Everyone has their own way of preparing for a presentation.
What do you plan to say?
How long will your presentation last?
The first thing I do when I'm ready to rehearse is go to the Slide Show tab.
Not to run a slide show, but to work on my timing using the Rehearse Timings command.
This mode lets you practice your presentation while recording the amount of time it takes
to deliver each slide.
See the toolbar at the top?
These timings can be used to run your presentation automatically in the future, so you can focus
on your talking points instead of advancing the slides...
While in rehearsal mode, just click the Next button to move to the next slide, or the right
arrow on your keyboard.
If you need more than one try to get a timing right, you can take a break using the Pause
button... and then resume the recording when you're ready...
To re-record the timing on the current slide, just click Repeat, and it will re-set the
clock...
Let's skip ahead to the end of the slide show.
I'm going to use the Esc key to return to PowerPoint...
I'm satisfied with the timings from this rehearsal, so I'm going to go ahead and click Yes to
keep them.
Here they are, under each slide in Slide Sorter view...
Now when I give my presentation, I can let this run in the background without having
to advance the slides myself.
That gives me an idea.
Why don't we start over, and this time make a copy of the presentation that people can
view on their own, with slide timings and narration?
It's possible with the Record Slide Show feature - all you need is a microphone for your computer.
If you open the menu here, you can record from your current slide, or from the beginning
if you're just getting started.
Check what you want to include - for me, timings and narration, because I do have a mic.
Then click Start Recording, and be ready to perform your slide show as soon as it begins.
Make sure to speak clearly into the mic if you're recording narration.
And as before, click Next or use the arrow key on your keyboard when you're ready to
move to the next slide.
Your mouse won't show up on-screen in a recorded slide show, so if you want to point something
out, you'll need to do it using something the viewer can see - the laser pointer.
It's easy.
Just hold Ctrl on your keyboard, while you click and hold your mouse.
When you're finished, press the Esc key.
Now my timings and my narration are part of the presentation.
And any slide with narration will be marked with this little speaker icon in the bottom
right corner.
If you change your mind and want to remove any timings or narration, just open the Record
Slide Show menu, and clear whatever you need - from the current slide, or from all the
slides.
I'm going to need to give my narration another go when I have all of my talking points planned
out, but I'm not worried.
With the ability to rehearse and record, I know I'll be ready to deliver my presentation
- whether it's to a live audience, or the viewer's personal computer.