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

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

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

#1. Record audio (audio narration only)

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

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

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

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

1. Open the Record Sound dialog box

To open the  Record Sound  dialog box, simply:

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

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

2. Record your audio narration

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Playing your PowerPoint narration

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

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

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

To change when your audio file plays, simply:

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

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

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

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

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

4. Delete or overwrite a previous narration file

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.  Open the Record Slide Show dialog box

To open the  Record Slide Show  dialog box, simply:

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

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

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

2. Record your  slide show narration

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

To start recording your slide show narration, simply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Set your narration to Play

Your  Record Slide Show  narrations are set to play  Automatically .

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

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

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

4. Record Slide Show options

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

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

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

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

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

B. Speaker Notes options

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

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

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

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

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

C. Clear Recordings options

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

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

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

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

D. Input options: Camera and Microphone

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

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

E. Advance Slide options

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

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

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

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

F. On / Off: Camera and microphone

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

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

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

G. Ink options: Eraser, Pen and Highlighter

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

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

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

H. Slide Timings options

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

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

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

I. Close / Minimize options

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

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

#3. How to clear your Timings and Narrations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#4. How to compress your PowerPoint narrations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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From ideas to screen: How to make presentation videos that shine

What type of content do you primarily create?

Visuals can mean the difference between a killer presentation and a lost opportunity.

For salespeople, it’s difficult to close a deal without business presentations to back up your pitches. For marketers and business owners, video presentations help communicate ideas and share results from projects to ensure future success. 

Customers also love high-quality visuals, like branded explainer videos and product tours. They’re the fuel that drives eight in 10 people to make online purchases. 

But what makes a good presentation? And how can you engage viewers throughout your video? This guide covers what you need to know about creating video presentations, no matter the purpose.

What is a video presentation ?

A video presentation refers to a sequence of visuals combined with audio to convey information, arguments, ideas, or narratives. It can be about a product, service, internal business reports, or even a topic of interest.

Video presentations can range from simple slideshow-style videos with voiceovers to more complex productions involving animations, live-action footage, music, sound effects , and more.

A good video presentation provides information clearly and concisely. But the best video presentations engage your target audience with professional video quality: a good camera and mic, skilled editing, and a confident presenter. 

There are a ton of different types of video presentation formats you can choose from, including:

• Animated explainer videos
• Employee onboarding videos
• Screen recordings
• Training videos
• Product demos
• Microsoft PowerPoint presentations with a talking head
• Sales presentations
• Awards presentations

Benefits of a video presentation 

These are great reasons to put in the effort to produce this type of video content.

Enhanced engagement

Video recordings—whether on social media or hosted on your website—are great for engagement and getting your audience’s attention. Wyzowl found that 95% of marketers have said video marketing has helped them increase brand awareness, 90% say it has helped generate leads, and 87% said it has helped them increase sales.

Visual clarity

There's a reason many people suggest something like "If you can learn it, you'll find it on YouTube." The presentation video format is unique in its ability to teach and demonstrate, similar to the in-person experience you'd get with a tutor or salesperson. 

The same Wyzowl report found that 96% of marketers say videos have helped increase user understanding of products and services. In short: video helps customers retain your information.

Global reach and accessibility

Video presentations are a great way to reach a global audience. More than half of people say they’re more likely to share a video with others than any other type of content. 

A video presentation is also better for accessibility than other content types. With video editing software , you can:

• Easily add subtitles and annotations to your video footage for those with hearing loss.
• Add an audio description voiceover for those with sight loss.
• Change the color filters for those with color blindness.

Personal connection

Building a personal connection with your audience is critical for overall brand engagement. A video presentation, especially one with a person in the video, helps you do that. Research shows that students have positive feelings for videos presented by an instructor, for example.

How to create a video presentation

Step 1. plan and prepare.

Proper planning and preparation can help the rest of your presentation creation process run smoothly. 

Think about what you’ll say, and use a storyboard to build out a visual plan of your presentation ideas. Storyboarding your presentation, instead of making it on the fly, will help you stay focused when you fire up your presentation software. (You don’t need to be an artist; just set out the scenes in a way that makes sense to you.)

At this point, start writing the video script for your presentation. You’ll know what to say and when to say it, and won’t fill your presentation up with filler words like “um” and pauses when trying to think about what to say next. 

Step 2. Gather resources

After you’ve completed your paper storyboard and script, it’s time to go digital. With Descript, you can build your slideshows into the video editor just like any slideshow tool . 

To create a presentation video in Descript:

• Hit New project .
• Import any media (images, infographics, short video clips, GIFs, or sounds) you want to include in your presentation.
• Drop your visuals into the script and edit them into a sequence, or work scene by scene by adding a / at the beginning of each slide.
• Add the background of your presentation, then your script in the left panel.
• Add captions to your presentation by hitting the T icon at the top and choosing Captions.

When you've set up all your slides, you can get fancier and add transitions, extra media, and special effects later.

But maybe you’d prefer to create the presentation using more familiar software, like Prezi, PowerPoint slides, or Google Slides. In that case, you can import the presentation into Descript later or use its screen recording functionality. (If you upgrade your Descript plan, you can create your own video presentation templates to use over and over again, if that’s your style.)

Step 3. Record your presentation video

With your slides all set up, it’s time to turn them into a video. This step is pretty straightforward if you’ve used Descript to make the presentation slides. All you’ll need to do is go to the beginning of the presentation and hit the Record button at the top of the screen:

 If, like in the image example above, you’ve written your script into the scenes, change the default setting Record into script to Record new layer . This preserves your script so you can read from it whil recording your presentation video. 

Decide if you want to record a voiceover only (leaving the record option as Audio only ), or add a floating head video with your webcam to show yourself as the speaker by clicking the Screen option. Either way, go through your script as the slides move along. 

If you created your presentation in another software like Google Slides, there may be no built-in option to record your presentation over the slides. In that case, use Descript’s screen recorder to film your screen with audio. The video file will be ready and waiting for you in the video editor when you finish recording.

Step 4. Edit and enhance

At this point, you’ve got the basic presentation down. It’s time to bring out your inner filmmaker and turn the slideshow into something special. 

With Descript’s free video editor, you can:

• Add title screens to introduce your presentation.
• Choose from a library of background music.
• Change the fonts of your captions and any other text layer.
• Add cool slide transitions.
• Improve audio quality with Studio Sound .

Descript’s video editing is different (and easy) since you can edit the video using the script instead of a traditional timeline editor. This makes the process super efficient since you can quickly identify what needs cutting. Simply delete the part of the script you don’t want, and the accompanying video will disappear.

Step 5. Review and fine-tune your video

What makes Descript extra special is the ability to edit your audio by taking out filler words you might have accidentally recorded. Remove “ums,” “uhs,” and awkward pauses in a single click with filler word removal . 

If, like me, you also have a habit of forgetting to say something important, you can use Descript's Overdub feature to add those few missed words without re-recording the whole scene. The software will create an AI clone of your voice to fix audio mistakes. 

With your video presentation fine-tuned, you’re ready to save and share it with the world. Click the Publish button in the top right corner and download the MP4 file, or export it directly to a platform like YouTube or Wistia.

6 key elements for crafting a great video presentation

Now you know the practical how-tos of making a presentation video, let’s look at some key elements that turn a good video presentation into a great one. 

Clear and engaging content

Visual appeal, narration and voice quality, engagement techniques, structure and flow.

• Audience-centric approach 

No one likes feeling confused. If your presentation isn’t clear, you’ll end up frustrating your audience. A nice trick for clarity is to imagine you’re explaining your presentation to a child; don’t use big words to sound smart. Presentations that are clear from the start are naturally more engaging.

Gone are the days of 360p Nokia footage. Even if you don’t have a professional camera setup, you can still record a video on a PC, phone, or webcam with high quality. But don’t forget about the images and text overlays. No one wants to try deciphering pixelated visuals—use the highest quality video resolution you can.

Even the best-quality video presentation can be ruined by bad audio. Poor-quality narration is hugely frustrating to viewers. Prioritize your audio quality, especially for information-rich videos like presentations, and use Studio Sound to remove distracting background noise from your presentation video.

When it comes to video presentations, you should think like a salesperson. You can't expect your audience to believe the information you give them if they don't trust you. Engage your audience by telling a personal story, describing relatable scenes, or emphasizing important points throughout your video.

Treat your presentation like a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Information should flow nicely from one point to the next. Do a test run through your slides before you start recording to ensure any questions don't crop up prematurely because the viewer thinks you haven't covered it (when you do a few slides later). 

Learn: Narrative structure: How to compose the best story for your footage

Audience-centric approach

It's pretty much always to the audience's benefit when you make a presentation video, so you shouldn't focus too much on yourself. Address your audience's needs and go above and beyond to answer any questions they may have. Otherwise, why would they listen to you?

5 tips to help you craft remarkable video presentations

Now we know what makes a great presentation video, here are five bonus presentation tips to create yours. 

1. Practice and rehearse

You won’t always get it right the first time, and that’s okay. But the more you practice before hitting record, the better your presentation video will be—and the less legwork you’ll need to do throughout the video editing process.

2. Invest in good equipment

Top-notch equipment makes your life easier throughout the video creation process. Replace your webcam with your iPhone to improve picture quality, and invest in editing tools that allow you to record and edit in the same dashboard.

3. Optimize lighting

Another area where you can improve the quality of your video is the lighting technique . If you have the budget, you can use a simple ring light, but if you don’t have the cash to invest in video equipment, use natural light (such as a window) behind your camera.

4. Engage with eye contact

If someone was talking to you and they weren’t looking at you, you’d probably be a little confused or uncomfortable, right? It’s the same with video. Look into the camera when making video presentations to simulate real eye contact with your audience. If you forget, use Descript’s Eye Contact AI effect to fix it.

5. Keep it concise

If you waffle on with unnecessary information or get sidetracked on a story, you’ll lose your audience’s attention, and they’ll click away or switch off. Stick to your video script and keep your presentation concise.

Elevate your video presentations with Descript

Creating an informative and engaging video presentation isn’t the easiest task in the world. You’ve got to know your audience and what they want, present the information confidently, and do it with visually appealing content.

With Descript, you can take your presentation video to the next level with an editing experience that allows you to:

• Record your screen on a Mac or Windows device
• Create and record slides (with voiceover) in one dashboard
• Remove filler words with a single click
• Use Studio Sound to remove background noise from your presentation
• Turn your presentation into a YouTube video, or download it as an MP4 file

Take a free tour of Descript and see why thousands of creators love its video editing platform.

How to make presentation videos FAQ

How do i make a presentation video for free.

• Choose a slideshow software like Descript
• Create your slides
• Add transitions 
• Record your voiceover
• Edit your presentation
• Share your video 

How do I video myself when presenting a PowerPoint?

Use PowerPoint’s built-in recording feature and choose the “Cameo” option to record yourself when presenting. Or, use Descript’s screen recording feature and have the presentation ready for editing when you finish recording. 

How do I make an audio-video presentation?

If you don’t want to record yourself on video, use a screen recorder to film your presentation slides. Video presentation makers like Descript allow you to record a voiceover.

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Easily Create Voiceovers Using Realistic Text to Speech

Stop wasting time on recording your voice, editing out mistakes and synchronising picture with sound.

Just type or upload your script, select one of our 700 voices, and get a professionally sounding audio or video in minutes.

Try Narakeet realistic text to speech free, no need to register.

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Truly remarkable

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A fantastic tool you have made. It is especially handy now when we teach remotely.

It's truly an amazing product. I love how I can refine the visuals, add more, and just write text, and then I get a complete demo video. Much easier than the way I was doing it before.

Rather than having to do that recording and editing, I loaded it and got the final video in under three minutes. Just recording and editing the audio would have taken me at least three hours.

Convert Text To Speech

Natural sounding text to speech in 90 languages, with 700 voices, will help you create audio files and narrated videos quickly. When you want to change the script in the future, just update a bit of text. Stop wasting time on recording and re-recording the narration.

Create training video lessons in multiple languages, make marketing videos for your products in global markets or use Narakeet as a narrator for YouTube videos.

Use our text-to-speech tool to convert a Word document or a text script to an audio file in seconds, using realistic AI voice generators.

Convert Subtitles to Audio

Turn a subtitle file into audio, synchronized with timestamps in the subtitles. Easily produce voiceover dubbing in a different language for e-learning content, make alternative audio tracks for videos and localize audio content without wasting time on audio/video synchronization.

Upload a SRT or WebVTT to our Text to Audio tool and make a synchronized dubbing audio in 90 languages.

Create Narrated Videos Quickly

Stop wasting time on recording voice, synchronising picture with sound and adding subtitles. Let Narakeet do all the dull tasks, so you can focus on the content.

Convert Powerpoint to Video. Edit videos as easily as editing text.

Narakeet is video presentation maker with voice over. Use it to convert PPT to video easily, create a slideshow with music or turn lecture slides into videos.

Make videos from PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote. Create full HD videos for YouTube from slides. Use our templates to quickly make videos for Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Automatically add subtitles and closed captions to videos.

Create video from images and audio

Narakeet is a text to speech video maker, allowing you to turn a script to voice over, and edit videos as easily as editing text. Script the entire video using Markdown , and embed visual assets from images, screen recordings and video clips. Make video screencasts, tutorials and announcements in minutes.

Use our scripting stage directions to create slides, add call-outs, put text on top of images and videos, generate subtitle files and extract video segments. Add a voiceover to your video easily, using text-to-speech that gets synchronised to visual assets automatically.

Just edit the text and upload the slideshow or narrator script again, and you can easily create a new version of your video.

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Create several versions of a single video, in different languages or different resolutions. Automatically build documentation videos with up-to-date images when your product changes. Create many similar videos quickly.

Developers can use the Narakeet API or command-line client to integrate video production into continous delivery pipelines and automation systems.

Narakeet is an excellent short video maker. Use it to create marketing videos, announcements, demos or documentation videos automatically.

How to Make a Slideshow With Voiceover

Need to create a slideshow with voiceover for your job or studies? Just want to showcase photos from your recent travels and share your trip impressions in the background? In any case, this task doesn’t seem easy. Just think: you need to compile pictures, record your voice and synchronize it with the video, add fade-ins and fade-outs, etc.

How to make a slideshow with voiceover and not break a sweat? Breathe out: you have the answer now. Just continue reading to discover a detailed step-by-step guide with tips and advice on the software.

Let’s start with the key things to keep in mind when you make a slideshow with voice comments.

5 Tips For a Cool Voiceover Slideshow

• First, you need a microphone: stand-alone or built into your computer. If the device doesn’t have any pop filter, make sure it doesn’t catch any additional noises. Find a small room, turn off fans with an air-conditioning system and shut the door. Adjust the volume level so your voice will be easy to hear.
• Think about how you will record the speech. You can record it piece by piece or record voicing for the whole slideshow at once.
• Prepare yourself for voice recording. Write a script or least some key sentences for your speech. Before hitting the Record button, practice a bit: read the script aloud a few times and make a couple of test recordings. Don’t forget about pauses, intonation and clarity.
• Stand up while recording your voice. This posture opens up your chest, so it’ll be easier for you to read and control your breathing. As a result, you’ll get more confident and avoid unnecessary pauses.
• Prepare the photos for your slideshow. Don’t just copy the whole Pictures folder - look through your images and take 30-50 photos corresponding to your topic. Try taking different images: landscapes, group shots, close-ups, portraits, etc.
• Find suitable software for making a video‌ ‌slideshow‌ ‌with‌ ‌voiceover‌. Most people suggest using Powerpoint or Google Slides, but they have a pretty limited toolkit. If you want to fine-tune the sound and create a pro-looking video, you’d better try a different program. For example, SmartSHOW 3D.
• ✔ create slideshows in 5 minutes using pre-made templates
• ✔ use 200+ royalty-free music tracks of different genres
• ✔ fine-tune the sound for voice comments and music
• ✔ apply 600+ effects and transitions: from classic fades to modern 3D rotations
• ✔ export your photo slideshow in 30+ video formats

Get this powerful slideshow software and start creating stunning presentations with voiceover right now!

How to Make a Voiceover Slideshow

Now when you are fully prepared, let’s see how‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌a‌ ‌video‌ ‌with‌ ‌pictures‌ ‌and‌ ‌narration‌. The steps you need to follow are pretty simple:

Step 1. Browse Through Your Photos

Browse through your photos and pick the shots that are suitable for your script. Arrange them on the Timeline. If you have lots of photos on one subject, group them into collages. You can use pre-made templates or quickly group up the pictures manually. This will keep your slideshow short and informative. Apart from photos, you can add video clips as well. Mix them with pictures or use as a background for the collages.

Step 2. Make the Perfect Music Mix

There is no photo slideshow without music. Add one of the 200+ songs from the built-in collection or drop in your own music. Switch to the Timeline view and fine-tune the sound using Audio Points: right-click a song and add a few. Move down the points in the middle to lower the music volume in certain places. If you want to adjust the volume for the whole track, then go to Volume and Faders. Here you can add fade-in and fade-out effects, as well as change the volume of the main audio stream.

Step 3. Record a Perfect Voiceover

Go to the Voice Comments tab and click Record Voice. Once you are done, the voiceover will be added to the second track. You can edit the comments just like music: cut, fade, reposition, etc. To record your comments for a certain slide, open the slide editor window (simply double-click on the slide) and switch to Sounds tab in the top right corner. Click Record Sound and then Start Recording. Keep an eye on the recording duration – it shouldn’t be longer than the slide duration.

Step 4. Add Stylish & Funky Intros

Have a large project? Divide it into several parts by adding cool-looking intros between the chapters. There are dozens of ready-made templates in the Titles collection to choose from. Just add the desired template to your project and replace the default text with your own. It’s a perfect option if you want a professional-looking text animation but have no time to fiddle with the settings.

Step 5. Create Your Video

When you’re done with the creative part of the work, go to the Create tab and export your project to video. SmartSHOW 3D offers 30+ video formats, including slideshow for Facebook, YouTube, TV and even DVD burning. There is a helpful step-by-step wizard for creating video – it will guide you and give prompts to ensure perfect quality output.

Follow these easy steps and create your own slideshow with voiceover! Start with downloading SmartSHOW 3D for free‌:

Prefer watching video guides over reading text? Watch this video and discover how‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌a‌ ‌voiceover‌ ‌slideshow:

Although there are other softwares that allow you to make slideshows, like PowerPoint and iMovie , you won’t be able to do much with their help because of their limited toolkit. However, they’ll work just fine if you urgently need to make a simple slideshow with voice comments.

If you want to make a gorgeous slideshow with perfectly synced voice, then try SmartSHOW 3D. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t skilled at making videos. Thanks to a user-friendly interface, all the essential features will be at your fingertips. You can create photo and video collages, insert stunning transitions, apply 3D and nature effects, like snow or rain, create custom animations using keyframes and much more.

• Use Presenter View Video
• Add speaker notes​ Video
• Practice and time your presentation​ Video
• Record a presentation Video
• Print a presentation Video

Record a presentation

Record narration and timings for your presentation to give it a professional and polished feel.

Record narration and timings

Open the slide you want to start recording from.

Near the upper right corner of the PowerPoint window, select  Record .

Choose from two options

When you're ready, select the round, red  Record button, wait for the countdown, then start speaking. To record from a specific slide, go to it, and then select Record .

Note:  Narration isn't recorded while the transition between slides happens, so pause during a transition, then resume speaking.

Manage narration and timings

There are different ways to manage recordings in your presentation:

Pause - to pause a recording

Stop - to end a recording

Replay - to replay a recording

Pen , Highlighter , or Eraser - use the pen, highlighter, or eraser tools to mark up your recording

Remove narration or timings

An audio icon appears on a slide when narration is available.

You can also remove narration or timings from your slide.

If you're in record mode, select  Clear .

Choose from two options:

Clear Recording on Current Slide - to delete narration and timings on the current slide

Clear Recording on All Slides - to delete narration and timings from all slides at once

Save a recording

When you're done recording, save and share your presentation as a PowerPoint file or video.

Select File .

Choose an option like Save or Export .  Your recording will automatically play when someone opens the presentation.

Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

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Custom avatar, avatar dialogs, interactivity, real-time chat, elai editor, avatars library, ai storyboard, url-to-video, auto translation, cartoon avatars, screen recorder, pptx-to-video, voice cloning, employee training videos, for sales training videos, for compliance and technical videos, for how-to and explainer videos, for customer support videos, corporate communications, explainer videos, personalized videos with api, knowledge base, case studies, elai for partners, integrations, elai academy, thinkific app documentation, getting started with api, how it works, our technology, elai values.

How to Easily Create Video With Voice Over

A video with voice over can help convey information and connect viewers to the visuals. It’s important to recognize the value of voiceover videos to make the most of them if you want to work effectively.

With the help of Elai Builder, you can easily create voiceover videos just from text . Perfect for simply narrating your slides or for use in tutorial videos, how-to videos, explainers, and more.

Interested in learning how to create video with voice over? Keep on reading to find out more.

What Is a Voiceover Video and Why Use It?

A video with voice over is essentially a video with a narrative on top of the audio track. A typical video format for lessons sometimes includes subtitles to make it easier to follow along. Recording the audio voice over at a professional studio is a common practice. The voice over would then be added to the video by a video producer.

Sometimes, visuals are all that is needed to communicate a message. However, adding voice overs to your videos may enhance the whole experience for your viewers by stimulating their senses both visually and audibly.

Editing is necessary to ensure that the visual and spoken information are in sync with each other. If the voiceover video is done correctly, the listeners may even feel a connection to the story they are listening to.

How to Make a Video With Voice Over? 5 Small Steps

Step 1: select a video template or begin from scratch..

We have a variety of professionally-designed video templates that you may use to speed up the process.

Step 2: Choose an AI narrator for your video.

Enhance the monotony of a voice over by using an  AI avatar . Your voice over will be narrated by the avatar.

Step 3: Insert a script for the voice over.

Allow artificial intelligence to do the talking. Simply write something, and our text-to-speech engine will generate a narration in seconds.

Step 4: Personalize everything.

Customize and  edit  videos straight in your web browser. With Elai, you can easily add transitions, a screen recording, and even music and images.

Step 5: Render and save your work.

The only thing left to do is to render the video and show it to your audience. Download and post anywhere you want.

Make Elai Your Voiceover Video App of Choice!

The use of video with voice over app enhances the experience of the audience with your content by highlighting key messages in narration. A video with voice over leads listeners and serves as a guide for content understanding. People’s ability to comprehend information is enhanced when audio and visuals are seamlessly blended. 

Using Elai’s video presentation maker with voice over, you can easily generate high-quality voiceover videos by simply typing in your text. Over 65 languages and dialects are supported, making it possible to expand your audience.

How to Add Voiceover to a Video?

Elai Builder allows you to easily add create video with voice over by simply entering the text. Hyper-realistic AI avatars allow you to get high-quality video content without recording or uploading any footage.

How to Make a Video With Pictures and Voice Over?

Easy peasy when you have Elai on your side! Start with a video template or start from scratch, and then select an AI narrator. As soon as you add a voiceover video script into the text area, you’ll get a narration. Customize and edit your video in the browser, and then download the final piece!

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Are you nervous about using your voice to narrate PowerPoint presentation? Not to worry, you can use a cool voice generator to narrate your slides in various voices and accents. This can be a great way to add some personality to your presentation and make it more engaging for your audience. This post will discuss how to narrate PowerPoint without using your voice.

How to Narrate Powerpoint

Do you want to narrate PowerPoint presentation but don’t want to use your voice? Are you worried that your voice won’t engage your audience? Are you thinking about adding voiceover to powerpoint? Don’t worry, there are ways to narrate a presentation without using your voice. Of those ways, advanced text-to-speech software is the most effective.

There are many benefits to narrating a PowerPoint without using your voice. Here are some of the most notable ones:

• You can add more personality to your presentation by choosing different voices and accents for the text-to-speech software.
• This can be a great way to engage your audience and make your presentation more attractive.
• It can also be helpful if you’re not comfortable speaking in front of a large group of people.

Fortunately, some of the best advanced text-to-speech software programs can help make your presentation sound amazing! Best of all, PowerPoint has a narration feature that lets you add audio or voiceovers on slides or the whole production. Below we will discuss how to upload your PowerPoint audio on a Mac or a PC.

PowerPoint Narration For PC And Mac

The processes for PowerPoint narration for PC and Mac are similar. Here are the steps for each method.

PowerPoint Narration for PC

• First, open a new or existing presentation in PowerPoint.
• Using the top toolbar, select the “Insert” option.
• Scroll to the far-right side of the menu and select “Audio.” Using this option, you can insert voiceover audio from a reliable advanced text-to-speech software app.
• After adding the voiceover, a microphone icon will appear, indicating that the PowerPoint narration was successful.

PowerPoint Narration For Mac

• Open a new or existing presentation for PowerPoint for Mac.
• Find and select the “Insert” option in the top toolbar.
• Like the PC version, navigate to the far-right side and click “Audio.”
• Once again, you can use your favorite voiceover app to create the most engaging PowerPoint audio for your presentation.

Typecast – An Advanced Text-to-Speech Software For a PowerPoint Presentation

Typecast is an advanced text-to-speech software for narrating PowerPoint presentations. With Typecast, you can create fantastic audio for your PowerPoint slides in minutes. The software is simple to use, just paste your text into the app and click “Play.” Typecast will generate high-quality audio you can download and use for your PowerPoint presentation. 

Typecast is also great for creating audio for eLearning courses, training materials, and marketing videos. If you need to create a narrated PowerPoint presentation for the office or a potential client, Typecast is the best text-to-speech software to use! Business owners can even hype up their presentations by adding the movie announcer voice to their audio.

Typecast offers many benefits, including:

• A wide range of voices and accents to choose from (over 260 and counting!)
• Quick and painless audio creation – just paste your text and click “Play!”

Typecast is the best advanced text-to-speech software for narrating pitches for small business owners looking to create more engaging content, launch a new product, or open a new business in their franchise. With Typecast, you can easily create audio for your PowerPoint slides in minutes without using your voice! Try it out today.

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How-To Geek

6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.