Sillman 8/19/2011

Create a Narrated PowerPoint Presentation

A narrated PowerPoint presentation that plays automatically is an easy way to create a multimedia presentation that is

similar to a video, without the need to master video editing skills. The narration provides the details, allowing you to

use images, graphs, maps, etc. as the primary content of your slides instead of text.

As with any project, please observe copyright laws and cite your content and image sources clearly.

Getting Started

In Normal View in PowerPoint, you see your slide

and a Notes area beneath it. Insert your content

in the slide, and use the Notes area to type out

the narration for that slide, word for word.

You can expand the size of the Notes area by

positioning your cursor at the border and

dragging up.

Create your entire presentation in this way –

inserting images, graphs, maps, etc. in the slide

and writing out your narration in the notes area.

Adding Narration

It is possible to record the entire narration for your presentation as one continuous audio file, however if you make a

mistake you must start over, at the very beginning. Instead, we will record narration one slide at a time. If you make a

mistake, you only need to re-record the audio for that one slide. Choose a quiet location where you will not be

interrupted to record your narration. There are several options for the actual recording device:

the built in microphone on a computer – records right into PowerPoint

an external microphone that plugs into the computer – records right into PowerPoint

a separate recording device - records the audio as files which can then be added to each PowerPoint slide.

To record narration for a single slide:

Open the slide in Normal View and click ‘Insert….Audio….Record Audio’

(If you recorded on a separate device, click ‘Insert…Audio…Audio from File’

The Recording window opens:

First, enter a name that

associates the audio with that slide

Next, click the record button and start talking!

Sillman 8/19/2011

When you are done with the narration for that slide, click the pause/stop button.

Now you have several options:

o Click the ‘Play button’ to listen to the recording

o Click ‘Record’ again to add more audio to the end of the recording

o Click ‘OK’ to save the recording

o Click ‘Cancel’ to discard this recording

When you save the recording, an icon is place on the slide.

Hover over the icon, and then click the play button to listen.

If you want to remove this recording, simply click this

sound icon and then push the delete button. You cannot edit a

saved recording. If you want to change saved narration, you must delete and re-record.

Setting Up Your Final Presentation

After you have added all your narration, you are ready to set your presentation to play automatically.

Set up Narration - You must do this for every slide that includes narration:

Click the audio icon on the slide, then click ‘Playback’

under ‘Audio Tools’ in the top menu bar.

Set the following Audio Options:

o Set ‘Start’ to ‘Automatically’

o Set volume to ‘High’

o Check ‘Hide During Show’

(since your narration will play automatically, there is no

need to see the icon)

Set up Timing

On your first slide, click ‘Slide Show’…..’Rehearse Timings’

The presentation will open, with a timing window. When it is time to switch to the next slide, click the arrow.

Continue setting timings for all the slides in your presentation.

After the last slide, click ‘Yes’ to save the times for each slide.

Finally, be sure to save your PowerPoint file when you are finished!

Pause/Stop

Play Discard recording

Save recording