powerpoint presentation with speaker notes

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• PowerPoint Tutorials

How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

Speaker notes can be very useful to highlight the ideas you want to talk about during your presentation. In this new Slidesgo School tutorial, you’ll learn how to enter speaker notes , how to activate the Presenter View and how to use its tools .

Adding Speaker Notes

Presenting with speaker notes, using the presenter view.

• Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
• At the bottom of the screen there’s a text field with the message “Click to add notes”. The text that you enter here will be visible for you during your presentation, but not for your audience.
• If you can’t see this text field, click View → Notes. You can also click the Notes button located at the bottom of the screen.
• To display the speaker notes, you must have two screens: one for the presentation and another for the notes.
• Go to the Slide Show tab.
• In the Monitors group, check “Use Presenter View”. If you have two screens, this box will be automatically checked. Your presentation will be displayed on the secondary screen and the Presenter View will be on the main screen. You can change this by selecting a different option from the Monitor drop-down list.
• Click the Slideshow button located at the bottom of the screen. As an alternative, you can click From Beginning, on the Slide Show tab, or just press F5. Your presentation will start in Presenter View.

There are different options at your disposal during your presentation. Some of them are exclusive of this view, so let’s talk about this. 

• Current slide and Next slide: The current slide and the next one will always be visible for you.
• Slide number: At the bottom of the screen, click the left arrow to go back to the previous slide, or click the right arrow to move on to the next one.
• Pen and laser pointer Tools: You can activate the pen to draw on the slides, or the laser pointer to highlight the contents of the slide.
• See all slides: If you click this button, you’ll see all the slides of your presentation.
• Zoom into the slides: You can zoom into any part of the screen.
• Black or unblack slide show: This allows you to hide or unhide the current slide.
• Toggle subtitles: If you click this button, the subtitles will appear on the screen. This button is only available in Office 365 and newer versions.
• Zoom: Under the speaker notes you’ll find two buttons that allow you to increase or decrease the size of the text.
• More slide show options: These include hiding the slide, changing the position of the subtitles and disabling the speaker notes.
• At the top of the screen you’ll find three buttons that allow you to access the taskbar, change the main screen or end the presentation.

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How to Use Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

Speaker notes keep a presenter on track during a presentation

• Brock University

What to Know

• To add a note, go to Slide pane > select slide's thumbnail > enter notes into Notes pane.
• To see notes during presentation, go to Slide Show > Use Presenter View .

Here's how to use and print PowerPoint notes, accompanied thumbnail versions of the appropriate slides, as a handy reference when making an oral presentation. Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint Online.

How to Add Notes in PowerPoint

Keep on track during your slideshow by adding speaker notes to each slide of your presentation. You don't need to write down everything you want to say, just add enough information to keep your speech flowing.

Go to View and select Normal . In PowerPoint Online, toggle the notes pane on and off by selecting View > Notes .

In the Slide pane, select the thumbnail of the slide you want to add a note.

Place the cursor in the Notes pane. The text in the Notes pane reads, Click to add notes .

If you don't see the Notes pane, go to View and select Notes . On a Mac, drag the bar below the slide upward to reveal the notes section.

Type or paste your notes into the Notes pane.

Save the changes to your presentation.

How to See Your Notes During a Presentation

If your computer is connected to another monitor or projector, you can enable Presenter View in PowerPoint 2016, 2013, and 2010.

Go to Slide Show and select Use Presenter View .

Select the monitor that you want to use to view your speaker notes in the Display Settings dialog box. Place a check next to This is my main monitor .

If available, select From Current Slide , Custom Slide Show , Present Online , or Broadcast Slide Show . Each of these views displays your slideshow notes during the presentation.

PowerPoint for Mac works a little differently than the Windows version. To see your notes during a presentation, go to Slide Show and select Presenter View .

PowerPoint Online is unable to open a presentation in Presenter View because it can't connect to an additional monitor.

Tips and More Information on PowerPoint Notes

Speaker notes are notes added to PowerPoint presentation slides as a reference for the presenter . Notes in a PowerPoint slide are hidden during the presentation and only visible to the one presenting the slides.

Presenter View works only if your computer is connected to another display. The purpose of Presenter View is to show something different on your screen than on the one your viewers are watching.

While in Presenter View, you'll see the current slide, the upcoming slide, and your notes. Presenter View includes a timer and a clock that shows if your presentation is running too short or too long.

To exit Presenter View, and end the presentation, select End Slide Show at the top of the screen. If you don't see that option, right-click the slideshow and select End Show .

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Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint? A Quick Guide with Video Tutorials

How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint? A Quick Guide with Video Tutorials

It can be hard to remember all the information you intend to discuss during a presentation. To avoid text-heavy slides and missing out on important information, some presenters use notes or flashcards. A more elegant method of presenting your slides is to use speaker notes in PowerPoint .

What are Speaker Notes in PowerPoint?

Speaker notes in PowerPoint are hidden notes in your PowerPoint slides that can be added to help you remember bits of information. Speaker notes are only visible to the presenter and can also be printed with slides for reference. You can use the printed version of speaker notes for yourself or the audience for later reading.

Speaker notes are visible to the presenter during Presenter View, which enables viewing the slide and notes side by side. This enables the presenter to show the audience only the slides, as he/she presents with the aid of notes visible on their screen.

What are the Benefits of using Speaker Notes?

Speaker notes can have a number of benefits and can enable you to not only appear more confident as you present but to also better organize your slides.

1. Speaker Notes Help Avoid Text-Heavy Slides

One of the benefits of using speaker notes is that you can avoid adding too much text to your slides and insert related points as Speaker Notes. This can provide your audience with a clutter-free view of your slides, as you use the notes to ensure you remember all the important bits of information during the presentation.

2. Speaker Notes can Help Replace Paper Notes

Flashcards or paper notes can look inelegant and can cause confusion if they get mixed up. Many presenters end up stuttering or scrambling their notes during a presentation due to this very problem. Presenters can avoid this hassle by simply using speaker notes in PowerPoint.

3. Speaker Notes can be Helpful in Recalling Information

Speaker notes can be helpful in remembering important information when you find it difficult to recall the information. In such a case the notes can be added as a precaution so that you can quickly recall that important piece of information when you have a hard time recalling something.

4. Speaker Notes can Enable You to Stay on Point

With a presentation with a bit of text and an elaborate theme, a presenter can easily lose focus. To stay on point, you can add speaker notes to set the right sequence for you to follow as you present your slides.

5. Speaker Notes can Help you Appear More Confident

The audience appreciates a presenter when he/she has the confidence to look them in the eye and speak their heart out. Presenters who scramble for notes or keep looking at their flashcards can appear less confident.

How to Add Notes to PowerPoint?

Adding speaker notes in PowerPoint is very simple. In this short tutorial we explain how to add notes to PowerPoint depending on your preferred platform.

How to Add Speaker Notes to PowerPoint for Windows?

Step 1. Select the Slide you want to add speaker notes to.

Step 2. Select Notes in the bottom right section of your screen.

Step 3. Add the notes you want below the PowerPoint slide.

How to Add Speaker Notes to PowerPoint for macOS?

How to Add Speaker Notes to PowerPoint for web?

PowerPoint in the web version lets you create Speaker Notes but does not let you view them when you are presenting.

Which option is used to create speaker notes in the PowerPoint Slide?

On the View tab of the ribbon, in the Show group, select Notes.

The pane appears across the bottom portion of the PowerPoint window, with the cursor blinking, ready for you to begin typing.

Also, you can add speaker notes in PowerPoint by clicking the Notes option at the bottom of the slide to open the notes pane. The option can be used to open or hide the pane anytime.

Expand Notes Pane: To expand the notes pane, hover your mouse to reveal the vertical scroll bar and drag to adjust the size of the pane according to need.

How to View Speaker Notes in PowerPoint while Presenting?

How to present with speaker notes? Now that you know how to add notes to PowerPoint, you can use this feature to deliver your presentation while visualizing the speaker notes as a presenter. Here we will see how to view speaker notes in PowerPoint in Presenter View.

Enable Presenter View: You can view Speaker Notes in PowerPoint in Presenter View . To make sure this option is enabled in PowerPoint, go to the Slide Show tab, and check Use Presenter View .

Select Monitor Settings: From the Slide Show tab, you can also select which monitor you want your presentation to appear on. This can help you ensure that the monitor selected for the speaker notes does not swap with the monitor screen intended for the audience. Usually, setting the monitor settings to Automatic should automatically show speaker notes on your laptop and the view with only your slides to the audience. However, checking these settings beforehand can help you avoid swapping the screens.

Adjust Text Size for Notes: When in Presenter View, you can also expand or reduce the size of the text using the buttons on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Navigate Slides: The arrow keys enable you to move between slides in Presenter View.

Annotate Slides: You can enable the Pen tool or highlighter to annotate slides during your presentation or use the Laser Pointer to focus on parts of your slide using an onscreen laser tool. These options are available via the Pen and Laser Pointer Tools option at the bottom of the Presenter View menu.

Zoom Slides: You can zoom in to a specific slide by selecting the Zoom option and then clicking on a specific section of the slide that you intend to zoom in.

Switch to a Specific Slide: You can also jump to a specific slide via the See all slides option. This can help you instantly change your slide in a single click, without moving back and forth to find it.

Black or Unblack Slideshow: You can hide or unhide a slide by using the Black/Unblack Slideshow option.

Toggle Subtitles: In a previous post, we showed you how to enable subtitles and captions in PowerPoint . The subtitle button in Presenter View enables you to toggle the subtitles on or off.

Hide Presenter View: To turn off Presenter View anytime, you can select Hide Presenter View from the More slideshow options button.

How to print PowerPoint with Speaker Notes?

Print PowerPoint with Speaker Notes is very simple:

Printing Speaker Notes with Slide Thumbnails: You can print speaker notes directly in PowerPoint by going to File -> Print -> Settings -> Notes Pages.

Printing Speaker notes without Slide Thumbnails: If you would like to print the notes without thumbnails, go to View – > Notes Pages, delete the thumbnails for each slide, and then print your notes via File -> Print -> Settings -> Notes Pages.

Creating and Printing Handouts using Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

You can create handouts from your speaker notes by exporting them to a Microsoft Word file or printing them directly from PowerPoint.

Export Handouts to Word

To export your handouts to Word, go to File -> Export -> Create Handouts .

This will provide you with the option to select whether you would like to export notes next to slides or export blank lines next to slides, notes below slides, blank lines below slides, or the outline only.

Below is an example of handouts exported to Microsoft Word from PowerPoint. You can print these handouts from Word anytime via File -> Print.

Final Words

Speaker notes in PowerPoint can help presenters create uncluttered slides and present information without worrying about messy paper notes or missing out information because of an oversight. Speaker notes provide much needed support to cater to the needs of the modern presenter, with the added advantage of printing or providing handouts to the audience after the presentation, such as citations and links for further reading.

If it’s your first time presenting with speaker notes in PowerPoint, you should try to acquaint yourself with the necessary settings and features of speaker notes to avoid getting confused when using them for the first time. Sometimes, monitor settings can flip, especially amidst an online presentation via Zoom or other video calling apps. To prevent that from happening, you can have a mock call with a colleague to make sure speaker notes aren’t visible. To do that, you can rehearse your presentation by adjusting your screen share view while hiding speaker notes.

Discover our step-by-step guide on how to make a presentation .

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Presentation Ideas, Presentation Tips, Speaker Notes, View Presentation Filed under PowerPoint Tutorials

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How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

4-minute read

• 31st January 2024

Adding speaker notes to your PowerPoint allows you to present with confidence while avoiding information overload in your slides. This means an engaged audience! But how do you add speaker notes? Read on for our simple step-by-step guide.

What Are Speaker Notes in PowerPoint?

There’s nothing worse than sitting through a PowerPoint presentation with slides so full of information that you miss what the speaker is saying while you try to read them. And as a presenter, you can come across as dull if you simply read the slides.

These problems can be avoided by having a separate set of prompts to keep you on track – speaker notes in PowerPoint are the on-screen version of those.

Just like hand-held notes, speaker notes in PowerPoint are visible to the speaker (hence the name), but not displayed in the slideshow.

You can also use speaker notes to jot down any issues that come up during a presentation. And if you need to ask someone else to help operate the PowerPoint, you can use speaker notes to add instructions so it all runs smoothly.

How to Add Speaker Notes to Your PowerPoint

To add speaker notes to your PowerPoint presentation, follow these steps.

1. Select the Relevant Slide

Click on the slide where you want to add the notes. 

2. Click to Add Notes

To add your speaker notes to the slide, you have two options:

• You may see a prompt at the bottom of the screen that says, “Click to add notes.” Click in that section and type away!
• If you can’t see it, click Notes in the bottom ribbon to reveal it.

View Your Speaker Notes

If your notes are long, a scroll bar will appear at the side so you can navigate through them.

You can also increase the size of the notes section. Hover your cursor along the top of the section until it looks like a horizontal line with up and down arrows. Click and drag to change the size of the notes section.

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Edit Speaker Notes While Presenting Your PowerPoint

It always happens, however well you’ve prepared: someone will ask a question you weren’t expecting, or you’ll notice something you missed. Never fear! You can still edit your speaker notes while presenting your PowerPoint. It’s simple, and your audience don’t need to know. Here’s how.

1. Select Presenter View

This should start automatically when you connect to a projector and start your slideshow. If it doesn’t, then you can select it by clicking on Presenter View in the Slideshow tab on the ribbon.

2. Add Your Notes

The notes section is on the right of the current slide. This contains any speaker notes you’ve already added. You can add and delete notes in that section while presenting.

All your audience will see is the slideshow.

Finishing Up

Congratulations! Your speaker notes are now ready for you to present your PowerPoint. You can even print them for your audience to take away, leaving them free to enjoy your presentation. Simply click on Print in the File menu and then select Notes from the dropdown list in the print dialog box.

Adding speaker notes to your PowerPoint is a simple way to keep on track during your presentation and allow your audience to take in your slides.

Of course, you’ll also need to make sure that the other elements of your presentation are on point – you don’t want your hard work derailed by spelling and grammar issues. We can help with that! Our team of expert editors and proofreaders are available 24/7 to polish your PowerPoint presentation . And you can try it for free .

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How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Shortcuts & Hacks
• April 8, 2019

In this article, you will learn the ins and outs of how to add speaker notes in PowerPoint. This includes printing, presenting, deleting, and formatting your speaker notes so that your handouts look professional.

If you are brand new to adding notes to your PowerPoint presentations, there are three common ways professionals use speaker notes in PowerPoint.

#1. Presenter View: Use your speaker notes as prompts during your presentation. This is the most common use case for adding speaker notes in PowerPoint. You present your slide on a monitor, and you have your main points bulleted out in the Presenter View of PowerPoint.

#2. Normal View: Use your notes as reference documentation for your slides. Instead of listing out the main points for your slides, some professionals use the Notes Pane to capture where their information came from. In this case, you never present or print your speaker notes, you simply keep the links or references to your materials in the Notes Pane.

#3. Notes Page View: use your notes as the final client deliverable like a Word document. The Notes Page View displays your slide at the top of the page and all your speaker notes below it, detailing your comments, recommendations, or action steps like a Word document. While the Notes Page View is NOT as easy to use as Microsoft Word, the fact that the notes stay with each PowerPoint slide makes this very convenient.

How to add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

There are two different places where you can type your speaker notes in PowerPoint. You can either type them in the Notes Pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint Window, your you can type them in the Notes Page view.

Which of these two views is better? It depends on what level of formatting you want to see your speaker notes in.

The main difference between using these two views when working on your speaker notes is the level of formatting that is displayed. The Notes Pane only displays plain text formatting, whereas the Notes Page View displays all formatting just like Microsoft Word.

Notes added in either view are both viewable and editable in the other view. So, you can flip back and forth between the views depending on what you are doing.

Note: You can only add text as your speaker notes in PowerPoint. You cannot add pictures, charts, tables, etc.  Any picture, chart, or graphic you want to reference in your notes must remain on your slide.

#1. The Notes Pane in the Normal View

#2. The Notes Page View

The other way you can add and edit your speaker notes in PowerPoint is using the Notes Page View. The advantage of this view is it displays all your text formatting including font size and font color.

There are four different ways you can open the Notes Pane to add your notes in PowerPoint listed below (and referenced in the picture above).

• Navigate to the View tab and click the Notes command.
• Hit Ctrl+Shift+H on your keyboard to open the Notes Pane.
• Click the Notes command at the bottom of your PowerPoint workspace.
• With your mouse, click and drag the Notes Pane up from the bottom of the PowerPoint workspace.

Regardless of how you open the Notes Pane, once it is open, you can directly type or edit your speaker notes into it. As you will see in the formatting section below, the Notes Pane only displays plain text formatting like bold, italics, numbered lists, bulleted lists, etc.

To add or edit your speaker notes using the Notes Page view in PowerPoint, simply:

• Navigate to the View tab
• Select the Notes Page view
• Click into the input box to type or edit your notes

Note: If you type a lot of text in this view, your notes will run off the bottom of the page. You do not have to worry about losing any of these notes. Any runoff notes will properly display in the Notes Pane and will print properly on the correct number of pages as needed.

Formatting Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

You can apply formatting to your notes in both the Notes Pane and the Notes Page view. That said, not all your formatting properly displays in the Notes Pane .

For example, in the picture below, the red font color I applied in the Notes Pane only displays in the Notes Page view. In this way, only the Notes Page view fully displays all the formatting that has been applied to your speaker notes, so make sure to check this view before you print your notes.

The Notes Pane and the Presenter View only display simple formatting like bold, italics, underlines, bulleted lists, etc. On top of that, these views do not display Font Size. Instead, they only display a zoom level. If you zoom in or out within the Notes Pane or the Presenter View , your Font Size appears to change, but it is only the zoom level changing, not your Font Size.

If you need to see all the formatting applied to your speaker notes in PowerPoint before you print them, the best place to do that is the Notes Page view. See section above for opening the Notes Page view in PowerPoint.

How to remove all your speaker notes at once

You can remove all your speaker notes (known in PowerPoint as Presentation Notes) before you share your presentation with someone using the Inspect Document feature . To remove all your notes at once, simply:

• Navigate to the File menu
• Click the Info
• Open the Check for Issues drop down
• Select Inspect document (select Yes if a dialog box opens)
• Make sure the Presentation Notes option is selected
• Click Inspect
• For Presentation notes, select Remove all

After you select Remove All , all your speaker notes will be removed from your presentation. Just keep in mind that once you remove them, you cannot undo this selection.

So, if you want to keep a copy of your notes, you should first save a copy of your presentation.

How to view your speaker notes in Presenter View

Regardless of how you add your speaker notes to PowerPoint, you can view them in the Presenter View of PowerPoint. You can access this view using shortcuts, or you can set it to run automatically if you are connected to a second monitor.

To set up the Presenter View to run automatically when you connect to an overhead projector or monitor, simply.

1. Navigate to the Slide Show tab 2. Put a checkmark next to Use Presenter View

After selecting Presenter View, the next time you hook up to a monitor or overhead projector and run your presentation, your slides will display on the screen and the Presenter view will display on your computer.

You can alternatively launch the Presenter View at any time using the Alt+Shift+F5 shortcut. To expand your knowledge and learn a variety of ways to present a PowerPoint slideshow (including hidden shortcuts), read our guide here .

How to print your PowerPoint with notes as handouts

To print your PowerPoint speaker notes as handouts, simply:

• Select File then Print (or hit Ctrl+P)
• Change the slides dropdown to Notes Pages
• Click Print

If you want to print your speaker notes next to your slide, you’ll need to first export your slides to Microsoft Word (discussed below).

To expand your knowledge and learn other nuances and tips for printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

To learn how to print your presentation with multiples per page as handouts, read our guide here .

Below are some important things to keep in mind as you start to print your PowerPoint notes as handouts.

1. Slide Numbers are different than page numbers

The number you see in the lower right-hand corner in the print preview are your slide numbers, not the actual page numbers. This can cause a lot of confusion when you are printing your slides with lots of notes, like when using your speaker notes as the client deliverable.

For example, in the picture below, notice that the number is the same on both pages. That is again because it is the slide number, not the page number. So, if you have five pages of notes for slide number 2, the number for all five pages of printing speaker notes will be 2.

Slide numbers in PowerPoint are notoriously tricky to get right. They are much more difficult than managing page numbers in Microsoft Word. If you need help adding and managing your slide numbers in PowerPoint, read our guide here .

2. Slide thumbnails only display on the first page of notes

When printing speaker notes, the slide thumbnail only displays on the first page of your notes. So, if you have four pages of notes for a single slide, your thumbnail only displays on the first page (as pictured above).

3. Formatting your Notes Master for professional handouts

If you want your printed speaker notes to look professional, you will need to format your Notes Master. Notice in the picture below the difference in professionalism between formatted and non-formatting handouts.

If your presentation is important, I highly recommend formatting your Notes Master with your company logo, website address, etc. That way when you print your slides as handouts, they will look sharp, clean, and professional.

To navigate to your Notes Master to format your handouts, simply:

• Click the Notes Master command.

You can add anything you like to your Notes Master just as you would add it to a PowerPoint slide. At a bare minimum, I recommend adding your company logo (as a PNG) and website address. If you are holding a training seminar, I also recommend adding your contact details too.

How to export your speaker notes to Microsoft Word

Another option for printing and editing your notes is to first push them to Microsoft Word.

This gives you the additional option to have your speaker notes on the right of your slides. On top of that, once in Word, you can format and edit your speaker notes in the full Microsoft Word editing environment.

To convert your speaker notes into Microsoft Word document, simply:

• Navigate to the File tab
• Click the Export command
• Select Create Handouts once
• Select Create Handouts a second time
• Pick either Notes next to slide or Notes below slide

Clicking okay, your slides and speaker notes are pushed to a new Microsoft Word document where you can edit them.

Special note when exporting to Microsoft Word. The Create Handouts dialog box gives you the option to Paste Link . In my experience this linking feature is unreliable and rarely works the way you’d expect it to. So, I do not recommend using it.

To expand your knowledge and learn how to convert Microsoft Word to PowerPoint, and some of the common pitfalls that can take place, read our guide here .

How long should your speaker notes be?

Although you can add as much information as you want to your notes, if you are using them as presentation prompts, I recommend keeping them short and punchy. Just enough to remind you of your next topic, or your key points.

Most people hate it if you stand up on stage and read your slides aloud, right? Well, the same is true if you stand on stage and read your speaker notes to them. This is the classic death by PowerPoint.

In addition, hiding behind your computer during your presentation creates an awkward relationship between you and your audience. So, if you are using your notes as speaking guides for your presentation, then use them sparingly.  Instead of writing long sentences or paragraphs, try adding short prompts or highlights to jog your memory.

If you are looking for ideas on how to start your presentation with a bang, read our guide here .

If you need help ending your presentation on a high note, read our guide here .

Speaker notes in PowerPoint can be used in a variety of ways depending on what you are using PowerPoint for. Some use them as presentation prompts, others for research documentation, and others as the final client deliverable. Thankfully, PowerPoint gives you the flexibility to use your speaker notes any way you like.

Just remeber that the formatting of your notes appears differently in the different PowerPoint views.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other useful resources here .

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Mastering PowerPoint Speaker Notes: How to Add, Remove, View and Print Speaker Notes in PowerPoint

Sara Wanasek

Have you ever found yourself caught between wanting to maintain a clean, uncluttered PowerPoint slide and needing additional information to guide your presentation? If so, PowerPoint Speaker Notes might just become your new best friend. 

These notes are like a secret weapon, offering a space to jot down key points, elaborate on complex topics, or script your dialogue while maintaining a sleek slide deck.

But how exactly do speaker notes work, and how can you make the most of them to enhance your presentations? Let’s dive in and uncover the ins and outs of PowerPoint speaker notes.

What Are PowerPoint Speaker Notes?

When you don’t want to add all your information to a PowerPoint slide (no text-clutter here!), but you need some additional information that you want to speak about or prompts to help you remember your information, then PowerPoint Speaker Notes are your new bff. 

PowerPoint speaker notes are additional information or cues that you can include alongside your slides to see during your presentation to help with a smooth delivery of information. These notes are not visible to the audience unless you choose to display them. 

You can use speaker notes for:

• Jotting down key points
• Elaborating on complex topics, or
• Scripting dialogue

to help maintain focus and coherence throughout your presentation.

They’re particularly beneficial to reduce your reliance on visual aids and empower you to engage with your audience confidently. Whether reminding speakers of critical points, scripting their dialogue or providing a backup reference in case of technical issues, speaker notes are an indispensable asset for any presenter striving for excellence in addition to their professionally designed slides .

How To Add Speaker Notes To PowerPoint

Adding Speaker Notes to any PowerPoint presentation is luckily quite a breeze. To add notes, click on the slide you want to add your Notes section to, then click on the Notes tab in the bottom corner. 

Need more space to view all your notes? You can simply expand the notes section by clicking the top border and dragging it up or down.

Potential Problem: Notes Not Showing

Don’t see notes tab? Don’t sweat. Simply click on the View tab in your PowerPoint ribbon and click the Notes icon.

Advanced Option: Use Notes Page to Edit Style

To prepare a Notes section that is printable and formatted how you prefer, you can open the Notes Page by heading over to the View tab in your PowerPoint ribbon and select Notes Page . This section allows you to format text and view the Notes in a printable format.

How to Remove PowerPoint Speaker Notes

Single slide deletion.

To remove your PowerPoint Speaker Notes, open the Notes section on the slide you no longer want notes. Select all the text and simply hit the Delete button!

All Slides Deletion

If you need to fully remove speaker notes from every slide in your file, you can follow these steps: 

• Start by clicking on the File tab and the Info section. From there, in the Inspect Presentation section, select Check for Issues and Inspect document . 

• Once you are there, check the box for Notes and click Inspect .

• Then select Remove All .

How to Present with Speakers Notes in PowerPoint

To present with PowerPoint’s Speaker Notes for easy viewing during your presentation, use Presenter View.

To enable Presenter View:

• Windows : Hit Alt+F5
• Mac : Hit Option + Return
• Dual Monitors : Hit F5

Once your slideshow has begun, your Speaker Notes will appear beneath or beside the slide you’re currently presenting. You can scroll through your notes as needed to stay on track and change the text size for easy viewing.

Going to the Next Slide

When it is time to move on, use the arrow keys or click through your slides as normal and your speaker notes will update accordingly.

Swap Between Presenter View and Slide Show Modes or Swap Screens

To swap between presenter or slide show modes or the view of which of your screens can see the notes, use the Display settings.

The three dots open a further menu for editing your slideshow view in PowerPoint.

Potential Problem: Presenter View Not Appearing

If the Presenter View still does not appear for you, you can go into the Slideshow tab in your PowerPoint ribbon, and ensure Presenter View is checked with the correct monitor selected. 

How To Print PowerPoint with Speaker Notes Included

You may want to print your notes for your own reference or to share with your audience.

Print Full Page Slides

To print your PowerPoint Speaker Notes, click File , then Print . From here, in the Slide Layout section, click the option to Print Notes Pages . 

Print Multiple Slides per Page

You have the option to print one page per slide or multiple slides per page. 

In the Layout Section, under the Handouts section, select the number of slides per page to print as desired. 

Adjust any other settings as needed and hit Print ! 

How to Use PowerPoint Speaker Notes with ClassPoint

Presenting with the PowerPoint add-in ClassPoint to make your presentation more engaging with interactive quizzes , gamification , and enhanced annotation ?

You can still use your Speaker notes! 

To use Presenter View and your Speaker Notes together with ClassPoint, you must be using dual monitors . 

Then, ensure you are using the correct Project mode . To view the toolbar and class code (essential ClassPoint tools!) Use Duplicate or Extended project mode for the presentation with Presenter View as normal. 

To access, click on the Display Settings during your presentation and select your preferred setting. Then, you are able to view and use the ClassPoint tools as usual. 

Then, you can present with additional magic and interactivity with ClassPoint toolbar readily accessible at the bottom of your screen.

You can then go ahead to annotate your slides as you present using ClassPoint’s annotation tools and further presentation tools !

You can also run live polls and quiz games to level up the way you present.

What are PowerPoint Speaker Notes, and how do they work?

Speaker notes in PowerPoint are a feature that allows presenters to add additional information, reminders, or cues alongside their slides. These notes are intended for the presenter’s reference and are not visible to the audience during the presentation unless intentionally displayed. 

To access and edit speaker notes in PowerPoint, open the Notes pane, which is located beneath the slide view in PowerPoint’s interface. You can then type directly into this pane to add notes for each slide. Then, during the presentation, view your speaker notes on your own screen or device while the audience sees only the slides.

Edit PowerPoint Speaker Notes

To Edit your Speaker Notes, open them just as you would to add speaker notes for the first time. From there, edit as needed! 

When to Use PowerPoint Speaker Notes 

Use Speaker Notes for any presentation! When preparing for your presentation, they will help you to thoroughly plan your content and delivery strategy. During the presentation, they will help you stay on track, and after the presentation you can even share your slides with your audience including the speaker notes for added information. 

Benefits of PowerPoint Speaker Notes

Here a few of the biggest benefits when you use PowerPoint Speaker Notes:  Enhanced Organization Improved Delivery Presentation Customization Backup Reference Accessibility Scripting Assistance Time Management Confidence in Material

Can audience members see PowerPoint speaker notes during a presentation?

Your Audience cannot see your Speaker Notes during your presentation. To present your presentation, your Presenter View and your Notes will appear on your screen with just the Presentation appearing on the screen shared with your audience. 

Are speaker notes necessary for every PowerPoint presentation?

Speaker notes are not strictly necessary for every PowerPoint presentation. Use them to help as needed with your speaking style, familiarity with the content, and presentation format.

Do I need Dual Monitors to Use Presenter View?

To make the most of your Speaker Notes in PowerPoint, using 2 monitors is recommended so that you can utilize Presenter View. However, you don’t need to be using two monitors to use PowerPoint speaker notes. 

If you’re using a single monitor setup, you can still use your speaker notes by printing them out to have them handy during your presentation or viewing them on a separate device, such as a tablet or smartphone, while presenting the slides on your main monitor.

Final Thoughts + Bonus Tips!

Now that you have mastered how to add, remove, view and print PowerPoint speaker notes, you can present with more confidence. Before you leave, here are a few additional tips and best practices for presenting with PowerPoint speaker notes:

• When using Speaker Notes, you can use them in whichever suits your presentation style. However it is good to keep in mind that to avoid just reading off your notes, keep it concise.
• Include keywords and cues instead of full sentences and format it so optimal readability.
• In addition, just like any presentation, practice with your notes beforehand to familiarize yourself with them and gauge their effectiveness. 
• And finally, don’t forget to add multimedia and interactive elements to keep your audience engaged!

Master all the tips and tricks to turn your PowerPoint into a professional and interactive experience effortlessly with this Ultimate Interactive PowerPoint playbook !

About Sara Wanasek

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May 9, 2022

Edit your notes in Presenter view in PowerPoint

Victoria Tran

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Hey, Officer Insiders! My name is Victoria Tran, and I’m a Program Manager on the PowerPoint team. I’m thrilled to share that you can now edit notes in Presenter view in PowerPoint for Windows. No more switching to Editor view to type or change your notes, even during a presentation!

Edit notes in Presenter view

Accessing and editing your slide content whenever the need arises is a key part of the PowerPoint workflow. Whether you’re making an important edit to your speaker notes during a presentation rehearsal or jotting down feedback during your presentation, the ability to edit notes in Presenter view increases your productivity and eliminates the need to toggle between views.

We are excited to add this highly requested feature and expand the use of PowerPoint notes. In the future, we’ll continue to add support for editing notes in other views, such as Teleprompter view.

How it works

Ready to edit notes in Presenter view?

NOTE:  You can also press the F6 key to select the Notes pane in Presenter view. When a white outline appears around the pane, press Enter and start typing to make any updates you want.

Known issues

Presenter view currently only allows basic formatting of notes, such as bold, italics, and underlining (via keyboard shortcuts). Formatting such as text color, highlighting, and other options aren’t yet available.

Tips and tricks

• If you are using keyboard commands to navigate through your slides during a presentation, make sure the text insertion point is not showing in the Notes pane. If it is, the arrow keys will move the insertion point around in the pane instead of navigating the slides.
• If you have two monitors, a full-screen slide will show on one monitor and Presenter view on the other monitor, featuring a view of the next slide, your speaker notes, a timer, and more. If you have just one monitor, you can press Alt + F5 to try out Presenter view.

Availability

We will be rolling the edit notes in Presenter view feature out to Office Insiders running Beta Channel Version 2204 (Build 15225.20000) or later.

Don’t have it yet? It’s probably us, not you.

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.

We want to hear from you! Please click Help > Feedback to submit your feedback about this feature.

Learn what  other information you should include in your feedback  to ensure it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you!

Sign up for the Office Insider newsletter  and get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!

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How to add notes to your Microsoft PowerPoint slides

When you present a slideshow, it’s likely that you have more to say than what displays on the slides. You may want to expand on the text you’ve included, or if the slide only contains visuals, explain them further.

Add speaker notes to a slide in PowerPoint

Hide notes while editing a slideshow, view speaker notes during a slideshow.

Luckily, Microsoft PowerPoint provides a built-in feature for speaker notes. This allows you to add notes to each slide and then see them in Presenter View when you start the show.

What You Need

Microsoft PowerPoint

Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the first slide where you want to add notes.

Step 1: Go to the View tab and choose either Normal or Outline View . This allows you to see your slide along with the note you plan to add.

If you’re wondering how to add a note in PowerPoint without changing the view, the short answer is: You can’t. But if you prefer not to use Normal or Outline View, you can check out the Notes Page view in the same section of the ribbon.

While still technically a “view,” this displays your slide and a text box for your note as a printed page, as shown below.

Step 2: Display the Notes panel below the slide if it’s not visible using one of the following:

• Click the Notes button in the Status Bar at the bottom.
• Move your cursor to the bottom of the window. When you see the two-sided arrow, drag up until the panel displays.
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Step 3: When the panel is empty, you’ll see “Click to Add Notes” within it. Place your cursor in the box and type your note.

Step 4: You can apply simple formatting to your note using the tools on the Home tab or in the floating toolbar. This is handy if you want to add bullet points or emphasize the font with bold, italics, or an underline.

Step 5: If you have a lengthy note within the panel, you’ll see a scrollbar appear on the right so that you can move down and see the entire note. You can also drag up on the panel to enlarge it.

If you want your slide in full view as you're assembling or editing your slideshow, you can hide the presenter notes. This does not delete them; it merely moves the notes panel out of view.

Do one of the following to hide your notes:

• Drag the notes panel downward until it no longer displays.

When it’s time to present your slideshow, you can use Presenter View to see your speaker notes. This allows you to view the notes for each slide on your monitor while presenting the slideshow on another. Your audience will not see your notes.

Step 1: Go to the Slide Show tab. On Windows, check the box for Use Presenter View in the Monitors section of the ribbon. On Mac, click the Presenter View button in the Start Slide Show section.

If you’ve already started the slideshow, you can still turn on Presenter View. Click the Three Dots in the Presenter Toolbar and choose Show Presenter View (Windows) or Use Presenter View (Mac).

Step 2: You’ll then see your notes display on the right side of the screen, with your slide on the left. As you advance each slide, the notes will display accordingly.

Step 3: The text for your note wraps automatically to the next line, and you have a scrollbar to move through those lengthy notes.

To adjust the font size for the notes, use the buttons below the notes panel.

Whether you want to add notes to PowerPoint to talk through your slideshow or simply as references while you assemble your slides, be sure to take advantage of this built-in feature.

For additional ways to work in Microsoft PowerPoint, check out how A.I. can help you create your slideshows .

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Knowing how to make a new team and how to properly organize teams makes it easy for a company to enhance productivity and streamline communication. When used effectively, Microsoft Teams is useful for both in-office and remote workers, ensuring everyone stays on the same page regardless of location.

PowerPoint makes it easy to give a great presentation thanks to intuitive software that lets anyone craft an eye-catching deck. What's even better, however, is the option to use Presenter View. This lets you leave notes for yourself that can be viewed on your computer screen while everyone else is only seeing your presentation.

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Fortunately, there are several different tools you can use to monitor this important statistic. Some are built right into your operating system, while others will require a separate download. You can also purchase certain external devices to keep tabs on your desktop’s energy output.

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Discover the hidden power of PowerPoint Speaker Notes in our blog. From enhancing confidence to engaging your audience, learn how to craft effective notes and project them seamlessly during your presentations. ... read more Discover the hidden power of PowerPoint Speaker Notes in our blog. From enhancing confidence to engaging your audience, learn how to craft effective notes and project them seamlessly during your presentations. close

Speaker notes for a PowerPoint are often an underestimated and neglected tool; they are the secret weapon for any confident presenter. They are the lifeline that keeps the presentation smooth and on track. In this blog, we will look into the benefits of using speaker notes and how to use them to their fullest potential.

The benefits of using speaker notes

Speaker notes are the behind-the-scenes ally of any presenter. Easily a confidence booster, speaker notes discreetly display your notes and numbers to keep you on track and articulate.

Enhancing speaker confidence

The advantage of speaker notes is that, first and foremost, they offer a safety net for presenters to fall back on so they don’t miss a point. Knowing that they have a boost ready for them when they need it instills confidence in presenters, so they feel well-prepared. Using speaker notes you can have a reference point to return to, which helps you focus on engaging your audience rather than worrying about forgetting details you need to mention.

Streamlining the presentation flow

Speaker notes guide you as you move through your presentation, offering a clear roadmap for you to follow. When the narrative flows seamlessly, it’s easier for the audience to pay attention and follow along. You can avoid potential obstacles or lags by mapping out the narrative within the speaker notes beforehand, as you would with storyboarding . With speaker notes, presenters can also outline their presentations to have a logical structure and a natural flow of ideas, which helps you avoid stumbling over your words or losing track of where you are. That way, the audience is treated to a truly enriching presentation experience.

Facilitating audience engagement

Engagement connects the audience and presenter, turning one-sided monologues into captivating dialogues. Speaker notes can be used to provide cues to help the presenter remember what to say, including discussion prompts and strategic signals for when to use audience interaction.

By incorporating purposeful notes, you can easily incorporate interactive segments into your presentation for a two-way discussion.

Crafting effective speaker notes

Creating effective speaker notes is an essential, yet underrated, skill for any presenter. As you present, these notes will be your lifeline, which is why it’s so important for them to be a useful guide for delivering a seamless presentation.

Balancing detail and brevity

When creating your notes, balancing detail and brevity is necessary to avoid any confusion when you present. These notes should have enough information to keep you on track, but not so much that you need a minute to read them all. This rule also applies when trying to achieve balance; you must consider what you can afford to leave out of your notes. By maintaining brief and straightforward notes, you can make the most of your script.

Ensuring readability

When creating helpful speaker notes, it goes without saying that readability should be at the forefront of your concerns. Your notes should be simple and digestible enough that you should be able to understand them at a glance as you speak, so avoid complicated language and complex terms that require rereading. Also, consider using a readable sans-serif and sizing your content large enough to read. After all, your speaker notes should enable you to present better; they shouldn’t be an obstacle.

Handling Q&A sessions efficiently

Speaker notes are your best ally when you present, so it’s important to use them to their fullest potential. Especially when faced with a Q&A session, your notes serve as your backup information for the more unexpected questions. By purposefully preparing your speaker notes with answers to anticipated questions, you can boost your confidence and navigate the session with ease.

How do you add speaker notes in PowerPoint?

Luckily, adding speaker notes to PowerPoint is incredibly simple and requires no fuss. All you need to do is go to the slide you want to add your notes to, select Notes at the bottom of your screen, and type out the notes under the slide.

How do you project speaker notes in PowerPoint during a presentation?

When the presentation is connected to another output (like a monitor or projector), PowerPoint is built to display the speaker’s notes only to the presenter. Once you have added your notes, you can go to the Slide Show tab and click on Presenter View to put the slides up on display. With Presenter View, you will still be able to see your speaker notes and slides, while the audience will only see your slides.

Speaker notes are a powerful sidekick for creating dynamic and fluent presentations. They allow presenters to be more prepared, confident, and fluent by helping facilitate a smooth flow of ideas and ensure an engaging experience for the audience. Every word counts when you present, and speaker notes offer a solid base to bounce off of.

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A simple guide to slideshows

Learn what slideshows are, how they’re used, common features, and how to choose a slideshow maker. Get started creating your own slideshows today with Microsoft PowerPoint.

What is a slideshow?

What are slideshows used for.

Meetings and presentations

Slideshows are most frequently used to create professional presentations for business meetings, conferences, and educational purposes. A  slideshow program  allows people to organize content, include visuals, and enhance the overall impact of their message.

Visual storytelling

Because slideshows sequentially display engaging visuals, text, and other multimedia, they’re a strong way to tell a cohesive and compelling narrative from start to finish.

Content creation

Slideshows give content creators a versatile and efficient way to organize information, increase visual appeal, and communicate effectively across different contexts.

Photo and video sharing

Slideshow makers are popular for creating photo and video presentations, especially for events like weddings, birthdays, and vacations. People can add transitions, music, and captions to fully bring the photo-sharing experience to life.

Training and tutorials

Slideshows help break down complex information into digestible chunks with the support of visuals and text, making them ideal for instructional materials, tutorials, and training modules.

Collaborative projects

In collaborative settings, teams use slideshow makers to create joint presentations or reports. The best slideshow makers enable multiple contributors to add their content simultaneously, which helps ensure a cohesive and unified presentation.

What are the features of a slideshow creator?

Slideshow creators vary in what they offer but ideally include:

A library of templates, themes, and images.

If you’re not a designer, this feature is huge. Simply browse the options available in your slideshow maker library to create a polished, professionally designed presentation in a flash. Be sure to confirm that access to the library is free and the images are approved for unrestricted usage.

Audio and video compatibility.

Keeping your audience engaged is key to any successful slideshow presentation. To mix things up, being able to add a multimedia element—like a song or a video clip—will help people stay focused and interested.

Presentation tools.

Handy presenter tools go a long way toward making your slideshow experience seamless. For example, straightforward slide navigation, slideshow keyboard shortcuts, pen and highlighter markup, and adjustable resolution settings.

AI assistance.

With AI revolutionizing content creation, using a slideshow maker that has AI capabilities will enhance efficiency and innovation. Depending on the slideshow app you have, creating an entire slideshow could be as easy as a quick prompt, like “Make a presentation about the benefits of sustainable fashion that has 15 slides.” 

Animations.

Like audio and video, animations give your audience a bit of sensory surprise that can capture their attention. 

Slide transitions.

Add some pizzazz to how you change slides with visual effects like fading, wiping, and zooming. 

Screen recording.

Being able to record your screen in a slideshow maker is helpful when giving an instructional talk, software demonstration, and other types of presentations that require visual aids.

A place to put speaker notes.

Having somewhere to jot a few notes down will help remind you of everything you want to cover as you present.

Different viewing options.

Looking at different views—for example, a presenter view, an audience view, and a high-level view of slide order—is useful when organizing your slideshow’s structure and understanding and preparing for what you’ll see versus what your audience will see.

How do I choose the right slideshow maker?

When choosing a slideshow maker, keep the following questions in mind to make sure you get the most for your money:

Is it scalable with your business?

As your organization grows and changes, it’s important to have flexible technology that adapts to new needs. Having certain features—such as cloud-based collaboration, compatibility with other work apps, and a mobile app—will help ensure that no matter how your business changes, the slideshow maker is up to the task. This also applies to pricing plans. Consider choosing a slideshow app that has a subscription plan (so the software is always up to date), volume-based pricing, or enterprise-level pricing.

Does it have a variety of visual elements?

It’s pretty much a given that a slideshow maker will allow you to add images, but think outside the JPEG box—what other visual elements are available to you? Features like preset themes, free templates, SmartArt, a built-in clip art library, shape tools, background styles, 3D models, and charts and graphs provide diverse ways to switch up how a slideshow looks without relying solely on adding your own images.

Is it easy to use?

You could have the most feature-rich slideshow maker on the market, but if it isn’t easy to use, you probably won’t use it. Or you will, but you’ll be frustrated, waste valuable time, and have difficulty convincing people you work with to use it. As you research slideshow makers, look for videos that show the apps’ interfaces in action to help you decide if they’re intuitive and will have a shorter learning curve.

Does it have collaboration and sharing options?

Because making a slideshow is often a collaborative effort, it’s worthwhile to find a slideshow creator that was designed with this in mind. Pick one that offers editing controls and commenting, as well as the ability to work on a slideshow at the same time as someone else. Having a cloud-based slideshow maker will be key here. You’ll not only save yourself time but also keep things simple by not having multiple versions of the same slideshow.

Explore more about slideshows and slideshow makers

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Frequently asked questions

How do i make a good slideshow.

Making a good slideshow in PowerPoint is easy:

Plan what you’d like to include in your slideshow.

Launch your slideshow creator.

Choose the theme you’d like.

Import media.

Add text, music, and transitions.

Record, save, and share your slideshow.

Learn more about how to make a slideshow .

How do I add music to a slideshow?

To add music to a slideshow, first make sure that you’re using a slideshow maker with music compatibility. In PowerPoint, follow these steps:

Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to add music.

Click on the Insert tab in the ribbon menu.

Click on the Audio button and select Audio on My PC.

Browse to the folder on your computer where the audio file is located and select it.

Click on the Insert button.

How do I record a slideshow?

The steps for recording a slideshow in PowerPoint will vary depending on the version that you own. Get help with slideshow recording based on your version. 

What types of files can I add to a slideshow?

File compatibility in PowerPoint includes the use of JPEGs, PNGs, TIFFs, GIFs, PDFs, MP3s, WAVs, MIDIs, MPEG-4 Videos, and Windows Media Videos.  

How do I share my slideshow?

To share your PowerPoint slideshow, follow these steps:

Open your presentation and click Share at the top right of your screen.

If your presentation isn't already stored on OneDrive, select where to save your presentation to the cloud.

Choose a permission level, like Anyone with a link , or maybe just people in your company. You can also control if people can edit or just view the doc. 

Select Apply.

Enter names and a message.

Select Send.

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Microsoft PowerPoint vs. Google Slides

Aayush Jain

When comparing Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides, we explore two giants in the presentation software realm. PowerPoint is synonymous with rich features and deep customization, being the go-to for professionals requiring sophisticated presentations. Google Slides, meanwhile, is celebrated for its simplicity and collaborative prowess, making it ideal for teams that value real-time editing and accessibility from any device. This comparison aims to guide users in choosing between a tool known for its comprehensive functionalities and another that excels in ease of use and collaboration.

Comparison Table

Whether your priority is the depth of features for intricate presentations (PowerPoint) or the ease and accessibility for collaborative projects (Google Slides), both platforms offer compelling benefits. For those seeking tailored solutions that maximize the strengths of either platform, INK PPT provides expert presentation design services. Leverage our expertise to ensure your presentations not only look professional but also convey your message effectively and engagingly. Contact INK PPT today to enhance your presentation capabilities.

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Comparison: Microsoft PowerPoint vs. WPS Office

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Comparison: Microsoft PowerPoint vs. Beautiful.ai

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Comparison: Microsoft PowerPoint vs. Zoho Show

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• Create speaker notes Video
• Print notes or use Presenter view Video

Create speaker notes

Speaker notes help you remember what to say when you present. Print them, or use Presenter view to see your notes, while the audience sees only your slides.

Add speaker notes

Slides work best when you don’t cram too much information (especially too much text) onto them.

Keep the text to a minimum and put the extra stuff in the speaker notes section, out of your audience’s sight. Then, refer to your notes while you give the presentation.

Open the notes pane by clicking NOTES at the bottom of the window.

Click in the notes pane below the slide, and enter your notes.

Create and print speaker notes

Use Presenter view

View your speaker notes as you deliver your slide show

Print slides, notes, or handouts

Use speaker notes to capture your talking points and the details you want to present with each slide.

For example, on the slide itself, include only essential points to keep the information simple and easy to scan.

Reserve the finer details for your speaker notes.

You’ll engage with your audience as you present this information, and they won’t have to read a crowded slide.

One way to use your notes is to print them out in a Notes Pages format and refer to them as you present.

Another way is to use PowerPoint’s Presenter view when you present.

Presenter view lets you see the slide and your notes on your laptop, while on the projector, your audience sees only the slide.

An added benefit of speaker notes is that you can print them as a handout for your audience, so people take away all the details.

To create speaker notes, click NOTES at the bottom of the editing window.

That opens the notes pane, where you type your notes for the slide.

To adjust the space in the pane, point to the top border and drag the double-headed arrow cursor up or down.

Type what you plan to say and the key points you’ll cover.

Apply formatting just the way you do for slide text.

For example, to make a bold-face heading, select the text, and on the HOME tab, click Bold , or to create a bulleted list, select the text, and on the HOME tab, click Bullets .

For each slide, add the notes you want.

As you work, and especially if you plan to print your notes, make use of Notes page view.

To open the view, click VIEW and Notes Page .

This shows the page as it will look when you print it, with the slide image and the notes.

You can add and format text here, too.

Let’s click Zoom In to see the text better.

Click the text to display its placeholder, this dotted border.

Any text outside this border won’t fit on the page when you print.

PowerPoint will print the extra text on a separate page.

But to keep it to this page, you have a few options.

Tighten up the notes text by deleting extra paragraph lines or revising text, if you can.

This info repeats the web address, so I’ll select it, and press Delete.

I’ll click Zoom Out to see more of the page.

If you want more space and don’t mind making the slide image smaller on this page, you can click the image to select it, point to the bottom-right corner, and drag the two-headed arrow upward to reduce the image size.

Then, display the text placeholder again, point to the top sizing handle, and drag the two-headed arrow cursor upward.

That adds space at the bottom of the placeholder.

I’ll click where I had the blank paragraph lines and press Enter to add them back.

Now, it looks better.

To move to another notes page, click Next Slide , the double arrows at the bottom of the scrollbar.

To return to the normal view, click Normal .

And if you are ready to close the notes pane, click NOTES .

Up next: Print notes or use Presenter view .

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