how to create a presentation with voice over

• Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view Article
• Add speaker notes to your slides Article
• Rehearse and time the delivery of a presentation Article
• Record a slide show with narration and slide timings Article
• Print your PowerPoint slides, handouts, or notes Article
• Create a self-running presentation Article

Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

You can record your PowerPoint presentation—or a single slide—and capture voice, ink gestures, and your video presence. When completed, it’s like any other presentation. You can play it for your audience in a Slide Show or you can save the presentation as a video file. So, instead of just “handing the deck” to someone, people can see your presentation with the passion and personality intact. 

A new feature for Microsoft 365 was rolled out in early 2022. Exactly when your business has this feature is also based on when your admin distributes new features in Microsoft 365.

This article contains procedures for both the new experience and the classic experience:

New experience

Classic experience

All recording tools are in the  Record  tab in the ribbon, but you can start by selecting the  Record  button. 

You can also record by selecting one of the options in the Record section of the Record tab.

If you have notes in your presentation, they’re turned into text at the top of the screen so you can use them like a teleprompter as you record.  

Tip:  Use the auto-scroll feature in teleprompter and set it to scroll at your preferred speed.

There are several options you can use when you record a presentation. You can turn your camera and microphone on or off by selecting the icons at the top. There are several options you can use when you record a presentation. You can turn your camera and microphone on or off by selecting the icons at the top. To change your camera or microphone, choose the  Select more options  <···> icon. You can even add a customizable camera that can be resized, repositioned, and formatted to go with your slide content. Select Edit , then select Cameo . Adjust the formatting for the camera, then select Record again to return  to the recording environment. 

In the  Select the camera mode  menu, you can select Show Background  or  Blur Background .

You can also change the layout in the  Views menu to switch between  Teleprompter ,  Presenter View , or  Slide View .

When you’re ready, select  Start recording  and a countdown will begin.

Use the onscreen laser, colored pens, or highlighters in the tray below markup slides and it’ll record as well.

To record narration for a specific slide, use the previous or next arrows.

Note:  Narration won’t record during slide transitions so let those play first before you start speaking. 

Pause  the recording as needed or select  Stop  if you’re done.

To review the video, select the  Play  button. 

To quickly delete and re-record your video on current slide or on all slides, select Delete . While Clear  will delete the recorded narration, Reset to Cameo  additionally replaces the recorded narration with the camera feed for an easy retake.  

When you’re done, select  Export  >  Export Video .

After you successfully export the video, you can view the video by selecting View and share video .

At any time, you can return to your document by selecting the  Edit  button.  

Want more? 

About Record in PowerPoint

Create a self-running presentation   

Export or turn your presentation into a video

Classic experience

Turn on the Recording tab of the ribbon: On the File tab of the ribbon, click  Options . In the Options  dialog box, click the Customize Ribbon  tab on the left. Then, in the right-hand box that lists the available ribbon tabs, select the Recording  check box. Click OK .

To get ready to record, select Record on either the Recording  tab or the Slide Show  tab of the ribbon.

Clicking the upper half of the button starts you on the current slide.

Clicking the lower half of the button gives you the option to start from the beginning or from the current slide.

(The Clear  command deletes narrations or timings, so be careful when you use it. Clear  is grayed out unless you have previously recorded some slides.)

The slide show opens in the Recording window (which looks similar to Presenter view), with buttons at the top left for starting, pausing, and stopping the recording. Click the round, red button (or press R on your keyboard) when you are ready to start the recording. A three-second countdown ensues, then the recording begins.

The current slide is shown in the main pane of the Recording window.

You can stop the recording any time by pressing Alt + S on your keyboard.

Navigation arrows on either side of the current slide allow you to move to the previous and next slides.

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 automatically records the time you spend on each slide, including any Animate text or objects  steps that occur, and the use of any triggers on each slide.

You can record audio or video narration as you run through your presentation. The buttons at the lower-right corner of the window allow you to toggle on or off the microphone, camera, and camera preview:

If you use the pen, highlighter, or eraser, PowerPoint records those actions for playback also.

If you re-record your narration (including audio and ink), PowerPoint erases your previously recorded narration (including audio and ink) before you start recording again on the same slide.

You can also re-record by going to Slide Show  >  Record .

You can pick a pointer tool (pen, eraser, or highlighter) from the array of tools just below the current slide. There are also color selection boxes for changing the color of the ink. ( Eraser  is grayed out unless you have previously added ink to some slides.)

To end your recording, select the square Stop button (or press S on your keyboard).

When you finish recording your narration, a small picture appears in the lower-right corner of the recorded slides. The picture is an audio icon, or, if the web camera was on during the recording, a still image from the webcam.

The recorded slide show timing is automatically saved. (In Slide Sorter view, the timings are listed beneath each slide.)

In this process, what you record is embedded in each slide, and the recording can be played back in Slide Show. A video file is not created by this recording process. However, if you need one, you can save your presentation as a video with a few extra steps.

Preview the recorded slide show

On the Slide Show  tab, click From Beginning  or From Current Slide .

During playback, your animations, inking actions, audio and video will play in sync.

Preview the recorded sound

In the Recording window, the triangular Play  button near the top left corner lets you preview the recording of the slide that currently has the focus in that window.

In Normal view, click the sound icon or picture in the lower-right corner of the slide, and then click Play . (When you preview individual audio in this way, you won't see recorded animation or inking.)

You can pause playback while previewing the audio.

Set the slide timings manually

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 automatically records your slide timings when you add narrations, or you can manually set the slide timings to accompany your narrations.

In Normal view, click the slide that you want to set the timing for.

On the Transitions tab, in the Timing group, under Advance Slide , select the After check box, and then enter the number of seconds that you want the slide to appear on the screen. Repeat the process for each slide that you want to set the timing for.

If you want the next slide to appear either when you click the mouse or automatically after the number of seconds that you enter—whichever comes first—select both the On Mouse Click and the After check boxes.

You can use manual slide timings to the trim the end of a recorded slide segment. For example, if the end of a slide segment concludes with two seconds of unnecessary audio, simply set the timing for advancing to the next slide so that it happens before the unnecessary audio. That way you don't have to re-record the audio for that slide.

Delete timings or narration

The Clear command is for deleting timings or narration from your recording that you don't want or that you want to replace.

In the Recording window, the Clear command in the top margin of the window allows you to:

Clear recordings on the current slide

Clear recordings on all slides

In Normal view, there are four different Clear commands that allow you to:

Delete the timings on the currently selected slide

Delete the timings on all slides at once

Delete the narration on the currently selected slide

Delete the narration on all slides at once

If you do not want to delete all the timings or narration in your presentation, open a specific slide that has a timing or narration that you do want to delete.

On the Recording tab of the PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 ribbon, on the Record Slide Show button, click the down arrow, point to Clear , and then choose the appropriate Clear command for your situation.

Turn off timings or turn off narrations, and ink

After you've recorded your PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 presentation, any timings, gestures, and audio you performed are saved on the individual slides. But you can turn them all off if you want to view the slide show without them:

To turn off recorded slide timings: On the Slide Show tab, clear the Use Timings box.

To turn off recorded narrations and ink: On the Slide Show tab, clear the Play Narrations box.

Publish the recording to share it with others

Once you've edited the recording to your satisfaction, you can make it available to others by publishing to Microsoft Stream.

With the presentation open, on the Recording tab, select Publish to Stream .

Type a title and a description for the video.

Set other options, including whether you want others in your organization to have permission to see the video.

Select the Publish button.

The upload process can take several minutes, depending on the length of the video. A status bar at the bottom of the PowerPoint window tracks the progress, and PowerPoint shows a message when the upload is finished:

Click the message to go directly to the video playback page on Microsoft Stream.

Create closed captions

To make your video more accessible by including closed captions, choose from these options, which are described in separate Help articles:

Manually write a closed caption file yourself

Get a closed-caption file automatically generated by Microsoft Stream

Once you have a closed-caption file, you can add it to your video file by using PowerPoint .

Record a slide show

With your presentation open, on the Slide Show tab, click Record Slide Show .

(The Clear command deletes narrations or timings, so be careful when you use it. Clear is grayed out unless you have previously recorded some slides.)

In the Record Slide Show box, check or clear the boxes for your recording, and click Start Recording .

More about these options:

Slide and animation timings : PowerPoint automatically records the time you spend on each slide, including any animation steps that occur, and the use of any triggers on each slide.

Narrations, ink, and laser pointer: Record your voice as you run through your presentation. If you use the pen, highlighter, eraser, or laser pointer, PowerPoint records those for playback as well.

Important:    Pen, highlighter, and eraser recording are available only if you have the February 16, 2015 update for PowerPoint 2013 or a later version of PowerPoint installed. In earlier versions of PowerPoint, pen and highlighter strokes are saved as ink annotation shapes.

At the top left corner of the window is the Recording toolbar, which you can use to:

If you re-record your narration (including audio, ink, and laser pointer), PowerPoint erases your previously recorded narration (including audio, ink, and laser pointer) when you start recording again on the same slide.

You can also re-record by going to Slide Show > Record Slide Show .

To use ink, eraser, or the laser pointer in your recording, right-click the slide, click Pointer options , and pick your tool:

Laser Pointer

Highlighter

Eraser (This option is grayed out unless you have previously added ink to some slides.)

To change the color of the ink, click Ink Color .

To end your recording, right-click the final slide, and click End Show .

Tip:  When you finish recording your narration, a sound icon appears in the lower-right corner of each slide that has narration.

The recorded slide show timings are automatically saved. Timings are shown in Slide Sorter view just beneath each slide.

In this process, what you record is embedded in each slide, and the recording can be played back in Slide Show. A video file is not created by this recording process. However, if you want a video file, you can save your presentation as a video with a few extra steps.

On the Slide Show tab, click From Beginning or From Current Slide.

During playback, your animations, inking actions, laser pointer, audio and video play in sync.

Preview the recorded audio

In Normal view, click the sound icon in the lower-right corner of the slide, and then click Play.

PowerPoint automatically records your slide timings when you add narrations, or you can manually set the slide timings to accompany your narrations.

On the Transitions tab, in the Timing group, under Advance Slide , select the After check box, and then enter the number of seconds indicating how long the slide should appear on the screen. Repeat the process for each slide that you want to set the timing for.

Tip:  If you want the next slide to appear either when you click the mouse or automatically after the number of seconds that you enter—whichever comes first—select both the On Mouse Click and the After check boxes.

The Clear command is for deleting timings or narration from your recording that you don't want or that you want to replace. There are four different Clear commands that allow you to:

On the Slide Show tab of the PowerPoint ribbon, on the Record Slide Show button, click the down arrow, point to Clear, and then choose the appropriate Clear command for your situation.

Turn off timings or turn off narrations, ink, and laser pointer

After you've recorded your PowerPoint presentation, any timings, gestures, and audio you performed are saved on the individual slides. But you can turn them all off if you want to view the slide show without them:

To turn off recorded narrations, ink, and the laser pointer: On the Slide Show tab, clear the Play Narrations box.

Turn your mouse into a laser pointer

Animate text or objects

Turn your presentation into a video

Create a self-running presentation

Record your presentation

Toggle video and audio options in the options  dropdowns in the recording toolbar.

Note:  Your video will be re-recorded just as you had styled. 

After you exit Recording Studio with the  Esc  key (or by clicking  End show ) you will see narration (audio/video) applied to your slide along with the proper slide timings and ink animations. 

Tip:  Audio, video, and inking elements can all be resized and moved in edit view after recording. 

Reset to Cameo 

To delete your recording and retain your camera style, do the following: 

On the Record tab, select Reset to Cameo .

Clear timings or narration 

On the Record tab, select Clear Recording

Keyboard shortcuts during the recording process

Related information.

Present with Cameo

Save a presentation as a movie file or MP4

Record audio in PowerPoint for Mac

Add or delete audio in your presentation

Prepare to record

To begin, open the presentation you want and click the Slide Show tab.

Tip:     If your presentation has a lot of slides, you might find it more convenient to work in Slide Sorter view. Click View > Slide Sorter to try it out.

Here are some things to check before you begin recording:

If you want to record only part of your slide deck, do one of the following before you begin:

Select the slides you don't want to include, and click Hide Slide .

Click Custom Show > Custom Slide Show > + (add).

Use the Rehearse button to change the timing between slides without affecting the narration or gestures you've already recorded.

Make sure your microphone is set up correctly. On the Mac, go to System Preferences > Sound .

Record your slide show

If you want to add narration or commentary to the slide show, make sure your microphone is set up and working.

To start recording:

Click the Slide Show tab, select the slide where you want the recording to begin, and then click Record Slide Show .

During recording, use Ctrl+click to access the recording commands that let you navigate through the slides, change cursors, or trigger screen blackouts or whiteouts.

Click End Show to stop recording.

A Save dialog box appears. Click Yes to save your recording, or No if you want to record it again.

Saving overwrites anything you've previously recorded. If you want to record another slide show with the same set of slides, save your presentation file with a different name.

Click Play from Start to preview your recording.

You may want to print this list of keyboard shortcuts to refer to while you're recording:

Set playback options

When you've finished recording and are ready to distribute the presentation, click Set up Slide Show and choose the options that are right for your audience.

Show type     Show full screen or windowed.

Show options     Turn off narration or animations.

Slides     Choose a subset of slides, or a Custom show if you've set one up.

Advance slides     Set up this version of the slide show so someone can page through it manually.

Add, change, or remove transitions between slides

Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view

We're sorry. PowerPoint for the web doesn't support recording a slide show.

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How-To Geek

How to record voiceover narration in powerpoint.

If you're not able to physically present your slideshow, record a voiceover narration to make sure no points are missed.

Quick Links

Preparation, record a voiceover for your presentation.

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

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

Set Up Your Mic

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

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

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

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

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

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

Take Notes and Rehearse

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

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

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

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

Related: How to Record Your Screen with Microsoft PowerPoint

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Create Your Course

How to do a voiceover on google slides or powerpoint, share this article.

Voice-over presentations offer a better learning experience because they are a more engaging way to learn. 

Some students learn better through visual cues, while others learn by listening. However, adding voice-over narration to your presentations enables students to benefit from the best of both worlds. It allows adding important information and context to explain what’s on the slides – as if your students were attending a live lecture!

Now, you may assume adding voice-over to your presentations is complicated. However, it isn’t as tricky as you probably think! Once you have your slides ready, there are just a few extra steps you’ll need to take to add narration. 

In this blog, we share four ways to do a voiceover presentation – voice-over Google Slides, PowerPoint, screen recording, and the Presentation lesson feature on Thinkific.

Before we get into the options, let’s quickly cover the only ground rule regarding recording voice-overs: Don’t sacrifice sound quality. Viewers are willing to put up with rough visuals but don’t forgive poor sound. Most computers have built-in microphones that sort of get the job done, but we recommend headphones or a USB Microphone to improve the quality of your voiceover.

Related: How To Set Up A DIY Home Video Recording Studio For Cheap

Now, let’s get into your voice-over options. Toward the end of the article, you will also find five tips for adding a good voice-over. If you’d like to sit back and learn, check out this video we created on how to easily add voiceover to your slides:

4 ways to do voice-over presentations

There are two main routes you can take to record a voiceover for your presentations :

You may want to use PowerPoint or Google Slides to add voiceover to each slide that plays as students make their way through the presentation. PowerPoint has recording functionality built-in, but with Google Slides, some extra steps are involved with recording your audio, then uploading it to Google Drive before you can embed it on each slide.

Alternatively, you may want to ditch the slides and create a screen recording of the presentation. To do this, you can use any screen recording software as you talk through the slides and turn your presentation into a video lesson. And if you’re a Thinkific user, you can create voiceover slides with the Presentation lesson feature.

Use this list to skip to your preferred voice-over narration method:

• How to do a voice-over on Google Slides
• How to do a voice-over on PowerPoint (Microsoft Office)
• How to do a voice-over screen recording
• How to do voice-over slides with Thinkific

Option 1: How to do a voice-over on Google Slides

Google Slides doesn’t have built-in functionality to record your slides, but you can still accomplish the same with it with an extra step. You can add voiceover to Google Slides by uploading an audio file saved in Google Drive to each slide.

For this option, all you need is Google Slides and a computer with a microphone. 

Let’s go through the steps-

Step 1: Create your audio files for each slide and upload them to Google Drive.

Tip: Organize your files with a naming convention. You’ll need to locate these files in the next step. To keep them organized , following a naming convention for your audio files, including Course, Lesson, and Slide numbers, helps.

Step 2: Insert audio to your slide, and configure play settings

Next, you can insert audio from your drive into each slide individually.

The files you uploaded should be in the Recent tab, but you can also search for the file manually.

Step 3: Configure your audio settings 

Google Slides gives you the option to specify how the voiceover should act. To open the Format options menu, you can click on the speaker icon, then go to Format options under the Format menu.

Voice-over formatting options for Google Slides:

• Autoplay- You can choose if you want the audio to play automatically or manually when a student clicks the slide.
• Loop- You can define if you want the recording to stop or repeat once it gets to the end.

• Button size and colour – You can resize the button by dragging the corner and changing the colour using the “Recolor” option.

An online course or membership site can be a wildly successful way to monetize content.

Need help figuring out where to start? Get free training and start building for free !

Option 2: how to do a voice-over on PowerPoint

Microsoft Powerpoint has a feature that many average users don’t know about, which allows you to add voice-over narration to your PowerPoint. For this option, all you’ll need is Microsoft PowerPoint and a computer with a microphone.

On Windows computers:

Step 1 – in the top menu, go to slideshow >> record slideshow..

You have the option to record from the beginning of the presentation or from the current slide you’re on.

Step 2- Start recording

Once you select which recording you’d like to go ahead with, you’ll be in full-screen mode with options to record, stop, and replay. Once you click record, there will be a countdown timer from 3.

Anything you type in the notes section of the PowerPoint can be viewed by clicking on the notes button at the top.

The recording will stop automatically once you make it to the final slide. You can also pause, stop, or replay a recording at any time by pressing the pause button in the top left of your screen.

You can also record a video of yourself in the corner by selecting the video option in the bottom right corner.

Step 3 – Testing your narration

Once you’re finished, a speaker icon will appear at the bottom right corner of all the slides with recorded narration.

Just hover over the speaker icon to play, skip to time, or adjust the volume to play the narration.

On Mac Computers

Step 1 – click on slide show..

In the top menu, click Slide Show and choose the slide you want to start working on. Unlike on Windows, you will have to select the slide you want to work on manually. If it is the first slide you wish to choose, do so. 

Step 2 – Click on Record Slide Show

Step 3 – Choose the input method

On the top of the screen, you can turn off the camera, if you wish to, or turn it on. 

The next button helps you choose the voice input, whether your Mac’s in-built mic or an external device. 

Step 4 – Add a voice-over to slides

As with the Windows version, add voice-over to the slides one by one, and add notes if you wish. 

Step 5 – Complete recording

Once done, click on the large red button to start recording. Once your voice-over is complete, click the same button to stop recording. Again, add notes if you wish to. Then, move to the next slide. 

Step 6 – Click on tips for more controls

Click on Tips for several functions and shortcuts you can use on your Macbook to control your voice-over recordings. The Mac version of the PowerPoint tool is much easier to use. 

Step 7 – Verify your voice-over for accuracy

After your voice-over is complete, return to your presentation, and make sure that your voice-over is accurate by clicking on the white “Play” icon at the bottom of each slide.

Option 3: how to do a voice-over with screen recording

The last option involves recording your screen and audio as you discuss the presentation.

Check out our guide: How To Record Your Screen On Any Device .

We’ll show you free options and two paid options with advanced editing features:

Hit the record button on the video conferencing software

The easiest and cheapest option for screen recording without additional software is to join a Google Meet or a Zoom call by yourself, share your screen, and press the recording button.

This may be easy for a simple presentation but may prove frustrating for a longer presentation –  the inability to edit means you’ve got one shot to make it through your presentation without any mistakes.

Use your computer’s built-in screen recorder

On Windows 10 , just click Windows + G at the same time to open the Game Bar, and press “Start Recording”.

If you’re on a Mac , you can make a video recording of the entire screen or just a portion of it. Shift-Command(⌘)-5 will display on-screen controls for recording the entire screen.

Two paid screen recording options

If you want the ability to edit and customize your video and access more editing options, you’ll need to invest in some software like Screenflow or Camtasia .

Here are our two favorite options , depending on whether you’re on a Mac or Windows System:

Screenflow is a software program for video editing and screencasting for Apple users and is one of the best options for screen capture. This software functions well as a video editor for novice editors, but it lacks the deep customization and functions of a more advanced editor like Adobe Premiere Pro.

Download free trial of Screenflow

Camtasia is an all-in-one screen recorder and video editor that works on both Windows and Mac. It is one of the most widely used systems for screen recording and video editing. It is popular for its user-friendly interface and simple video editing.

Try Camtasia for free

Option 4: how to do voice-over presentations with Thinkific

If you have created a presentation on an external platform like Keynote , PowerPoint or Google Slides, you can use a Presentation lesson to display it within your Thinkific course! 

This function enables you to record audio while speaking to specific slides. You also have the option to upload a recording for each slide. 

This is a great way to create a customized experience for your students right within Thinkific .

To create a Presentation lesson, you will need to upload a PDF file. Each page in your PDF will be converted to images that will be displayed as slides within your Presentation lesson for students to navigate through.

If you have created a presentation in an external platform like PowerPoint you can simply export it from that platform as a PDF to later upload to Thinkific!

Here are the steps to create a Presentation lesson with voice-over on Thinkific .

With that, let’s explore what it takes to ensure a good voiceover.

Follow these five tips for adding a good voiceover

• Invest in a good microphone – Most cell phones and computers come with built-in microphones. These may not provide the professional-grade audio quality necessary to create compelling online lessons. Therefore, you must invest in a professional microphone that eliminates noise and disturbances. As we mentioned earlier, the most important rule is to ensure that your audio quality is high.
• Use a teleprompter – Although you may speak out your presentation and elaborate on the impromptu bullet points, you could make mistakes. These mistakes may make you seem like a novice.  A teleprompter can help you read out your sentences in front of the webcam or the mic without making any errors. The result is – top-notch quality presentations with voiceovers.
• Clear your throat – Most people do not realize the importance of a good quality voice. In fact, voice-over artists are hired simply because of their excellent voices! While you do not need to hire professional voice-over artists, you can ensure that you sound your best by gargling your throat and clearing it before you begin to record. In other words, avoid recording your voiceover if you have a sore throat or when your voice sounds hoarse. Keep a jug of water ready next to you to keep sounding fresh.
• Sound confident – Confidence doesn’t come with good quality microphones and teleprompters alone. Practice talking in front of a mirror, which will help ensure that you sound and look great. In fact, dressing professionally just before you record your voice-over may also have psychological benefits – you could feel more professional and thus sound more professional and confident.
• Edit audio if necessary – Despite all the care taken, you may make mistakes during voice-over recording. Listen to your slides repeatedly and make changes until you are completely satisfied with how you sound. Although there are audio editing tools out there, they may not be necessary for simple presentations such as the ones required for online lessons.

Whichever method you choose, turning a regular presentation into an engaging voice-over is sure to improve the quality of your presentation.

But here’s a thought: Why not monetize your presentations with an online course?

Sign up with us for free and try it out (we dare you) . 

Not ready to take the leap, but still interested in improving the quality of your production? Check out one of these related guides:

• How to Create Video For Your Online Coaching Course
• How to Improve the Video Production Quality for Your Online Course
• Best Equipment & Software For Creating Online Courses
• 4 Elements of Effective Video Content for Online Courses

This guide on voiceovers was published in August 2020 and was updated in October 2022.

Colin is a Content Marketer at Thinkific, writing about everything from online entrepreneurship & course creation to digital marketing strategy.

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How to do a voiceover on a PowerPoint presentation and add pre-recorded audio to your slides

• You can record a voiceover in PowerPoint and insert it into your next presentation using the software's Audio recording feature through the Insert menu.
• Recording and inserting a voiceover into PowerPoint is a relatively similar process on an Apple Macbook and Windows PC.  
• Once you've recorded your audio, you can click the microphone icon that appears on your slide and playback your recording. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

Public speaking is a valid and common fear. And although you might be trying to hone your public speaking with your free time at home , there's a way you can incorporate your voice into your next PowerPoint presentation without the pressure of speaking on the spot.

How? Microsoft PowerPoint has a feature that lets you create narration for all slides as you see fit. This way, you can record — and re-record — voiceovers for your presentations that won't make you cringe.

The process is virtually identical for both Mac and PC users and you can use your computer's built-in mic or a headset. Whatever your operating system of choice is, easily record narration over a PowerPoint slide in a few quick steps. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Microsoft office (from $149.99 at best buy), apple macbook pro (from $1,299.00 at apple), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart).

SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless Headset (From $92.49 at Amazon)

How to record a voiceover for PowerPoint on a PC

1. Open a new or existing or presentation in PowerPoint.

2. From the top toolbar, select "Insert."

3. Toward the far right side, click "Audio."

4. Choose "Record Audio…"

5. Name your audio file. 

6. Click the circle icon when you're ready to start recording.

7. Select "OK" when you're done recording.

8. A microphone icon will indicate the narration has been added to the slide. 

How to record a voiceover for PowerPoint on a Mac

1. Open a new or existing or presentation in PowerPoint for Mac.

2. Find and select "Insert" from the top toolbar. 

4. Select "Record Audio…"

5. Name the audio file, and click the circle icon when you're ready to start recording.

6. Click "Insert" when you're ready to finalize.

7. You can click the microphone icon on the slide to hear your recording.  

Related coverage from Tech Reference :

How to download and access microsoft powerpoint on your mac computer, how to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to change and format the background of your powerpoint slides to custom designs, how to change your language settings in microsoft powerpoint in 3 different ways, how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow.

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How to Do a Voiceover on PowerPoint

Narrate your presentations with ease

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What to Know

• Single slide: Select a slide. Go to Insert > Audio > Record Audio . Type a name, select Record , then read your script. Select Stop .
• Entire slideshow: Select View > Normal and choose the first slide. Select Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Record from Current Slide .
• To review the recording, click the sound indicator (it looks like a speaker) and then select Play to hear your recording.

This article explains how to record a voiceover on PowerPoint for a single slide or for the entire slideshow. The instructions apply to PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 , PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2016, and PowerPoint 2013.

How to Record a Voiceover for a Single Slide

Before narrating your PowerPoint presentation, be prepared:

• You’ll need a microphone attached to, or built into, your computer. Test the microphone to make sure it is working. Set the sound level so your audio is easy to hear.
• Prepare yourself for the narration. Write a script you can follow while recording the voiceover. Practice the presentation a couple of times so your voiceover will sound smooth.
• Decide whether to record the voiceover one slide at a time or record a voiceover for the entire presentation in one go.

The simplest way to record audio for a voiceover is to record one slide at a time. To get started, select the slide where you want to add the narration, then go to Insert > Audio > Record Audio .

Here’s how to record a voiceover on the slide:

Type a Name for the voiceover narration.

Select Record (the button with a red dot).

Read your script or ad-lib the narration.

Select Stop when you’re finished recording.

The Record Sound dialog box disappears, and a speaker indicating sound appears in the center of the slide.

To review the recording, click that sound indicator and then select Play to hear your recording.

When you're finished, click anywhere outside the playback controls to accept the recording.

You’ll see an audio icon in the middle of the slide. Move this icon anywhere on the slide to get it out of the way of other elements on the slide.

How to Record a Voiceover for an Entire Presentation

The voiceover for the entire presentation can be recorded at one time. In addition to recording a voiceover, you can record a video of yourself giving your presentation.

To set up your presentation when you want to narrate an entire slideshow:

Select View > Normal

Select the first slide in the presentation where you want to record audio.

Select Slide Show > Record Slide Show > Record from Current Slide .

In PowerPoint 2019, the Recording window opens.

In PowerPoint 2016 and earlier versions, a Record Slide Show dialog box prompts you for further options. In the Record Slide Show box, select options to set up the slideshow:

• Slide and animation timings: When recording, PowerPoint automatically tracks the timing of slide changes and any animations that occur.
• Narrations, ink, and laser pointer: When recording, PowerPoint automatically tracks when narrations, any inking, or laser pointing occurs.

Leave both checked to make automating your slideshow easier.

Select Record .

In PowerPoint 2016, select Start Recording .

Select Pause to temporarily stop the recording if you need a break.

If you made a mistake and want to start over, select Clear > Clear Recordings.

In PowerPoint 2016 select Clear > Clear Recordings on Current Slide .

When you’ve finished recording a slide, select the Advance button to advance to the next slide or press the spacebar on your keyboard.

When you’re done recording your narration on the slide, select Stop and close the recording window to return to the presentation.

You may have noticed some controls at the bottom left side of the screen. These are a few controls to aid you in your presentation.

These handy handy tools include the Laser Pointer , Highlighter , and Eraser . As you advance through your presentation, mark or highlight parts of your slides as you narrate. PowerPoint records the timing of these marks (if you left the boxes checked) to go along with your narration. Likewise, using the laser pointer shows a simulated red laser dot so that you can point out different things on your slides as you narrate your presentation.

How to Listen to the Recorded Voiceover

Once you’ve recorded your narration, you can go back to the slides and listen to your voiceover.

Here’s how to play a narration:

Select the slide containing the voiceover you want to hear.

Look for the recording icon on the slide. It should appear as either a small video screenshot or a speaker icon on the slide.

Hover over select this icon and then click Play to preview the recording.

How to Turn a Voiceover Off

If you don’t want to hear your narrations when playing a slideshow, but want to keep the narrations with the slide, turn voiceover off.

To turn voiceover off, select Slide Show and click to deselect the Play Narrations checkbox.

How to Delete a Voiceover

There are a couple of ways to delete voiceover audio in your presentation. To delete the audio on a single slide, find and select the recording on that slide, then press the Delete key.

To delete the voiceover from all the slides in a presentation: Select Slide Show and then select the down arrow to open the Record Slide Show menu. Then, select Clear Narration on All Slides .

Embedding Versus Linking Audio Files in PowerPoint

When you use the PowerPoint tools to record a voiceover narration, the audio file is embedded in PowerPoint. This means the audio is part of the PowerPoint file and not stored in a separate file, making it easy to play your presentation on any device.

If you have audio you recorded using other software and it's stored on your computer, you can link to the audio file. Linked files keep your presentation size smaller, but links can be broken if the audio file isn't available to the PowerPoint presentation. To prevent broken links, store the presentation file and the audio files in the same folder on your computer.

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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 Do a Voice Over in PowerPoint

Do you want your PowerPoint presentations to stand out and keep your audience engaged? Consider adding a voice over! With an engaging voice over, you can take your presentation to the next level and truly make an impact. In this article, we’ll go through everything you need to know about creating a voice over for your PowerPoint presentation – from choosing the right microphone, recording tips and techniques, to syncing your audio with your slides. So, let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Why Add a Voice Over to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Adding a voice-over to your PowerPoint presentation can significantly enhance your audience’s experience and engagement level. It’s a great way to add personality, emotion, and depth to your message. By introducing a human voice to your presentation, you can better convey and explain complex concepts to your audience. Furthermore, a voice-over can help you to save time and streamline your presentation process, allowing you to focus on fine-tuning your message rather than on presenting it.

Another benefit of adding a voice-over to your PowerPoint presentation is that it can make your presentation more accessible to individuals with visual impairments. By providing an audio description of your slides, you can ensure that everyone in your audience can fully understand and engage with your message.

Additionally, a voice-over can help you to create a more professional and polished presentation. By recording a clear and concise narration, you can eliminate the need for awkward pauses or stumbling over your words during your live presentation. This can help you to appear more confident and knowledgeable in front of your audience.

Choosing the Right Microphone for Your Voice Over

The quality of your microphone is crucial to ensure that your voice over sounds professional and clear. Headsets, dynamic microphones, and condenser microphones are all options to consider. While headsets are typically the most affordable option, they may not produce the best quality audio as they are not designed for recording. Dynamic microphones can be a great option, especially if you’re working with a tight budget, though they may not capture all the nuances of your voice. Condenser microphones, on the other hand, are designed specifically for recording and will capture high-quality audio. In choosing a microphone, also consider its connectivity options. A USB microphone is the most convenient, as it allows you to directly plug it into your computer and start recording.

Another important factor to consider when choosing a microphone is its directional pattern. Omnidirectional microphones pick up sound from all directions, which can be useful if you’re recording in a noisy environment. However, if you’re recording in a quiet space, a unidirectional microphone may be a better option as it only picks up sound from one direction, reducing background noise and improving the clarity of your voice.

It’s also important to consider the microphone’s frequency response. A microphone with a flat frequency response will capture your voice accurately, without emphasizing any particular frequencies. However, if you have a particularly deep or high-pitched voice, you may want to consider a microphone with a tailored frequency response that will enhance the clarity of your voice in those ranges.

Setting Up Your Recording Environment for Better Audio Quality

The environment in which you record your voice-over is just as important as the microphone you choose. Be sure to record in a quiet and well-insulated space to minimize external noise and interference. Turn off fans, air conditioners, or any appliances that could produce background noise. You can also invest in sound-absorbing material, such as acoustic foam or blankets, to reduce echo and improve audio quality.

Recording Tips and Tricks for a Professional Voice Over

Recording your voice over can be a daunting task, but with the right mindset and techniques, it can be a breeze. Here are some tips to help you achieve a professional-quality recording:

• Warm up your voice – Do some vocal exercises, such as humming or singing, before recording to warm up your voice.
• Sit or stand up straight – good posture can help to improve the quality and clarity of your voice.
• Sip water regularly – Staying hydrated will help to prevent throat dryness and keep your voice crisp.
• Speak clearly and steadily – Make sure you speak slowly and clearly, and vary your tone and pace to keep your audience engaged.
• Record in small sections – Instead of trying to record everything in a single take, consider recording in small sections and piecing them together. This way, you can fix any mistakes or iteratively improve your performance.
• Use a script – Prepare a script beforehand and familiarize yourself with it before recording. This will help to reduce hesitations and maintain a steady pace.

Another important tip to keep in mind is to choose the right recording equipment. Invest in a good quality microphone and headphones to ensure that your voice is captured clearly and without any background noise. Additionally, consider using a pop filter to reduce any popping sounds that may occur when pronouncing certain words.

Lastly, don’t forget to take breaks in between recording sessions. Recording for long periods of time can strain your voice and lead to fatigue. Take short breaks to rest your voice and stretch your muscles to avoid any discomfort or pain.

Editing Your Voice Over in PowerPoint

Once you have completed recording your voice over, it’s time to edit it and ensure that it aligns perfectly with your PowerPoint slides. In PowerPoint, you can use the “Record Slide Show” feature to add your voice over to your slides. Once you’ve recorded your audio, you can use PowerPoint’s editing tools to trim, split, or remove sections that are not necessary or that you want to improve.

Additionally, you can also adjust the volume of your voice over to ensure that it is consistent throughout the presentation. This is especially important if you have recorded your audio in different environments or with different equipment. PowerPoint also allows you to add background music or sound effects to your presentation, which can enhance the overall experience for your audience. With these editing tools, you can create a polished and professional voice over presentation that effectively communicates your message.

How to Sync Your Voice Over with Your PowerPoint Slides

Syncing your audio with your PowerPoint slides is essential to ensure that your audience can follow along with your presentation. In PowerPoint, you can use the “Animations” tab to add slide timings that align with your audio and automatically switch to the next slide when the audio finishes. You can also adjust slide timings manually if you want to add pauses or breaks in your presentation.

Another way to sync your voice over with your PowerPoint slides is to use a third-party tool such as Adobe Presenter or Articulate Storyline. These tools allow you to record your audio separately and then import it into your PowerPoint presentation. You can then synchronize your audio with your slides using the timeline feature in the tool.

It’s important to note that when syncing your voice over with your PowerPoint slides, you should also consider the pacing of your presentation. You don’t want to rush through your slides or speak too slowly, as this can cause your audience to lose interest. Practice your presentation beforehand and make sure that your audio and slide timings are in sync and flow smoothly.

Adding Background Music to Your Voice Over Presentation

If you want to add an extra layer of emotional appeal to your presentation, consider layering some background music with your voice over. Be sure to use royalty-free music or obtain the necessary permissions before using copyrighted content. In PowerPoint, you can use the “Insert” tab to add audio files to your presentation.

When selecting background music, it’s important to choose a track that complements the tone and message of your presentation. For example, if you’re giving a presentation about a serious topic, you may want to choose a more somber or reflective piece of music. On the other hand, if your presentation is more upbeat and energetic, you may want to choose a more lively track. Remember, the music should enhance your presentation, not distract from it.

Exporting and Sharing Your Voice Over PowerPoint Presentation

Once you’ve completed recording and editing your voice over, it’s time to export and share your presentation with your audience. In PowerPoint, you can use the “Export” feature to create a video version of your presentation with your audio and slides combined. You can share this video version via YouTube, Vimeo, or any other video-hosting platform. Alternatively, you can save your presentation as a PowerPoint file with the audio embedded, allowing your audience to control the playback of the audio and slides.

It’s important to keep in mind that when exporting your presentation as a video, the file size can become quite large. This can make it difficult to share via email or other file-sharing methods. To combat this, consider compressing the video file or using a cloud-based file-sharing service such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Additionally, if you plan on sharing your presentation with a large audience, it may be beneficial to provide a transcript or closed captions for accessibility purposes.

Best Practices for Creating Engaging and Effective Voice Overs in PowerPoint

To create an engaging and effective voice over, be sure to consider your audience, message, and objectives. Understand your audience’s preferences and expectations, and tailor your presentation accordingly. Focus on delivering a clear and concise message that is easy to understand and remember. Make use of visual aids, such as graphs, images, or videos, to supplement your presentation. Practice your delivery and seek feedback from others to improve your performance.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Doing a Voice Over in PowerPoint

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when doing a voice over in PowerPoint:

• Not rehearsing or preparing your script beforehand
• Using poor-quality audio equipment
• Recording in a noisy environment
• Speaking too quickly or too slowly
• Using a monotone voice
• Not considering your audience’s needs and preferences.

Advanced Techniques for Creating Interactive and Dynamic Presentations with a Voice Over

If you want to take your voice over presentation to the next level, consider implementing advanced techniques, such as interactive quizzes, animations, or branching scenarios. These techniques can help to keep your audience engaged, encourage participation, and enhance learning. In addition, consider investing in professional software, such as Articulate or Captivate, that allows you to create advanced e-learning courses with voice overs, multimedia, and gamification elements.

Congratulations! You’ve now learned everything you need to know about creating a voice over in PowerPoint. By following these tips and techniques, you can create engaging, effective, and professional-quality presentations that will wow your audience. Practice, experiment, and have fun with your voice overs – and remember to always put your audience first.

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Voice over generator for PowerPoint

Table of Contents

Using a voice over generator for PowerPoint adds style, professionalism, and natural properties to your presentation. Here’s how.

PowerPoint (PPT) is Microsoft’s app for making and editing presentations. As part of Microsoft Office, PowerPoint is available on Mac, PC, and mobile devices. It lets users create brand-new or template-based presentations, add text, art, images, animations, or videos, and share their work with others.

Adding voice over as audio support is particularly useful when making PowerPoint presentations and can enhance content delivery. Here’s how to use a voice over generator for PowerPoint, no matter whether you’re using the online PPT maker or the desktop PPT creator app.

What makes a good PowerPoint presentation?

A good PowerPoint presentation seamlessly blends form and function to engage, inform, and persuade its audience. At its core, clarity and conciseness are paramount, ensuring that slides are not overloaded with excessive text or overly complex graphics. Instead, each slide should convey a singular idea, augmented by impactful visuals and limited bullet points. A consistent design theme with appropriate color contrasts, legible fonts, and organized layouts provides visual cohesion and ensures easy readability.

Additionally, the integration of relevant images, charts, and graphs can bolster comprehension and retention of the content. Beyond the slides themselves, the presenter’s delivery plays a pivotal role—a dynamic narrative, aligned with the visuals, can bring the content to life, sustaining audience attention and fostering understanding. Ultimately, a successful PowerPoint presentation is one that is both visually appealing and effectively communicates its intended message.

Why are voice overs a good idea for PowerPoint?

Voice overs complement PowerPoint presentations in many ways. Here are some the best reasons to add a voice over to a presentation.

Boost reliability and validity

Adding clear audio voice over to a presentation adds validity to its content. The audience can feel that validity, which in turn increases the feelings of reliability and adds faith in the content.

Add emotion

Besides increasing validity, a voice over on PowerPoint slides makes the content more emotional. The presentation adds passion that accentuates the vision and values of the presentation.

Serve as a call to action

Voice over functionality is very captivating. It passes the call to action to your audience even without apparent references. This is mainly because the presentation becomes more emphatic when natural-sounding voices are behind it.

Make content more inclusive

Text to speech software and a voice over make any presentation more inclusive and accessible. People with learning disabilities like dyslexia, ADHD, and visual impairments can listen to the content without feeling overwhelmed about reading it.

How to record a voice over using PowerPoint

Recording and adding a voiceover on PowerPoint is simple. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll be good to go.

• Open the PowerPoint presentation where you want to add a voice over.
• Hit the “Record” button from the upper-hand ribbon. You can also choose from different recording options in the “Record” tab.
• You can use the text from the presentation as a teleprompter as you record yourself. Any existing notes will be transformed into text during the recording.
• With proper permissions, turn on or off your camera or microphone.
• Press “Start recording” when ready.
• Use the “left” or “right” arrows to record voice overs for a particular slide.
• Make pauses by pressing the pause button or selecting “Stop” to finish.
• Review the recording by pressing the “Play” button. If you’re unhappy with it, you can edit it by pressing “Retake recording.”
• Export the presentation as a video file by hitting “Export” and “Export Video.”

Create a professional voice over quickly and easily with Speechify Voiceover Studio

As you can see, adding a voice over to your PowerPoint presentation can be done from within the app. However, the steps may be a bit too complex for some users. Also, you may not be comfortable with the idea of using your own voice.

But luckily, we have a solution for that.

Originally just a text to speech (TTS) app, Speechify has now expanded into fully customizable, real-time AI voiceover generation with Speechify Voiceover Studio . You can use it to create professional voice overs that sound like real human voices for Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and other—in addition to recording e-learning and tutorial videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and more. Create audio dialogs, training videos, or stunning slide-show presentation voiceovers in seconds.

The human-like voices, plenty of playback options, and affordable pricing make Speechify Voiceover well worth the consideration.

You can use your own video editor to edit the text to speech voices however you like, or you can use Speechify’s own AI video maker . And if you don’t want to use PowerPoint or Google Slides, you can create your slide-show presentation with Speechify AI Slides.

Here’s an overview of Speechify’s AI Voice Generator features:

• More than 200 high-quality AI voices
• Over 20 different languages and accents
• Complete customization over pronunciation, pauses, pitch, and more.
• 8,000+ licensed background music soundtracks
• Unlimited uploads and downloads
• Commercial usage rights
• 24/7 customer support
• Fast audio editing and processing
• Export in WAV or MP3 files

Try Speechify Voiceover Studio today

Speechify Voiceover Studio can provide high-quality natural-sounding voices for your PowerPoint presentations. The ease of use and quick generation of audio files make this app suitable for users of all ages and computer skills.

Try Speechify Voiceover Studio for free today.

How do I set up voice over in PowerPoint?

You can use the app’s in-built voice recorder feature and record yourself or use third-party computer-generated AI voices offered by Speechify.

Can you put a voice recording over a PowerPoint?

Yes, you can use your own voice recordings or computer-generated voices from third-party software like Murf or Speechify over a PowerPoint slide.

How do you get PowerPoint to read to you?

PowerPoint has a speech recognition tool you can use to read text out loud. Go to “Speech Recognition,” then “Text to Speech,” and set the reading speed and other properties.

• Previous Best Arabic Text to Speech Voices
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Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.

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Make Presentations that Talk. In Minutes.

Natural human-like Voiceovers

Turn your bland presentation into an engaging one with Murf's realistic, human-like AI voiceovers.

Easy-to-use, intuitive interface

Save time, save effort and save yourself the trouble of recording and editing voiceovers.

Languages, Accents & Styles

Tweak the tonality, accent, pronunciation, emphasis, add music and pauses to your slide with Murf's text-to-speech studio.

Start creating voice overs

Nothing sells better than a perfectly told story. Narrate your slide show using our curated 120+ human-like text-to-speech voices. Adjust pitch, tonality, volume and add emphasis on the right word using our text to speech studio. A script is all you need, Murf will handle the rest.

How to Create a Voiceover for Presentations in 5 simple steps

• 1 Upload your presentation in jpg/jpeg/MP4 format on Murf Studio.
• 2 You can also type in your e-learning script or if you have a pre-written version of any learning content, copy-paste it to Murf's text editor.
• 3 Choose the voice you want to use. Murf comes with male and female voices, both young and old. Align the text with visuals in the studio.
• 4 Use customization features such as emphasis, pause, and pronunciation to add more depth to the learning module.
• 5 Click on ‘Build Audio’ to render and preview the final voiceover.

Reliable and Secure. Your Data, Our Promise.

Add power of narration to your PowerPoint presentation

You don't see silent movies nowadays, do you? Well, there's a reason for that. People pay less or no attention to a silent visual. In fact, the age of Reels and TikTok has proved how any complex information could be catered to the masses through an audiovisual delight. That applies to your slide show presentation as well. To understand better, let us look at some of the common goals of a presentation:

Persuasion : A presentation can be more effective in persuading your target audience if the information is presented with a narration. 

Form a connection : Your audience is more likely to believe in your presentation if the narration is done using the right gender of voice, correct tone, and by placing the right emphasis.

Simplify key concepts/data : Some information can be hard to express visually alone. A realistic-sounding voiceover can help in explaining it, thus, making it more interesting for the audience.

An act of professionalism : A presentation clubbed with a natural-sounding voiceover will demonstrate your dedication and efforts, thus, showing how professional you are.

Still not convinced? Let us tell you a fact!

A research by the University of Denmark indicates that the average global attention span is dwindling. Due to the increasing amount of information inflow, the audience has a new challenge in the form of the inability to read and retain text in a presentation or a research paper. 

For presenters, this has culminated in a complex situation. Those who want to put across their slideshow meaningfully now need to battle the transient attention of the viewers as well. This can be curbed by supercharging your slide show presentation with a voiceover. We know that adding a narration would go a long way in making things easier for your audience.

Murf can help you help your audience. How? ‍

AI Voice Generator for Presentations

By using Murf's AI voice generator , you can generate the right voiceover presentation in a fraction of the time. You can upload a pre-recorded audio file of your entire presentation and convert it into an AI voice over.  Well, that's not all! You also get to save some money along the way.

Unlike in older days, now you don't have to pay a hefty sum of money to hire voiceover artists for your presentation. Nor do you have to wait for days for the final product to emerge. With Murf studio, you can integrate natural-sounding voices with your powerpoint presentation.

Now when you hear the AI Voices, it can be a major turn-off, given its robotic, bland, and devoid of inflections in the narration. We understand that the problem with most other text to speech programs is that they read everything in one flat, robotic tone. Besides, monotonous pitches can leave your audience unaffected and unmoved. Your content deserves a perfectly tailored voice. Murf is like no other TTS, it's 'As Natural As It Can Get.'

120+ Natural-Sounding Voiceovers for Presentations

So, Murf's TTS studio empowers your PowerPoint presentation or audio file of your voiceoever based on the various options on available Depending upon what you're presenting, the data, and how you want it to be portrayed, choose the most suited voice. It also allows users to change the pitch, tone, and accent of the voice.

Just use Murf to make your slide show reach horizons by using any foreign language VO. With many different languages to choose from, you can reach many untapped areas for your pitches, ideas, data, research, etc. 

Convert raw, pre-recorded audio to a professional voiceover

One of the best features of Murf is that it can transcribe the audio you upload on its interface. In case you have a raw recording of your voice with background noise, all you need to do is upload the audio on Murf Studio, and it'll transcribe it in text format for you to edit. 

You can simply mask the background noise by adding supportive music. Using Murf's simple and intuitive interface, you can sync your audio with your video and make the watching experience flawless. 

How to add voiceover to Google Slides presentation? 

Now you can write, edit, and playback your voiceover scripts while creating Google Slide presentations using Murf's add-on. It makes you in charge of the slides and voiceover.

1. Search Murf in the Google Slides add-on option.

2. Install the Murf add-on to add audio files to your Google Slides presentation

3. Click on the install button on the Murf icon.

4. Follow the set of instructions that appears to install the Murf plug-in.

5. Once installed, go to Murf within Google Slides. Next, on the add-ons menu, click on 'Murf.' 

6. Click on 'Open Murf,' and Murf's studio will appear on the right side of your screen.

7. You can find a consolidated voiceover generating studio within your Google slides, thus, saving the extra process of uploading your slides on Murf.

Apart from this, you can start recording your own voiceover, you can edit the text and sync your script with your slides right on Google Slides. The simplicity and convenience of use cuts down the average turnaround time. So, you can create more informative and engaging slideshows or pitches. 

Why Murf Text to Speech Software?

Adjust tuning, and remove the monotonous tone by playing with various features available on Murf's text to voice Studio. Turn those sleepyheads into enthusiastic listeners. Get lots of awesome features to generate a perfectly-crafted voiceover for your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or a Google Slides presentation.

Speaking rate

Slower speech is best for complex topics, whereas a faster voice is ideal for creating a sense of urgency. Luck for You! Murf lets you slow down your VO or speed it up with just one click!

Pitch personalization

Higher voices are viewed as more cheery and energetic, whereas lower voices convey trust and authority. Murf lets you adjust the pitch for each word to suit your presentation.

You can completely change your voiceover by adding a pause. See for yourself! "Did you change, Dad?" "Did you change Dad?" Murf lets you add all these pauses.

Background music

You need just the right background music to create the right ambiance for your presentation. Murf, your Voiceover superhero, lets you choose from dozens of background music tracks and add them seamlessly "behind" your voiceover.

Imagine if Cersei Lannister's famous dialog "Power is Power" was delivered in a flat monotone. You can't, right? Murf lets you stress specific words to place emphasis where needed.

Loud voices convey confidence, urgency, and anger. In contrast, a softer voice conveys intimacy or warmth. Murf lets you adjust the volume of your voice so your narration is heard clearly and loudly or softly and gently, depending on your slide show.

Application of  AI Voiceovers for Presentation

Small businesses.

Don't burn a hole in your pocket because of a passive, silent call-to-action (CTA). Add voice to it and make it active. Also, create cost-effective, realistic-sounding voiceovers for tutorials, promo videos, and explainers. 

Break the barrier of language and make your knowledge more accessible using the 20+ languages available on Murf. Simplify the complex data for your audience with storytelling.

Non-profit Organizations

Make your powerpoint presentation of fund pitches more appealing, empowered with data and narration. Increase the reach of reports, data, and solutions with the diverse tools available in Murf, like accents and languages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Murf supports text to speech in.

Important Links

How to create.