How to Convert a PowerPoint Presentation into a Video

PowerPoint 2013 allows you to convert your presentation into a video file. Converting a presentation into a video is useful because the MPEG-4 and WMV video file formats can be played on most computers. All transitions, animations, sounds, and narration in the presentation are embedded into the video. The video is not editable, so the entire presentation will always remain as the author intended. This is especially useful if your audience does not have PowerPoint 2013 installed on their computers.

1. Once you have finished your presentation and you are ready to convert it to a video, click on the FILE tab and then Export.
2. From the Export menu, click on Create a Video.
   
3. The first drop-down box allows you to select the quality of the video to be created. Each quality option is described in the menu, including the dimensions of the resulting video. For example, Computer & HD Displays is the highest quality video you can create for use with a projector, a computer screen, or high-definition display. If you are creating a video for the Internet, the second option, Internet & DVD, is the best. Finally, if you are planning to play the video on a portable device, you should select the last option, Portable Devices.
   
4. The second drop-down box refers to the possibility of using recorded timings and narrations you may have added to your animations and transitions on different slides in your presentation. Selecting Use Recorded Timings and Narrations will insure these remain intact in the video you create.
   
5. If you wish to record your own timings and narrations but have not done so already, you can do it here. Click on Record Timings and Narrations. A dialog box, which allows you to record Slide and animation timings and Narration and laser timings, will appear. After you press Start Recording, you will be prompted to record your timings and narrations.
   
6. By clicking on Preview Timings and Narrations, you may preview your existing timings and narrations prior to creating your video. If you are unhappy with the results, you may re-record them at this step.
7. Finally, the option Seconds to spend on each slide refers to the amount of time the video spends on each slide. The default setting is 5:00 seconds. You may increase or reduce this time to suit your preferences.
8. To accept these settings and create the video, press the Create Video button. Doing so will open a dialog box. Here you can select whether you want to save the video in MPEG-4 or WMV format. Make your selection, and click Save.
   
   Depending on how big your presentation is, saving may take a few minutes. Once your video is saved, you may play it on your computer.

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Adding Music to Your PowerPoint Presentation

It’s simple to add an audio track to your PowerPoint slideshow. You can play a song on any slide in your presentation. Alternatively, you can select one piece of music that will loop continuously from the time you click its audio button until you close your PowerPoint presentation.

Add Music from Your Hard Drive

To add a music file from your hard drive, choose a slide in PowerPoint, select INSERT, click Audio, and click Audio on My PC.

Navigate to the directory that contains your audio files. PowerPoint will display a list of your audio files in all of the popular formats. You’ll see your .mp3 and .mp4 files, your Windows Audio Files (.wav), and your Windows Media Audio Files (.wma), as well as audio tracks that are stored in some less popular formats.

Highlight the file that you want to add to your slide, and click Insert. PowerPoint will add the familiar audio button to your slide. To start the music during your presentation, just click the audio button. Your music will play as long as that slide is being displayed.

Add Music from the Internet

PowerPoint makes it easy to grab an audio file from the Internet, or to record a file yourself. To access the large library of online sounds and music that is available for free to Office 2013 users, select INSERT, click Audio, and click Online Audio. PowerPoint will download the file that you’ve selected, and make it available during your presentation.

Record an Audio Track and Add It

To record your own audio track, select INSERT, click Audio, and click Record Audio. Follow the instructions on the screen for starting and stopping the recorder.

Play Music in a Continuous Loop

If you want music to loop continuously during your PowerPoint slideshow, set up a music file using one of the procedures described above. Next, click the song’s audio icon. Select Audio Tools Playback and then select Play in Background. The music will start playing, and will continue to play until you close your presentation.

The Pros and Cons of Adding Music

Adding music to your PowerPoint presentation might be a great idea. People are accustomed to hearing musical soundtracks on just about every movie and TV show that we watch. So hearing a low-volume musical track playing during your slideshow might feel normal to most people.

For two groups of people, adding a music track will make them less able to appreciate your presentation:

• People with hearing problems should be concentrating on your verbal presentation. Playing music in the background will make it more difficult for them to separate the important message from the background music. People who don’t wear hearing aids will automatically distinguish between the music that is coming from your computer (or from the sound system that is connected to your computer) and the words that are coming from your mouth. By contrast, people with hearing aids receive a single input stream of sound. They have a much more difficult time separating your voice and your music in the sounds that they hear.
• People who speak English as a second language often struggle to understand people who speak conversational English. Playing music in the background makes this task much more difficult.

Many people in your audience are already being distracted by text messages, by social media interruptions on their smartphone or tablet, and by the ambient noise in the room in which you’re making your presentation. If your music track further degrades their ability to absorb and process the information in your presentation, then adding a music track is a bad idea.

The Bottom Line

PowerPoint makes it simple to add music to your presentation. But that doesn’t mean that adding music will help you achieve the goals of your presentation. Choose carefully.