Creating a PowerPoint presentation with narration is a slick way to add your voice to slides, making it perfect for tutorials, remote briefings, or self-running demos. It’s all about recording audio that syncs with your slides and timing it right. Here’s how to do it.
Start by opening your PowerPoint presentation and making sure your microphone is plugged in and working—test it in your computer’s sound settings first. Go to the “Slide Show” tab on the ribbon, then click “Record Slide Show.” You’ve got two options in the dropdown: “Record from Beginning” (starts at slide one) or “Record from Current Slide” (starts wherever you’re at). Pick one, and a recording window opens in full-screen mode with a control bar.
Before you start, check the settings—click the gear icon in the recording bar. Ensure “Slide and animation timings” and “Narrations and laser pointer” are checked so your voice and pacing get saved. When you’re ready, hit the red “Record” button (or press R). The timer starts counting, and you’ll see a slide timer too. Speak clearly into your mic—like explaining a chart or introducing a topic—and move to the next slide by clicking the right arrow (or pressing N) when you’re done with each one. If you need a breather, hit “Pause” (or P), then resume with the same button. Mess up? Click “Repeat” (or X) to redo that slide’s narration from scratch.
As you go, you can use the on-screen laser pointer (Ctrl+click) or draw annotations (pen or highlighter tools in the bar) to emphasize points—these get recorded too. Keep going until you’ve narrated all slides, then press Esc to stop. PowerPoint saves the audio and timings automatically. To check it, go to “Slide Show” > “From Beginning” (F5), and you’ll hear your voice play back with each slide switch.
For tweaks, head to the “Slide Sorter” view to see little speaker icons on narrated slides—click one to adjust volume or re-record via the “Audio Tools” tab. If you want to export it, save as a video (“File” > “Export” > “Create a Video”) with “Use Recorded Timings and Narrations” selected. Test it first—audio can sound off if your mic’s dodgy or background noise creeps in.
