how to record audio for a google slides presentation

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Simple Ways to Record Audio and Add It to Google Slides

Last Updated: April 27, 2024 Fact Checked

Recording Tools

Adding audio to google slides.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 10,425 times. Learn more...

Do you want to record audio to add to your Google Slides slideshow? Unfortunately, recording audio is not possible with Google Slides, but don't worry! This wikiHow article lists some recording tools that you can use for free and walks you through adding an audio file to Google Slides so it's not hard to do!

Things You Should Know

• Since Google Slides does not record audio, you'll need to use another recording tool and then add your audio to your slideshow.
• Use recording programs like Voice/Sound Recorder on Windows 10/11 and Android, or Voice Memos on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
• Upload the recording to Google Slides by clicking "Insert > Audio" and selecting your voice recording.

• There are also advanced editing and recording techniques that you can use in this free app.

• To record with Audacity, make sure your mic is selected in the toolbar drop-down menu, then press the red circle icon to begin recording. Press it again to stop recording. Go to File > Export and save your file to your computer.

• Mic Note limits free accounts to 10 minutes of recording time for each note and doesn't allow editing.

• Since Google Slides is a desktop web application, this method will work for both Windows and Mac computers.

• If you're not sure how to save your audio file to Google Drive, you can read How to Add Files to Google Drive Online .

• You'll see a speaker icon on the slide you added the audio to.
• When you're editing your slides, you'll have the option to click Format Options when you have the speaker icon selected; click it to be able to change the default settings for the audio file. You can set the audio to play automatically when the slide appears or make it continuously loop the entire time the slide is on the screen.
• When your Google Slide presentation is in presentation mode, you'll either be able to listen to the audio by clicking the speaker icon or it will start automatically, depending on the options set in "Format Options." [3] X Research source

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/voice-memos/record-vmaa4b813415/mac
• ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/make-a-recording-iph4d2a39a3b/ios
• ↑ https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/how-to-insert-audio-in-google-slides-step-by-step/

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How to record audio on Google Slides

Google Slides is an excellent tool for creating presentations fast and sharing them online. If you want to jazz up your presentations and make them a little more interesting, then knowing how to record audio on Google Slides can make the process a whole lot easier.

What You Need

Google Drive

Google Slides

If you are looking for a way to automatically start an audio file for a particular slide, you may have noticed that Google Slides has no quick built-in recording option. But with the right online tools, you can still put one together quickly to help with demos, voiceovers, description sounds, and more. Here’s how.

How do you record your voice on Google Slides?

If you’ve never used Slides before, you can visit this webpage to get started quickly. Choose the blank slide to begin a new slideshow, or access another Slides presentation that’s been shared with you in Google Drive. When you’ve navigated to a slide that needs an audio effect, you’re ready to begin.

Step 1: Slides doesn’t have a built-in audio recorder, but that’s not a huge concern when the internet is filled with free recorder tools. As long as you have a mic, you can create an audio file to use in Slides.

If this is a one-time audio recording for a presentation, we suggest using the super-speedy Rev Online Voice Recorder , where you simply select Record , give the site permission, and start talking. If you’re going to be creating a lot of audio files over time, then you may prefer to install the ChromeMP3 Recorder extension from Hablacloud.

If you aren’t recording something but rather using an existing clip, make sure it’s in a common format like MP3.

Step 2: To upload your audio file to Google Drive, log into Drive, select New , and select File upload . Find the audio file on your local storage, typically in Recent downloads , and select it. Google with automatically upload it to Drive.

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Step 3: On the slide where you want to add audio, select Insert , then select Audio in the drop-down menu.

Step 4: In the new window, you’ll see all the audio files you currently have in Drive. If you haven’t cleared out your Drive files in a while, you may need to use the Recent or search tools to help you locate it. When you find it, choose the file and then Select .

Step 5: You will now get a small icon on the slide to let you know there’s an audio file there, and a new menu on the right with your Audio playback options.

Spend a little time in the audio menu to make sure the sound is playing like it should. You can choose to have it play on click or automatically, and adjust the volume for when the audio plays. You also have the ability to choose to loop the audio if you want and whether or not you want the audio to stop playing when you move to the next slide.

Step 6: With the settings configured, your slide should now be able to play audio the way you had in mind. You can repeat this process for any slide that needs audio in your presentation.

Now that you've nailed adding recorded audio to Google Slides, why not learn how to draw on Google Slides .

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Use slides recording in Google Slides

You can only record your presentations in Google Chrome and Edge Browsers. However, you can view, share, and delete recordings from any browser.

Important: This feature may only be available on certain work or school accounts

Record a slideshow

• There's a 30-minute limit to every recording.
• Information about Slides recordings isn't available in Revision History.
• If you exceed your Drive Storage quota, you can’t create more recordings.
• You must have edit access to the slides in order to create a new recording.
• To open your presentation, go to Google Slides .

• To start over, pause and click Re-record .
• To save your recording, pause and click Save to Drive .
• To blur your background, click Turn on camera blur .

Find your recording

• On your computer, go to Google Slides .
• Open the presentation where you created the recording.
• Select your recording from the list that appears.

Tip: Recordings are saved into a My Drive folder called Slides recordings.

Share your recording

Recordings can be shared to collaborators on the document immediately after creation.

• To share your recording, click the title of the recording from the list.
• The video in the full-screen player layout appears.
• Select the user, audience, or URL visibility rules.

Tip : Alternatively, you can share a recording like you would share any file in Drive. Learn how to share files from Google Drive .

Remove a recording

• If you created the recording, you also have the option to move the recording file in Drive to Trash. If the recording in Drive isn't moved to Trash, the recording stays visible in Drive to anyone with access.
• If you didn't create the recording, it's still visible in the creator's Drive and anyone to with access.

Use external device

You can use a microphone or camera that isn't built into your computer, such as a USB-based external camera or wireless earbuds.

To get started, set up your camera or microphone device like you would normally use it with your computer.

• Open your presentation.
• When the recording studio opens, at the bottom toolbar, click Settings .
• If your external microphone or camera is available, it's listed in the dropdown of devices available to use while recording.

Troubleshoot camera & microphone

When you create a Slides recording for the first time, it asks for a series of permissions to use the camera and microphone of your computer.

Tip: Camera and microphone access isn't required to start recording.

If you decide not to grant access to your camera or microphone, you can change it later.

• On your computer, open Chrome.
• chrome://settings/content/microphone
• chrome://settings/content/camera
• Adjust the settings to grant access.

Need more help?

Try these next steps:.

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Adding audio to your presentation, whether it's gentle background music for a wedding slideshow or a voice recording for a remote learning session, can keep your audience interested, engaged, and entertained. Here's how to do it with Google Slides.

Though a seemingly simple feature, inserting audio in Google Slides hasn't always been an option. Previously, the only way to insert audio in your Google Slides presentation was by inserting a video or linking to a site like Spotify---just inserting the audio file alone wasn't possible. Thankfully, now you can.

The caveat here is you can't upload the files directly from your local machine. You can only upload them from Google Drive. So unlike PowerPoint where you can record your audio directly in the application , you'll need to record your audio separately for Google Slides, upload the audio to Google Drive, and then add it to your presentation from there.

This obviously isn't limited to audio recordings. As long as the audio files are MP3 or WAV , you can upload any type of audio you like, including music.

Related: How to Convert a WAV File to MP3

If you don't already have your audio file uploaded to Google Drive, head over to your Google Drive account and click the "New" button in the top-left corner of the window.

Next, click "File Upload" in the menu that appears.

File Explorer (or Finder on Mac) will open. Locate and select the file you want to upload and then click "Open."

Once the audio file is uploaded, open your Google Slides presentation that you'd like to add the audio to, click "Insert" in the menu bar, and then click "Audio."

The "Insert Audio" window will appear. In the "My Drive" tab, select the file you'd like to upload by clicking it.

Next, click the blue "Select" button in the bottom-left corner of the window.

A speaker icon in a grey circle will appear on the slide. You can resize the icon by clicking and dragging the handles that appear when selected. You can also rearrange the position of the icon by clicking and dragging it to the new location.

Underneath the icon, you'll find the play/pause and volume options.

You can also choose how and when the audio plays during the presentation. When you click the icon, the "Format Options" pane appears on the right-hand side of the window. You'll automatically be in the "Audio Playback" group.

Under "Start Playing," you can decide if you want the audio to play when you click the audio icon or if you want it to play automatically when you make it to the slide.

You can also pre-set the volume of the audio during the presentation. Click and drag the slider under "Volume When Presenting" to adjust it.

Underneath the slider, you'll see these three options:

• Hide Icon When Presenting - This option, as the name implies, hides the icon when you're presenting. This option is only available if you selected the option for the audio to start playing automatically.
• Loop Audio - Once your audio reaches the end, it will start over. This is ideal for background music during a wedding or graduation ceremony.
• Stop on Slide Change - Once you move to the next slide, the audio will end.

That's all there is to it. Adjust the playback options to fit the atmosphere of your presentation.

Now that you know how to add audio, try mastering other basic functions to create the ultimate slideshow.

Related: The Beginner's Guide to Google Slides

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How to Add Audio to Google Slides: Record Voice Overs, Narration, & More

Last Updated: 11/06/2023

By Scott Winstead

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Google Slides is a versatile tool with more than 800 million monthly users to create presentations, lectures, and more. But as an instructional designer who’s created countless online learning modules, I can tell you that even the best slideshow tool can’t overcome a boring, bland presentation, and a lot of times, that’s exactly what a presentation without audio is.

Audio can be a game-changer for any presentation. It can transform a run-of-the-mill slideshow into a captivating experience. While visuals convey information, audio adds depth, emotion, and impact to your message.

Google Slides does not have audio recording built-in, but the good news is it’s pretty easy to add audio to Google Slides.  You don’t even need any technical skills really. To have a narration with your presentation, you have to create the audio file(s) separately and then upload the file(s) to add audio to your Google Slides. Or alternatively, you can use a screen recording plugin like VEED  that will let capture your presentation on your desktop screen while you speak over it and record the whole thing to share with others.

Don’t worry — it’s easier than you might think. I’m going to show you exactly how to add voice and audio to Google Slides presentations.

Types of Audio You Can Add to Google Slides

Before I get into the step-by-step process of adding audio to a Google Slides presentation, let’s take a second to go over some ideas for the different kinds of audio you might want to consider using in your slideshow. Each type serves a unique purpose and can elevate your presentation in different ways.

Narration: Adding Voiceovers to Slides

Think of narration as your personal guide through the presentation. It’s your voice providing context, explanations, and insights as your audience navigates each slide. Whether you’re delivering a complex technical concept or sharing a heartfelt story, narration humanizes your content.

If you’re adding narration to a Google slideshow, make sure you focus on the following:

• Scripting: Craft a clear, concise script that complements your visuals.
• Tone: Adjust your tone to match the content—be it informative, enthusiastic, or empathetic.
• Practice: Rehearse your narration to ensure a smooth, engaging delivery.
• Recording Tools: Utilize quality recording tools and consider investing in a good microphone for pristine audio.

Background Music: Enhancing the Atmosphere

Background music provides ambiance and sets the mood. It can make your presentation feel dynamic, cinematic, or simply pleasant. The right music can keep your audience engaged and emotionally connected to your content.

Consider the following when adding background music to Google Slides:

• Genre: Choose music that aligns with your presentation’s theme and message.
• Volume: Ensure the music doesn’t overpower your narration or visuals.
• Transitions: Use music strategically during transitions to maintain flow.
• Royalty-Free Sources: Explore royalty-free music libraries for legal and diverse music options.

Sound Effects: Using Audio Cues for Emphasis

Sound effects can be a great tool for adding emphasis and engagement to your presentation. When used correctly (and sparingly), they grab your audience’s attention, highlight key points, or add humor. From subtle chimes to dramatic crescendos, sound effects can punctuate your presentation.

Consider the following when adding sound effects to Google Slides:

• Relevance: Ensure sound effects and audio clips enhance the content and align with your message.
• Timing: Precisely time sound effects for maximum impact, emphasizing key moments.
• Consistency: Maintain a consistent style, tone, and volume level with sound effects throughout your presentation.
• Moderation: Avoid overusing sound effects in your slide deck, as too much can be distracting.

4 Steps to Add Audio & Voice Over to Google Slides

• How to Use Google Slides →
• Matching Audio Narration with the Slide Presentation →
• Recording Your Voice →
• Adding Audio Files to Google Slides →

1. How to Use Google Slides

Google Slides is a powerful, cloud-based presentation tool that lets you create, edit, and collaborate on stunning presentations effortlessly. With intuitive features, real-time collaboration, and seamless sharing options, it's the go-to platform for crafting engaging and visually appealing slideshows.

Google Slides is a presentation program that is part of the Google Suite of productivity tools. It allows users to create, edit, and share presentations online.

Google Slides is similar to other presentation programs such as Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote. However, it has some unique features that make it a powerful tool for creating and delivering presentations, like its collaborative features and templates.

If you need a Google account and do not want a Gmail account, just go to Google.com and click the “Sign In” icon in the upper right corner of the browser window and then select “Create account” to set up a new account. You can link your existing email account to your Google account. It does not have to be a Gmail account.

Alternatively, you can get a free Gmail account and never use it except to give you access to Google Drive and Google Tools, including Google Slides, if that is all you want to do.

For the purposes of this tutorial, let’s assume you have a Google Slides presentation already made and you just need to add audio to it.

2. Matching Audio Narration with the Google Slide Presentation

If you want to use narration for a full continuously-playing slideshow, write the script that you will use for all the slides and then watch the slide presentation playback as a slide show to get the timing or your narration to match the progression of the slide as the slideshow plays. This is probably the trickiest part of the whole process.

You will want to edit your script and/or change the playback speed of the slides to match your audio recording of the narration.

Practice reading your script with the slides running in the slideshow mode until you can read the script perfectly .

It is easier to work with the audio file for a slideshow that plays without stopping if you can record the audio narration in one take rather than piecing a bunch of short takes together.

If your video presentation is long or the viewer uses self-pacing to manually click through the slides, you can break up the audio playback into sections or have a separate audio file for each slide. In that case, you need to make sure the audio recordings match, in terms of sound quality.

You want to listen to the audio playback carefully to be certain that the narration playback sounds nice and smooth to the listener. You want to avoid any abrupt volume or tonal changes between slides that may create a distraction or startle the listener.

Problems may arise if the audio recording sessions are in different places under different sounding conditions. To avoid problems, try to record in the same way and the same place if you plan to use separately recorded audio files together in the same presentation. Otherwise, not only will your audio potentially sound disjointed, but it could be an editing nightmare trying to get everything to blend together seamlessly.

3. Recording Your Voice

To record your voice, you can use a free-to-use recording application such as Audacity or a free recorder such as Movavi or another free online recorder. Also, most smartphones have an app to record your voice, which is easy to use.

Another option is to use VEED for more of a live presentation recording.

VEED is an app that has screen recording capabilities, which allows you to record a live voiceover to your Google Slides presentation and then save and share the video file with others. You can screen record on Windows or Mac with this plugin.

Be sure to record your voice in a quiet place with little or no background noises when trying to add audio to Google Slides presentations.

Speak clearly and directly into your voice over microphone in a clear natural voice – a headset microphone is great for this kind of narration work. Do not overdrive the recording by speaking too loudly and also do not speak too softly. Excessively quiet audio requires adding too much gain later (to increase the sound volume), which may introduce unwanted noise or distort your audio, making it difficult for your audience to follow along and even harder to create captions or a transcript with transcription software .

If you want to add background music or sound effects you will want to use a program like Audacity or another audio editing software to bring those things together into one audio file as a balanced audio mix. If you are getting serious about this effort, review our tips on how to create a professional voiceover recording home studio .

4. How to Add Audio to Google Slides

Once you create your audio file(s), then you upload the files to your Google Drive so that they are stored on the Google Cloud and available for Google Slides to access them. Most virtual conference platforms and webinar software will allow you to upload pre-recorded presentations with voiceovers.

Upload the Audio File(s)

To upload audio files to Google Drive, select the triangular Drive icon from the Google Tools menu (to see the tools menu use the grid button in the upper right-hand corner of your browser) and then click on the “New” button and select “File Upload” and then choose the audio file from your device. Wait for the upload to complete before you attempt to use the audio file.

Share the Audio File(s)

Share the audio file by right-clicking on its filename on Google Drive and then click on “Share.” Allow access to anyone with the link to remove restrictions on the use of this file. This gives access to the audio files to your Google Slides viewers. Be careful. This important step is often overlooked. When you share a Google Slides presentation without also sharing the audio files, your viewers can’t hear them.

Insert Audio File(s) to Google Slides

Open the Google Slides file that you want to use or create a new one. Choose the slide where you want to insert audio. Then, from the menu choices select “Insert” and scroll down to select “Audio.” Click the audio file you saved to your Google Drive to select it and then click the “Select” button.

After you insert audio into your Slides presentation, you will see a little speaker-shaped icon appear on your slide. You can play the audio by clicking on the speaker icon. You can change the placement of the speaker icon by dragging it to a different position on the page.

Audio Format Adjustments

Within Google Slides there are some basic sound adjustments available when you add audio files. When the audio object is selected you can click on “Format Options” in the toolbar. There you will see the default settings appear and the adjustments that can be made.

The adjustments include the volume of the audio file playback. You can choose whether the audio file will play automatically or if it requires a click to start it. If you choose “start playing automatically,” then you can also choose to hide the speaker icon since it is no longer necessary as the audio plays on its own.

You can also choose to loop audio if you want it to continuously repeat. You can stop the audio on a slide change if you only want the audio to be available for just one slide. If you uncheck this box not to stop audio on slide change, the audio will continue to play when the slide changes.

Audio Preview

While you are in the editing mode making slides, you can preview the inserted audio by clicking on the speaker icon and then clicking on the play button.

Watch this video by Stephen Kwiecinski. He shows three different ways to add a voiceover to Google Slides using Audacity.

BONUS for Teachers

New EdTech Classroom’s Sam Kay shows how to use free Google Slides Add-Ons to make interactive slide presentations. Add-Ons are made by third-party software developers to add features and make your slide presentations more interesting. He suggests you use Pear Deck to add audio to your slides.

Dos and Don’ts of Adding Audio to a Google Slides Presentation

Now that you understand how to add audio into Google Slides presentations, let’s go over some quick tips and best practices for using it:

These tips will save you from potential audio mishaps and elevate your presentation game.

• Do Script Your Narration: If you’re adding voiceovers, script them thoughtfully. A well-written script keeps your narration concise, on-point, and engaging. Practice your delivery to sound natural and confident.
• Do Balance Audio Levels: Ensure a harmonious blend of audio elements. Your narration should be clear and audible, while background music and sound effects should complement, not overpower.
• Do Time Sound Effects Strategically: Timing is everything with sound effects. Use them to emphasize key points or transitions. When executed right, they can add a dynamic touch to your presentation.
• Do Test Your Audio: Always, always test your audio setup before the actual presentation. Check for volume levels, audio quality, and any potential technical glitches.
• Do Provide Closed Captions: For inclusivity, consider providing closed captions for your narration. It ensures that your content is accessible to all audiences, including those with hearing impairments.

The Don’ts:

• Don’t Go Crazy with Sound Effects: It’s tempting to go wild with sound effects, but resist the urge. Too many can overwhelm your audience and detract from your message.
• Don’t Use Copyrighted Music Without Permission: Unless you have the rights or use royalty-free music, avoid incorporating copyrighted music into your presentation. You don’t want to deal with any nasty legal issues.
• Don’t Neglect Audio Quality: Poor audio quality is a presentation buzzkill. Invest in a decent microphone and record in a quiet space to ensure clear narration.
• Don’t Rush Narration: Speak at a steady, comprehensible pace. Rushed narration can leave your audience struggling to keep up.
• Don’t Distract with Inconsistent Audio: Maintain a consistent style and tone with audio elements throughout your presentation. Sudden changes in volume or style can be jarring.

Can you record audio in Google Slides?

No, Google Slides doesn’t currently have a built-in audio recording feature. However, Google Slides does have the option to insert audio into a presentation, meaning you can record your audio separately outside of Google Slides and add it easily.

Can you do voice overs on Google Slides?

Yes, you can add voiceovers to your Google Slides presentation by recording it separately and inserting it into the presentation. Once you’ve recorded your voiceover, you can insert the output file with just a couple of clicks.

Why can’t I add audio to Google Slides?

If you’re running into issues adding audio in Google Slides, it might be because you’re trying to use a file type that’s not supported or you don’t have the right permissions to add audio to your presentation. Make sure you’re using a supported file type and that you have the correct permissions for inserting audio and making edits before trying again.

What audio files can be added to Google Slides?

Currently, you can insert audio in Google Slides if it’s a .wav or .mp3 file type. Inserting audio files that aren’t .wav or .mp3 will likely result in an error.

Final Notes on Adding Audio to Google Slides

As you can see, it’s actually pretty easy to add audio to your Google Slides presentations. There’s no need to be intimidated, even if you never made any voiceover recordings. After a little bit of practice, you will quickly get the hang of how it all works.

It is fun to add audio and voice to your Google Slides, and it’s an easy way to create instructional videos .

As you become more confident you can learn how to mix in background music as well.

You can even add GIFs to Google Slides presentations .

Not a Google Slides fan? You can also easily add audio to PowerPoint presentations in a similar fashion.

If you have issues with syncing audio and video recorded separately check out 11 ways on how to do it .

Have more questions about recording voice overs? Check out our guide to the best voice over training courses to improve your skills.

Still need help trying to add audio to a Google Slides presentation? Comment below with your concerns so we can help you out.

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How to do a Voiceover on Google Slides

Google Slides is often used to share presentations online. Sometimes, these presentations can be confusing for the recipient unless there is additional information that can help elaborate each slide. While Google Slides, unlike PowerPoint, does not allow recording a voiceover to narrate your slides, you can insert separately recorded audio files to your slides to generate a narration.

Google Slides Voice-Over Recording

You can record your voice-over recordings and save them to a folder in Google Drive to insert in slides via New > File Upload. Google Slides does not support many audio formats, so make sure your narration is in MP3 or WAV format. Otherwise, the file will not show up when you try to insert it in Google Slides.

We recommend that you keep a naming convention for your files that makes them easy to identify so that you can conveniently incorporate them for relevant slides later on.

It is necessary to ensure that your audio files are not restricted. Select one or more files and select Share via right-click context menu.

Ensure all files are accessible via the link for recipients with at least View Only privileges. This will ensure that your audience is able to play the audio from within the Google Slides file. Otherwise, the audio icon will show a message asking the viewer to request access to the audio file.

How to Narrate Google Slides

Once your audio files have been uploaded to Google Slides, and you have unrestricted the sharing of those files, go to your Google Slides Theme and add audio for each slide via Insert > Audio .

Select the audio file with the narration to insert into the current slide and drag it to place it in the desired location on the slide.

After the audio file has been added, you can click to preview the sound. Furthermore, you can customize audio playback options to play the audio automatically or manually, in a loop, and to stop the audio when the slide changes.

To customize the look of the way your audio icon appears on the slide, see the menus below the Audio playback menu on the right sidebar. Using these options, you can adjust the audio icon’s size, position, and color and add a drop shadow and reflection.

Once your narrations are added to respective slides, you can share your presentation and enable the recipients to listen to the narration on each slide automatically or manually (based on your playback settings).

Audio narrations can only be helpful if they are clear and concise, with good voice quality. If you are struggling with context, you can write a script for each slide and read from it to make your narrative more focused.

Make sure you record your narrations in a place where there isn’t any background noise, or you have a noise cancellation headset to cancel out unwanted sounds in the background. It’s always a good idea to playback and check the voice narrations for sound and contextual clarity.

Since Google Slides supports only MP3 or WAV audio formats, you might need to convert your audio narrations to another format before uploading them to Google Drive. You can also use CloudConvert or other Google Drive-supported apps to make conversions from the cloud.

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• Google Slides Tutorials

How to Add a Voiceover to Google Slides Easily

Adding a voiceover to your Google Slides presentation can make your content more engaging, informative, and personal. Whether you’re creating a tutorial, narrating a story, or enhancing a business presentation, voiceovers are a great way to communicate your message clearly and creatively. Though Google Slides doesn’t have a built-in recording tool, you can still easily add voiceovers to each slide. Here’s a simple guide on how to do it.

Step 1: Record Your Voiceover

Since Google Slides doesn’t allow direct recording, you’ll need an audio file to upload. Most smartphones and computers have built-in recording apps, but here are a few easy options:

• Voice Memos (for iPhone users)
• Voice Recorder (for Windows users)
• Voice Recorder app on Android
• Open your recording app and hit “Record.”
• Speak clearly and keep each audio clip short if you’re recording for individual slides.
• Save the audio files in a format that Google Slides supports, such as MP3 or WAV.

If you’re recording multiple slides, label each file to keep them organized.

Step 2: Upload Your Audio to Google Drive

Once your audio files are recorded and saved, upload them to Google Drive. Google Slides can only access audio files from Google Drive, so this step is essential.

• Open Google Drive and click on “New” > “File upload”.
• Select the audio files and upload them.

After uploading, make sure the files have the correct sharing settings, so anyone viewing your presentation can hear the audio. Right-click on each file, select “Share”, and set the access to “Anyone with the link.”

Step 3: Insert the Audio File into your Google Slides

With your audio files ready in Google Drive, it’s time to insert them into your presentation.

• Open your Google Slides presentation and navigate to the slide where you want to add the audio.
• Click on “Insert” in the top menu, then select “Audio.”
• A list of your Google Drive audio files will appear. Choose the file you want for that slide and click “Select.”

Now, an audio icon will appear on your slide. You can click and drag this icon to position it anywhere you like on the slide.

Step 4: Adjust Audio Playback Settings

To control how your voiceover plays, adjust the playback settings:

• Click on the audio icon on your slide.
• In the “Format options” panel on the right, go to “Audio playback.”
• Here, you can choose to play the audio “Automatically” when the slide opens, or “On click” if you’d prefer to control when the audio starts.
• You can also adjust the volume, hide the icon, or set the audio to loop if needed.

Tips for Using Voiceovers in Google Slides

• Practice Timing: When creating a longer presentation, match your voiceover’s timing to the content on each slide.
• Use Clean Themes: Voiceovers work best on slides that aren’t too text-heavy. A clean, minimalist theme helps ensure that viewers focus on your voiceover. Google Slides themes are also perfect for adding a professional look to each slide.
• Test Before Presenting: Play through your slides to ensure the audio flows smoothly and there are no issues with playback.

Wrapping Up

Adding a voiceover to Google Slides might take a few steps, but the results are worth it. With just a microphone, Google Drive, and a little setup, you can create a more interactive and memorable presentation. Voiceovers let you add a personal touch, explain complex information, or simply make your slides more engaging.

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Arockia Mary Amutha

Arockia Mary Amutha is a seasoned senior content writer at SlideEgg, bringing over four years of dedicated experience to the field. Her expertise in presentation tools like PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Canva shines through in her clear, concise, and professional writing style. With a passion for crafting engaging and insightful content, she specializes in creating detailed how-to guides, tutorials, and tips on presentation design that resonate with and empower readers.

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How to Record Audio on Google Slides

Adding audio to your Google Slides presentations can make them more engaging and impactful. Unfortunately, Google Slides does not have a built-in audio recording feature. However, you can easily record audio separately and then add it to your slides.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn different methods for recording audio and inserting it into Google Slides using both free and paid tools.

Why Add Audio to Google Slides?

Here are some of the key benefits of adding audio elements like music, voiceovers, or sound effects to your Google Slides presentations:

• Enhances engagement: Audio captures attention and keeps your audience tuned in. This leads to better retention of information.
• Adds personality: Voiceovers using your own voice make your slides feel more personal and human.
• Improves accessibility: Audio narration assists visually impaired users. Closed captions also help make content accessible.
• Saves time: Quickly explain concepts without typing lengthy speaker notes or captions.
• Increases clarity: Sound effects or music set the mood and tone for each slide.

Step 1: Record Your Audio

You cannot directly record audio in Google Slides. So first, you need to record your audio externally using any of these tools:

Voice Recorders

• Windows Voice Recorder (free built-in app for Windows PCs)
• Voice Memos (free built-in app for iPhone and iPad)
• Online voice recorders like Vocaroo or SpeakPipe

Audio Editing Software

• Audacity (free open-source audio editor)
• Garageband (free with Mac computers)

Screen Recording Tools

• Screencast-o-matic (free web-based screen recorder)
• ActivePresenter (paid screencasting software)

Make sure to save your recordings as common audio formats like WAV, MP3, M4A that Google Slides supports.

Step 2: Upload Audio to Google Drive

Google Slides can only insert audio files saved on Google Drive.

• Go to drive.google.com
• Click New > File Upload
• Select your audio file and click Open
• Wait for the upload to finish

The audio will now be available to insert.

Step 3: Insert Audio into Google Slides

• Open your Google Slides presentation
• Navigate to the slide where you want to add audio
• Click Insert > Audio
• Select the audio file you uploaded and click Select

The audio file will be inserted into the slide.

Step 4: Configure Audio Playback Settings

Click the audio icon on the slide, then click Format options to access settings:

• Start time: Trims the beginning of the audio clip
• Playback: Choose auto-play or play on click
• Loop: Repeats the audio
• Volume: Increases/decreases loudness

Tweak these options to control how your audio plays.

Step 5: Share Google Slides Presentation

To allow others to play embedded audio files:

• Right-click the audio file from your Google Drive
• Click Share to give access
• Share Google Slides file as usual

And that’s it! By following these five simple steps you can easily enhance your Google Slides presentations by inserting audio recordings.

The key is recording your audio separately using free or paid tools, saving files to Google Drive in supported formats, inserting them into slides, and configuring playback — it just takes a few minutes.

So go ahead, add some intro music, insert voiceovers, sprinkle sound effects, and take your Google Slides presentations to the next level!

Citations: [1] https://riverside.fm/blog/how-to-record-audio-on-google-slides [2] https://support.google.com/docs/thread/118621204/troubleshooting-with-adding-audio-in-google-slides?hl=en [3] https://www.notta.ai/en/blog/how-to-record-audio-on-google-slides [4] https://support.google.com/docs/thread/41110335/is-there-an-audio-limit-in-google-slides?hl=en [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNEy-U8_944 [6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF-omQKwELY [7] https://myelearningworld.com/add-voice-over-to-google-slides/ [8] https://www.wikihow.com/Record-Audio-on-Google-Slides [9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdo_lm-aIVU [10] https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-record-audio-on-google-slides/ [11] https://support.google.com/docs/answer/14221290?hl=en [12] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oWHo-hy_RQ [13] https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/yhvru8/how_to_add_an_audio_file_to_my_google_slides/ [14] https://support.goguardian.com/s/article/Add-Audio-Recordings-to-your-Slides-1629743280923 [15] https://ilifehacks.com/google-slides-audio-not-playing/ [16] https://www.thinkific.com/blog/voice-over-powerpoint-or-google-slides/ [17] https://www.panopto.com/blog/can-you-panopto-a-google-slides-presentation/ [18] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6U3TLSRtig [19] https://democreator.wondershare.com/screen-recorder/record-audio-on-google-slides.html [20] https://www.slidesai.io/blog/how-to-record-audio-in-google-slides [21] https://recorder.easeus.com/screen-recording-tips/how-to-record-audio-on-google-slides.html [22] https://support.mote.com/hc/en-us/articles/360054567272-Help-How-do-I-use-Mote-for-Google-Slides-Troubleshooting-tips

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