How to Do a Voiceover on PowerPoint

To do a voiceover in PowerPoint, open the Record tab and select Record. In the recording window, turn the camera off if you only want your voice, select Start recording, and talk through each slide. Select Stop when you’re done. Your narration is saved on each slide and plays in Slide Show, or you can export it all as a video.

These steps cover PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2024, and PowerPoint 2021 on Windows, with notes for PowerPoint 2016 and 2019, Mac, and the web. Microsoft’s recording guide covers only the desktop apps, so record your narration in PowerPoint for Windows or Mac.

Which Method Should You Use?

Method	Best for	Where
Record the whole slide show	Narrating a full deck with timings	Record tab
Record audio on one slide	A short clip on a single slide	Insert > Audio > Record Audio
Insert an audio file	Narration recorded and edited in another app	Insert > Audio > Audio on My PC

The first method is the one most people want. It saves slide timings and any pen marks along with your voice, so the deck can play on its own or become a video.

Before You Record

• Pick your microphone. In Windows 11, open Settings > System > Sound and choose your microphone under Input. On a Mac, open Apple menu > System Settings > Sound > Input, as Apple describes. A headset or USB microphone usually sounds better than a laptop’s built-in mic.
• Write speaker notes. PowerPoint shows your notes at the top of the recording screen like a teleprompter, and you can turn on auto-scroll and set its speed. To draft the notes by talking, use voice typing in Windows 11.
• Rehearse once. Read the notes aloud for a slide or two so the narration sounds natural rather than read.
• Find a quiet room and close apps that play notification sounds.
• Check slide orientation before you record. Here’s how to rotate a slide in PowerPoint if it needs changing.

If the deck has backup slides you don’t plan to narrate, you can hide those slides in PowerPoint first so the show skips them.

Record a Voiceover in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365

These steps follow Microsoft’s Record a slide show with narration and slide timings guide.

1. Open your presentation and go to the slide where you want to start. That slide is selected.
2. Select the Record tab, then Record. You can also choose From Beginning or From Current Slide in the Record section. The recording window opens.

3. Use the camera and microphone icons at the top to turn the camera off and the microphone on. Only your voice will be recorded. To switch microphones, select the More options (···) icon.

4. Select Start recording. A short countdown plays, then recording begins.
5. Talk through the slide, then use the next arrow to move to the next one. Narration doesn’t record during slide transitions, so let a transition finish before you speak. Each slide gets its own audio clip.
6. Select Pause if you need a break, or Stop when you’re done. Your narration is saved on each slide.

You can also draw on slides with the onscreen pens, highlighters, or laser pointer while you record, and PowerPoint plays those back in sync with your voice. The Views menu switches between Teleprompter, Presenter View, and Slide View if you want to see the next slide instead of your notes.

Recording also saves how long each slide is shown. Those times can be changed later in PowerPoint.

Because each slide has its own clip, you can reorder slides later without recording again. PowerPoint also leaves a brief silent moment at the start and end of each slide.

To appear on camera as well, leave the camera on and check the video preview before you select Start recording. The camera mode menu can blur your background. Microsoft’s recording guide covers the camera options, and the export steps below include your video.

Review, Redo and Trim Your Recording

• Review: select Play in the recording window, or run the show with Slide Show > From Beginning. In Normal view, a sound icon appears in the lower-right corner of each narrated slide; select it and choose Play to hear that slide alone.
• Redo a slide: select Delete in the recording window to clear the current slide or all slides, then record again. Recording again on a slide replaces its old narration.
• Trim the end of a clip: set the slide to advance early. On the Transitions tab, under Advance Slide, check After and enter the number of seconds, so you don’t have to re-record a trailing pause.
• Delete one slide’s narration: in Normal view, select the sound icon on that slide and press Delete.
• Turn narration off temporarily: on the Slide Show tab, clear Play Narrations (this also hides recorded ink) and Use Timings if you want to advance slides yourself. Nothing is deleted.

Save the Voiceover as a Video

The recording lives inside the presentation, not in a separate file. Save the presentation first, then:

1. In the recording window, select Export > Export Video. Or close the recording window and go to File > Export > Create a Video. The export options appear.
2. Choose a quality: Ultra HD (4K), Full HD (1080p), HD (720p), or Standard (480p). Full HD suits most screens.
3. Keep Use Recorded Timings and Narrations selected. Slides without a recording use the default of 5 seconds each.

4. Select Create Video, pick a folder, and choose MPEG-4 Video as the file type. Then select Save.

The status bar shows progress. Microsoft’s video export guide warns that long or complex decks can take hours, and that macros and some older embedded media don’t carry over. For quality choices, Mac steps, and other limits, read about making a PowerPoint into a video.

You can attach a closed-caption file to the video to make it more accessible.

If people only need to read the slides, you can convert the PowerPoint to a PDF, but the narration won’t be included.

Add Audio to Just One Slide

1. Select the slide. It’s shown in the editing pane.
2. Go to Insert > Audio > Record Audio. The Record Sound box opens.
3. Name the clip, select the record button, speak, then select stop. Select play to check it, record again if needed, then select OK. A speaker icon appears on the slide.

4. On the Playback tab, set Start to Automatically if you want it to play on its own, and check Hide During Show to hide the icon.

Insert Narration Recorded in Another App

If you’d rather record and clean up audio in a separate app, save one file per slide, then add each file to its slide.

1. Select the slide, then go to Insert > Audio > Audio on My PC.
2. Find the file and select Insert. A speaker icon appears on the slide.
3. On the Playback tab, use Trim Audio to cut silence from the start or end, set Fade In and Fade Out times if you like, and pick a Volume level.

4. Set Start to Automatically and check Hide During Show.

Microsoft’s audio help explains the other Playback choices, such as Play Across Slides for a single clip that keeps playing as slides change. Inserted clips don’t create slide timings, so set them on the Transitions tab to match each clip’s length.

Older Versions, Mac and the Web

• PowerPoint 2016 and 2019: select Slide Show > Record Slide Show, check the options for timings and narrations, and select Start Recording. Press S or select the square button to stop.
• PowerPoint for Mac: select the Record button in the top-right corner, or Record > From Beginning, to open the recording window. Use the video button to turn the camera off for audio only. If PowerPoint can’t hear you, allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
• PowerPoint for the web: Microsoft’s recording guide doesn’t include the web version. Record your narration in the desktop app, or record audio elsewhere and add the file to your slides.

Troubleshooting

• No sound recorded: check that the microphone icon is on in the recording window and that the right input is chosen in Windows sound settings. Also make sure PowerPoint is allowed to use the microphone in Windows 11.
• Voice is too quiet: move closer to the mic, then increase the mic volume in Windows 11 and record a test slide.
• Narration cut off at the start: wait for the slide transition to finish before speaking.
• Can’t find the Record tab: in older versions, use the Slide Show tab, or turn on the Recording tab under File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
• Narration plays during a live talk: clear Play Narrations on the Slide Show tab.
• Video has no sound: export again and make sure Use Recorded Timings and Narrations is selected.

Frequently Asked Questions