Have you ever been in the middle of a presentation and forgotten a key piece of information? PowerPoint speaker notes They're that discreet but essential tool that can make the difference between an improvised presentation and a professional one. Although the audience only sees the slide, the presenter has a dedicated space to jot down details, key ideas, or even reminders so they don't miss a trick.
In this article, we'll explain, step by step, how speaker notes work, how you can use them during your presentation, and even how to print or export them if you need a physical copy.
What are speaker notes in PowerPoint?
The speaker notes are texts that can be added to each slide while editing your presentation. They appear in a lower panel when you're in the Normal view of the program. This space is intended for the presenter to write additional information that won't be visible to the audience, but will serve as a script or guide during the presentation.
This panel can be enlarged, minimized, or even hidden completely., according to your preferences. To display it, simply click on the “Notes” button that appears in the bottom bar of Power point.
How to add notes to a presentation
The process for adding notes is simple:
- Open your presentation and select the slide you want to add notes to.
- Click on Normal view (if you are not already in it).
- Locate the notes panel at the bottom and type the text you need.
- If you don’t see the panel, activate the “Notes” button in the bottom bar.
These notes are automatically saved with your presentation. and you can modify them at any time. Each slide can have its own annotations.
Use Presenter View to display notes only to the speaker
One of the most powerful features of PowerPoint is the “Moderator View”, designed for dual-screen presentations. While the audience watches the presentation projected on one screen, The speaker has access to a panel with additional controls, preview of the next slide and associated notes to the current one.
To activate it:
- Go to the tab “Slide presentation” on the tape.
- Check the option “Using Presenter View”.
- Start the presentation from the beginning or from the current slide.
In the "moderator view" you can do the following:
- View your notes in a side panel.
- Easily switch slides with intuitive buttons.
- Use a laser pointer, pencil, or marker.
- Hide the current slide and leave the screen black.
Additionally, you can change the text size of your notes, move panels, or swap displays if the view is projected on the wrong monitor.
When you write a lot of text in notes, PowerPoint automatically includes a scroll barYou can also drag the top line of the notes panel to adjust it to the size that's most comfortable for you.
Can speaker notes be printed?
Yes, and in several waysYou can print them along with the slide thumbnails, or just the notes. This option is useful if you prefer to have a physical copy during your presentation, although it has the drawback that it can make you look down frequently and lose eye contact with your audience.
Steps to print note pages with thumbnails:
- Click on File> Print.
- Select your printer.
- In the “Settings” section, click “Full Page Slides.”
- Select “Notes Pages”.
- Click on Print.
You can also export them to Word
Another interesting option is export speaker notes to WordThis way, you can have more control over the document's format, easily edit it, or print it from there.
Steps to export:
- Open your presentation and go to File> Export.
- Choose “Create documents”.
- Click on “Create documents” in Word.
- Select a layout option.
- Choose the option "Paste" and confirm.
This will generate a Word document with each slide and the associated notes, all editable. To improve your work with notes, you can also check out our guide to efficiently saving and syncing files.
Controlling note synchronization in collaborative presentations
If you are working in a team and several users modify the presentation, It is possible to keep the slides updated even during the presentationThis feature is available in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.
You just have to go to Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show and activate the box “Keep the slides up to date”You can also do this from the options button in the presenter view (three-dot icon). This ensures that all edits are reflected in real time, without having to close or restart the presentation.
The speaker notes in PowerPoint are a tremendously useful tool which, when used properly, allows the presenter to maintain naturalness and credibility without losing key information.