Wondering how to add voice to PowerPoint? With the help of text to speech tools, you can make your presentations more accessible and engaging.

How to add voice to PowerPoint

Sometimes, the best way to explain something is through a presentation or a slide show, and Microsoft PowerPoint is an excellent app for the job.

Those who want to make their presentation even more comprehensible and accessible should consider adding voiceover to it. Here, we’ll explain the benefits of PowerPoint and how to add voice to the program.

What is Microsoft PowerPoint?

Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation graphics program released in 1987. Initially, the software was available only for Macintosh computers.

However, Microsoft acquired PowerPoint only three months after its release, and this was one of the company’s earliest significant acquisitions.

Soon after, PowerPoint became a part of the Microsoft Office suite. Originally, PowerPoint was intended for business purposes, but quickly became used for personal, educational, and general use.

Today, PowerPoint offers a wide range of features to its users. It’s used in companies, schools, and private households. Millions of people love the program because it allows them to create a unique slide show based on their preferences.

Users can choose the slide layout and design, add transitions to the next slide, adjust slide timings, and insert different elements and animations. Best of all, the program has a simple interface, and even those who aren’t tech-savvy can learn the basics in a short time.

Why add a voice to a PowerPoint presentation?

Here’s why adding a voiceover to a PowerPoint presentation could be useful:

Increased engagement

Presentations with a voiceover are often easier to follow and engage the viewers. Having a voiceover adds validity and reliability to the presentation.

Sharing extra content

Adding a voiceover allows you to share additional content with your viewers. Your presentation can include concise pointers, while the voiceover can add details and complement the pictures.

Enhanced accessibility

One of the most significant benefits of adding voiceover to a presentation is enhanced accessibility. Using words to explain what’s on the slides can help those with reading difficulties or vision impairment.

Simply put, adding a voiceover can make your presentation easier to follow and understand.

Adding a voice to PowerPoint—The steps

If you want to add audio to your PowerPoint presentation, here’s what you need to do:

1. Launch PowerPoint on your computer.
2. Choose “Insert.”
3. Press “Audio” in the top right corner.
4. Select “Audio on My PC.”
5. Choose the file you wish to add to the presentation from the dialog box and press “Insert.”

Those who want to use the recording feature should follow the instructions below:

1. Open PowerPoint.
2. Press “Insert.”
3. Select “Audio.”
4. Choose “Record Audio.”
5. Enter the name of your audio file and press the Record button to start recording. PowerPoint will give you a three-second countdown before it starts recording.
6. Once you record narration, you can review the audio if you click Stop and then press the Play button.
7. Select and drag the audio file to the desired slide. A speaker icon will appear on the slides that have audio.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps:

1. Open PowerPoint.
2. Go to the Slide Show tab.
3. Press “Record Slide Show” in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
4. Choose “Start Recording from Beginning” or “Start Recording from Current Slide.”
5. Select Record to start recording your audio narration.
6. Save the recorded sound by clicking “File” in the top-left corner and choosing “Export.”

Keep in mind that you can record audio only if you have a built-in mic or use headsets.

PowerPoint offers numerous options for editing your audio file. To do this, you’ll need to go to the Audio Tools Playback tab and choose one of the following, depending on what you want:

• Trimming the audio—Select “Trim” and use the red and green sliders to trim your audio recording.
• Fade audio in and out—Go to the “Fade Duration” box and choose the desired number.
• Adjust the volume—Press “Volume” and select the desired settings.
• Customize the recording’s beginning—Press the drop-down arrow and select one of the options. The first one is “In Click Sequence,” which allows you to play the file with a click.The second one is “Automatically,” which plays the file as soon as you open the slide to which it’s added. The third one is “When Clicked On,” and it plays the file when you click the audio icon.
• Customize how the audio plays—If you want to play a single audio file across all PowerPoint slides on your presentation, choose “Play Across Slides.” If you want to play your audio file on a loop and decide when to stop it, select “Loop until Stopped.”You can also decide to have the audio file played continuously across the entire presentation. In that case, you should choose “Play in Background.”

If you don’t see some of the features, you may be using an older version of PowerPoint. Try updating it.

Speechify—Text to speech software that’s perfect for voiceovers

If you want to create voiceovers for your PPT presentation, you can use Speechify. Speechify is a text to speech platform that lets users convert any written text to high-quality spoken language.

Since Speechify uses cutting-edge AI technology, it can produce natural-sounding voices. With this platform, users can choose their preferred language, voice, and even accent. Speechify offers a wide range of male and female voices so that everyone can find one that suits them.

Creating a voiceover in Speechify is very easy. All you need to do is write down what you want the voice maker to say, and the platform will convert it to speech. Then, you can save a desired file format (.WAV or .MP3) and add it to your PowerPoint file.

Besides allowing you to create voiceovers, Speechify lets you create an audio version of any written text. Moreover, you can even scan hard copies of texts and transform them into spoken language.

Speechify can be used on both Windows and Mac computers. Moreover, the platform can be integrated as a browser extension for Chrome and Safari. Those who want to use Speechify on their mobile devices will be happy to know the Speechify app can be used on iOS and Android.

Try Speechify for free and enjoy its benefits.

FAQ

What is the name of a voice app that is compatible with PowerPoint?

There are several voice apps compatible with PowerPoint, like Speechify, Audiate, and PowerTalk.

What are the minimum computer requirements to use Office 365?

If you want to use Office 365, your computer needs to meet the minimum requirements. Some of the most important ones are having Windows OS 1.6 GHz or faster (2-core)or macOS with an Intel processor. You can find detailed requirements on the Microsoft website.