Hundreds of presentations are created every day to make the audience aware of something and get a certain result. Some are great, some are ordinary, but most are unsuccessful. Why is this so? Presentation is the most common tool for delivering information since the appearance of PowerPoint. Its simplicity and multi-functionality have been the reason for the popularity of the program and presentations as such. And despite the emergence of other tools for creating web projects, many have a preference for this particular program. You can also use ready-made PowerPoint templates that help you create a professional-looking and high-quality presentation in a short time. Despite the ease of the software, some people do not understand the features that can help them in the work. So, today we are going to talk to you about using speaker notes, which will help you to prepare better for the presentation and achieve success.
What are Speaker Notes?
PowerPoint has a great tool that for some reason is rather rarely used. Perhaps the reason is that this feature is more suitable for large presentations and is designed to be displayed from a projector rather than from a monitor screen. We are talking about PowerPoint speaker mode. These are comments added to PowerPoint presentation slides as a reference for the presenter. The notes on a slide are hidden during the presentation and are only visible to the person introducing the slides. The speaker notes keep the person on track during the story.
PowerPoint speaker mode adds some very useful features to your demonstration, including:
- Focusing the audience’s attention on specific elements of the presentation.
- Notes for yourself that are not visible to the audience.
- The ability to control the order in which the slides are shown, hidden from the audience.
How to Add Speaker Notes to PowerPoint?
You do not need to have programming skills or hire professionals to add speaker notes. Everything is done quickly enough and without any problems. Follow these steps (they will work in all versions of PowerPoint):
- Open the presentation. Next you will see that the screen is divided into several main parts. These are the list of the slides and the main slide in the middle which you can immediately edit according to your purposes.
- At the bottom of the large working slide you will find a notes section. If it is closed, click the Notes button. So, this block will appear in the menu bar at the very bottom of the PowerPoint window.
- If you still do not see it, you should click on the Notes button and the desired mode will be displayed to you.
- Now you need to add notes here by clicking on the area and start customization.
- You may also add any extra formatting to the notes by selecting the text and using the editing options on the Home tab of the toolbar.
Displaying Speaker Notes During a Main Presentation
The speaker notes feature is a very important tool for presenters, not the audience. They may easily browse the notes on the screen during a project presentation. Others will not see it. This mode is called Presenter View and mostly it appears automatically as long as the computer is connected to the projector and active.
If it does not, do the following:
- Click the slide show tab on the main panel.
- Make sure the Use Presenter View function is selected.
Now you may see the notes on the screen during the presentation. You can start a visual project by clicking on the Slide Show button.
The Presenter View mode has various sections. The current slide is displayed on the left, and a timer above the slide shows the actual presentation time.
Various editing options are displayed at the bottom, and a scrolling section on the left displays the speaker notes. You can enlarge or minimize the size of the text displayed here. You also have the option of switching to Presenter View on a standard monitor by clicking the three-dot menu button in the lower left corner of Slide Show mode during a live presentation.
6 Main Rules for Winning Presentations
And now we will give you the most important rules that will lead you to success.
1. Prepare the material
It is essential to read and analyze as many sources as possible to cover the topic more accurately. Even if you represent a startup. You do not have to rely only on the knowledge. The more you study beforehand, the better chance you have of showing yourself as a professional.
2. No water
One slide — one thought. You do not need to over-saturate them with a lot of unnecessary information. You can add more detail to the speaker notes and read them. That way you will have a more appealing design and the audience will not take the time to read the text you are already talking about.
3. Focus
It is better to talk confidently about one topic than a little bit about a lot of different ones. Simplify your wording. Present the information easily, because any excessive complication discourages listeners.
4. Do not use decoration
You can choose bright and stylish templates, but you should not fill them with many pictures, icons, and graphics. It is better to distribute everything harmoniously. If the presentation seems boring, the problem is not in the design, but in the content. Use non-standard fonts, a variety of colors, and animations.
5. Add emotions
A presentation is a dialog. React, ask questions to the audience. The way to a complex presentation is for the speakers to communicate only with their slides.
6. Use the speaker notes
You may think this feature is unnecessary at all. But it can multiply your chances of success. Without difficulty, you will be able to tell more information without having to memorize it. Plus, you will have everything at your fingertips.
Final Words
The process of creating a presentation is always a multitude of aspects that you need to consider. When everything is in harmony you can achieve the desired result. We assure you that using the speaker notes in PowerPoint can help you make the presentation better because you will be able to forget about the pile of sheets. Everything you need will be on the screen, and the slides will still have a pleasant and concise look. The speaker notes are not only a handy thing but also a must-have feature that allows you to present the developed project more professionally.
