If your PowerPoint slides are a little dull lately, strained even, it’s normal. In an era of TikTok videos and Instagram reels, short-form content has become the new normal, and people have a higher standard for audio content than they had in the past. The bar might be slightly higher than before. As a pro voice artist, I can’t stress how impactful it is to record great voice over narration into your PowerPoint project. I’ve been hired to record hundreds of projects, most often for eLearning. Here are my top tips on voiceover for PowerPoint presentations.
Why Use Voiceover for Your Next PowerPoint Presentation?
Simple – beyond adding an extra level of depth to your presentation, it hits every checkbox you could need for a professional PowerPoint. Recording slide show audio does so much to elevate your project and is such an easy fix that it’s almost crazy not to. All you need to get started on voiceover for PowerPoint presentations is a computer with a microphone and plan for your slide timings.
The Benefits of Voiceover for PowerPoint Presentations
Visual elements and slides aren’t the only essential aspects of a PowerPoint. When you’re showing your PowerPoint to a group and have your presentation open, there’s nothing more frustrating than having to repeat yourself or go back to the previous slide.
You can always flash a laser pointer at the screen, but that doesn’t exactly get people to pay attention to your presentation. The best way to get your audiences to focus on your voiceover for PowerPoint presentations content is to record slide show narrations that fit each slide to a tee.
Narration Puts a Voice to Your PowerPoint Presentation File
Concise voiceover narration compliments your PowerPoint slides in a way that reading the words off of a screen can’t. It allows you to ditch the laser pointer and adds a clear focus to your slide show. By recording audio elements before presenting your slide show, you can expertly describe each slide with intricate detail, eliminating performance jitters and ensuring your storytelling is in peak form. There’ll be no worrying about people losing interest before you move on to your next slide. Whether you opt to go with a professional voice artist or not, adding audio components to your PowerPoint helps space out slide timings and also sets a reasonable pace for your slideshow to follow.
Voiceover Adds Depth to Your Slide and Animation Timings
Adding voiceover for PowerPoint presentations allows you to articulate content precisely as you intend it to be heard without fumbling for words in the middle of a demonstration. It is beneficial if public speaking isn’t at the top of your skillset or you have trouble cutting down your slide and animation timings to fit the length of your allotted presentation time. Adding pre-recorded audio content elevates your PowerPoint in ways that basic sound effects and slide transitions won’t.
Voiceover narration compliments your PowerPoint by grabbing people’s attention and getting them to focus on the visual elements you’re trying to describe. It adds a professional touch to content and immerses people more fully in the slide, keeping them focused on the presentation screen.
Record a Slide Show for Your PowerPoint Presentation
Are you creating a work pitch, delivering a school project, or persuading your friends of the benefits of your vacation idea? Is it the first in a series of PowerPoint presentations you plan to do or a one-time deal? Think about these questions before going further into the process of creating voiceover for PowerPoint presentations so you don’t spend time on the wrong things.
What Do You Hope to Accomplish with Your PowerPoint?
When recording audio narration for your PowerPoint presentation, the first step is to decide what you hope to accomplish with it. Know your target audience, why you want to record slide show audio, and what it is you want your audience to take home from their experience. Ask yourself the questions that you’d like to avoid having your audience ask.
The purpose of your PowerPoint should be clear before spending any more time (or money) on the presentation. Once the intent of your slide show is solid, you have two options to pick from for your recorded audio:
- Hire a Professional Voice Actor to Record Your Slide Show Audio File
- Record a DIY Slide Show Audio Through Powerpoint
Hire a Professional Voice Actor to Record Your Slide Show Audio File
Not everybody has a flair for public speaking or has the time to do it. When you hire a professional voice over artist to record your PowerPoint audio, they take care of all the heavy lifting. All you need to do is supply them with a script or slides and tell them what you need from the presentation. A great voiceover artist will narrate every single slide with a professional touch that can’t be matched by a layperson opening a PowerPoint recording window and recording it off their laptop. When you provide guidelines and clear instructions about the kind of tone and style you seek, a professional voice artist will make every slide of your project shine.
What a Professional Voiceover Artist Brings to Your PowerPoint
A great professional voice actor knows how to speak to your audience to engage them from the get-go and understands precisely how people need to hear things to retain information. Recorded sound from a professional voiceover artist allows you to add voice to your project without having to start and stop recording every time a car passes your window, a dog barks, the doorbell rings, or you flub your line.
Excellent Slide Narration Sets PowerPoint Presentations Apart
What sets an excellent PowerPoint presentation apart is the narration of the slides. People struggle to pay attention when someone narrates their presentation separately or dispassionately – the same goes for a presenter who has difficulty getting their words out.
The next hurdle to overcome is audio quality. When you record audio off of a laptop microphone, the sound quality of your audio file may be subpar. Laptop microphones are less sensitive than professional mics and pick up distracting noise, but your listeners will be listeners. Cracky, buzzy, or tinny audio can make your presentation seem mediocre. Because a pro voice artist has their sound booth with broadcast-quality audio equipment and an audio technician’s skills, they ensure the audio files for your PowerPoint slides are crisp, clear, engaging, and professional.
Record Slide Show Audio Files Yourself with Powerpoint
Did you know that PowerPoint can automatically record audio for your slides? Whether your goal is to record audio for a single slide or add your voice to the entire presentation, you can record voice over yourself directly in PowerPoint. Most modern computers already have everything you need to get started.
Helpful Tips for Recording Slide Audio
- Decide on your slide timings before you start recording audio. Every minute counts when you record slide show narration or have to present. Plan out how long each slide will run and do your best to be accurate with those timings.
- Be respectful of the limits of people’s attention spans and the time you need to leave for Q&A or banter with the person or organization who has hired you or asked you to speak. Ensure every slide and story element in your presentation flows neatly to the next before you start recording.
Recording a Test for DIY Voiceover for PowerPoint Presentations
To access the record button, click File, then Options. For both PC and Mac users, to add narration, click the first slide you want to record to, then in the tab bar, click insert, then audio, then record audio. You’ll get a box that asks you to allow the use of your microphone (the built-in one on your computer). Click ok. The record button will appear as a red advance button at the top left corner. Under gray letters, it will say, “click to start recording.”
To test it out, hit record, and speak. When recording that test or sample, click the same button again. The play button is now black. You’ll see a counter below the record button that timed your recording and options to discard or insert. If either of those options greyed out, re-click the slide you selected to bring those back to standard view.
With the test click insert and a white speaker, an icon pops into view in the center of your current slide. Click it to hear your test. A play bar or ribbon pops up, which displays the recording, the timings, the forward and back (left and right) arrow, and the speaker icon gives you access to a volume slide button. You can move the icon around – it will be visible in both edit and standard view (presentation mode). You can also hide your speaker icon by going to the Playback option and locating the check box “Hide During Show.” If you feel comfortable with the test, continue working down your slide deck and add voice to the slides you have selected throughout your presentation.
How to Open the Recording Toolbar in Powerpoint
Looking for the click record slide show box? When you’re ready to start recording audio through PowerPoint and want to access the recording window, just open up the slide show tab at the top left corner of the PowerPoint screen, hover your mouse over the insert and click the audio option. Next, click record audio, type a name for your audio narration and click record to start recording.
Re-Record Audio and Practice Your Slide Timings
If recording audio through PowerPoint, try setting a three-second countdown before narrating the slides and keep recording until you’ve read through your script or gotten out every thought about that slide. Once you’re satisfied, click play to review narrations; re-record them one or two more times and play narrations back to yourself, noticing what about the recordings you do and don’t like. Listen for annoying or distracting mouth noises (clicks, pops, sharp breath noises) and bumps or bangs in the background.
Use this script timer if you aren’t sure how long your text or script will be. Professional voice-over artists generally use 150 words per minute as a guideline for determining timings. Once you have a baseline for what does and doesn’t work for your recording, you’re ready to try recording the actual slides for your presentation.
Begin Recording Audio Narration within Microsoft PowerPoint
Powerpoint automatically records your voice as soon as you begin to speak. Once you’re done recording audio for a specific slide, press stop and click the play button to preview the recording for your slide show narration. If it doesn’t sound right, go back and re-record it. Click play again to check for mistakes and timing, and once you’re satisfied with the quality of your recording, move on to the next slide.
Then select the audio icon and drop the recording where you’d like it to begin. You can add voice over to the next slide by repeating the process and dragging the sound icon wherever you want.
How to Add Audio Files to Your Powerpoint File
If the entire process of recording slide show narration yourself feels daunting after reading through this article, consider hiring a professional voice artist to perform the recordings for you. The savings in time and stress will be well worth their fee. They can record your slide deck script and send you the finished recording. If you want only part of your presentation to include audio narration or as a single file that will keep your timing accurate from the first to the last slide, that can also be done.
If you’re short on time, ask your professional voiceover narrator if they can insert PowerPoint records directly into your slide presentation. This service is often requested, and if your pro narrator is familiar with eLearning or online training, or corporate pitches and presentations, they will be able to handle this for you.
Voiceover for PowerPoint Presentations Must Keep the Audiences in Mind
One big thing that separates a professionally recorded presentation from an amateur one is that the amateur forgets about the audience. Often very focused on the current slide, pointer options, quelling nerves, or several things, they stay focused on themselves instead of the point of the presentation, which is to enlighten, inspire and engage the consumers of their presentation. To overcome this, remember your audience by thinking of one person and talking to them as you go through your notes or script.
Record Slide Show Audio with a Professional Voice Actor
If you are looking for a great voice actor to help make your presentation impactful and engaging, please contact me, Kim Handysides, for professional voice over services. I’ve been in the industry for three decades, so I can complete your project with a fast turnaround time and crystal clear narration that seamlessly fits all your slide timings. And if you found this article helpful, please let me know in the comments below.