How to Add Notes to PowerPoint & Increase Efficiency
If you’ve always wondered how to make your PowerPoint presentation flow more smoothly or wished you could save time by eliminating the need to create detailed outlines and notecards- presenter notes are just what the doctor ordered. Mastering how to add Speaker notes to PowerPoint is a great way to achieve these goals and increase your overall efficiency.
When you add notes, they’re like an invisible handout that only you can see. Presenter notes can include anything from simple reminders about important points you want to make during your presentation to more detailed information to help others understand the slide content.
Why You Should Add Notes To Your Presentation
There are many benefits to adding notes to your PowerPoint presentation:
- Adding notes can help to keep you on track during your presentation
- Including detailed notes in your presentation can help make it easier for your audience to understand the information on each slide when they review the presentation later
- Using notes can help to increase your efficiency because you won’t need to spend time creating an outline, notecards, or other materials to use during your speech
- Using the Notes pane is also a great way to add suggestions and/or track changes when collaborating with others on a presentation
What is the Notes Pane?
The Notes pane is where you can type in additions to your presentation that aren’t visible on the slide. You can make keywords or phrases bold so they stand out, or use a smaller font size if you have a lot of notes.
You can also use italics, underlines, superscripts/subscripts, numbers, and bullet points.
How to Add Speaker Notes
At this point, you’re probably sold on the idea of using notes and thinking “Ok but HOW do I add speaker notes in PowerPoint?”.
Depending on your PowerPoint settings, the Notes pane may show at the bottom of your screen by default. If it doesn’t, here are two ways to quickly show and hide your notes.
Once the Notes pane is visible, click into the text box and begin typing.
Method 1: Add Notes Via The PowerPoint Taskbar
The easiest method for adding notes to your PowerPoint is by using the taskbar. To do this, select any slide and click on the Notes icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
When you turn on the view, the Notes pane will show up at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen – right under the PowerPoint slide in the center of the screen.
Method 2: Add Notes Via The View Tab
You can also turn on the Notes pane with two clicks from the View tab.
- Click on the View tab at the top of the PowerPoint window.
- Next, click on the Notes button to toggle your view on and off.
What is PowerPoint Presenter View?
If you want to show your slides without losing access to your notes, you can use the Presenter View feature in PowerPoint. When you use the Presenter View, the audience sees your presentation as normal while you see both the presentation and notes on your computer’s screen.
The presenter view offers the following capabilities to help you present information more efficiently:
- You can click slide thumbnails to choose slides out of order to customize each presentation for your audience.
- The speaker notes appear in large, easy-to-read font making it easy to utilize them during your presentation.
- You can choose to display or hide your screen at any time. This is a helpful tool to use during breaks in the presentation.
How to Turn on Presenter View
To enable this feature in PowerPoint, click on the Slide Show tab at the top of the screen, then Presentation Views, and Presenter View from the drop-down menu. This will open up a new window or slide displaying all of your notes.
How to Use Presenter View with Two Monitors
Using a second screen when you are presenting virtually can be very convenient.
- Go to the Slide Show tab and click Use Presenter View.
2-A window for Display Settings should open automatically.
3-Click on the Monitor tab, choose the monitor icon that you’d like to use to view your speaker notes, and then check the box for This is my main monitor.
5-Click the monitor icon for your second monitor, which is what your audience will see, and then click the box next to Extend my Windows Desktop onto this monitor.
How to Present Your PowerPoint on Two Monitors
When it’s time to present, follow these steps to deliver your presentation.
- Click the Slide Show tab.
- Then, click Set Up Slide Show. This will open a new box.
- Select your desired settings, and then click OK.
If you choose Automatic, PowerPoint will choose to display your speaker notes on a laptop monitor, if there is one available.
If you don’t choose Automatic, PowerPoint will show your speaker notes on the main display identified in your Display settings.
How To Print Speaker Notes
If you want to have a hard copy of your speaker notes for reference during your presentation or to practice beforehand, it’s quite easy to print them out.
To do this, open the presentation file containing your notes and click on the File tab at the top of the screen. Select Print from the available options and then choose Notes Pages under Print Layout.
Check out your Print Preview and then click Print.
Conclusion
Adding speaker notes to your Microsoft PowerPoint slides is a great way to ensure that you deliver a well-organized and informative presentation.
With just a few simple steps, you can add notes to each slide in your presentation and view them on a separate screen while delivering your talk. And by printing out your speaker notes, you can have a hard copy of your notes to refer to during your presentation.
What questions do you have about putting this feature into action for your next presentation? Leave them in the comments below!
