PowerPoint's presenter view is ideal for accompanying your presentation: During your presentation, you can display your speaker notes and slides on your computer. Meanwhile, your audience sees the presentation without notes on a separate screen or projector.

What is PowerPoint Presenter View?

You can activate the PowerPoint presenter view during your presentation. It's a different view of your slides , allowing you, as the presenter, to preview upcoming slides and view speaker notes.

The advantage of this is that your audience won't notice anything and will only see the current slide. Their attention won't be diverted to the next slide while you're still presenting the current one.

Advantages of presenting with PowerPoint's presenter view

In addition, PowerPoint's presenter view offers numerous other features that allow you to optimize and streamline the flow of your presentations :

1. You can add notes to each slide and use them instead of, for example, index cards. This makes your presentation more fluid and you don't have to hold any distracting cards. You can customize the notes for each slide, and the corresponding notes will be displayed when you advance to the next slide.
2. You always see the current slide number (e.g., slide 5 of 13) and can therefore prepare for the next slide. You have a continuous overview of the entire presentation.
3. A preview image at the edge of your presentation always shows you the next slide .
4. A timer informs you about the time that has already elapsed. This is particularly helpful if you have a specific time window for your presentation.
5. The pen tools allow you to annotate, highlight, and add to your slide content. These freehand annotations can then even be saved.
6. You can display a thumbnail preview of all your slides in the presentation. This allows you to select any slides and jump from slide to slide.
7. The magnifying function allows you to enlarge individual sections of the current slide. A virtual laser pointer lets you highlight specific points.
8. During breaks and discussions, you can display a black screen and don't need to turn off the projector. This saves time when resuming the presentation.

Here's how to set up PowerPoint presenter view and the projector.

For PowerPoint presenter view, it's important to use two different monitors. In the case of a presentation, this is often a projector. Below, we explain how to properly configure the projector for this purpose:

1. Before you start your presentation, connect your laptop to the projector and make sure that the laptop is not yet switched on.

2. Now, when you turn on the laptop, the projector will recognize it as a second screen.

3. When you start Microsoft PowerPoint, you should now see the same image displayed on both screens.

4. Press the Windows key + P and then select "Expand". To switch to Presenter View, click the checkmark next to "Presenter View" on the "Slide Show" tab.

5. You will now see the different views on your two monitors. You, as the presenter, will see the presenter view, while your audience will see the current slide.

6. Normally, the presenter view is automatically displayed on the correct PC (yours). However, if it appears on the projection intended for the audience, you can select "Main screen " from the "Screen" drop-down menu under "Slide Show". The presenter view should then run on your device.

Disable PowerPoint presenter view

If you want to disable Presenter View during your presentation, simply remove the check mark from the "Presenter View" box in the "Slide Show " section of the ribbon.

Tips for optimal use of PowerPoint's presenter view

1. Practicing the presentation beforehand

Start using Presenter View even before your actual presentation. To use this tool effectively, you should be confident in its use . Therefore, test it extensively beforehand so you can act with poise when it matters.

Additionally, review your presentation while projecting the presenter view. This will help ensure a smoother presentation and allow you to add any missing or insufficient notes.

2. Designing effective presentation notes

To make your notes effective, keep them concise and to the point so you can refer to them quickly and easily during the presentation. Avoid long paragraphs and instead focus on bullet points that summarize the main ideas and important details.

Highlighting key terms or using abbreviations can make your notes even easier to read. Your notes should also be large enough . To adjust the size of notes and previews, simply drag the edges of the respective elements until they reach the desired size.

Make sure to structure your notes well to support the flow of your presentation and ensure a seamless transition between slides.

3. Managing time and breaks during the presentation

The integrated timeline allows you to keep track of time during your presentation. To make the most of your time, it's important to plan your presentation carefully and schedule breaks as needed to give your audience time to process the information.

Make sure to use pauses deliberately , for example to answer questions or emphasize important points. Also use the timer to keep an eye on your presentation pace , ensuring you speak neither too quickly nor too slowly and thus maintain your audience's attention.

This will guarantee a well-structured and engaging presentation that is both informative and enjoyable for your audience.

4. Integrating interactive elements

It's no secret that interactivity in presentations boosts audience attention . Presenter View in PowerPoint allows you to insert media and interactive elements into your presentation to make it more visually appealing and engaging.

For example, you can integrate videos, audio clips, animations, and interactive polls . Use the presenter view to control the media playback flow and ensure everything runs smoothly.

For more ideas on how to make your presentations interactive, see the article " Interactive Presentations ".

5. Update slides

PowerPoint's presenter view allows you to update your slides even during your presentation. This is especially useful if you're working on your presentation as part of a team and changes might be made right up to the last minute.

This setting can be activated by selecting "Slide Show" in the ribbon, then "Set Up Slide Show," and finally "Update Slides." This ensures that both you as the presenter and your PowerPoint presentation are always up-to-date during the presentation.

Pro tip: Use shortcuts in your presentation

Shortcuts are keyboard shortcuts that allow you to access specific functions in PowerPoint using your keyboard. Here, we explain useful shortcuts that can make presenting with Presenter View particularly easy.

• Show the next slide by pressing the Enter key or the right or down arrow keys .
• To go back to the previous slide, press either the up or left arrow key.
• To jump to the last slide of your presentation, press the End key.
• If you want to skip slides during your presentation, select a number on the keyboard and press Enter .
• To make your screen appear either white or black, select either W or the comma key for a white screen, and B or the period key for a black screen. These functions can be especially helpful when you want to ensure that the audience's full attention is on you and not on the slideshow.

For more useful shortcuts to make working with PowerPoint easier, feel free to check out our blog here .

Conclusion: For better presentations, use PowerPoint's presenter view.

Presenter View significantly simplifies your presentation and makes navigating your presentation easier. Thanks to its many useful features, you can make your presentation more engaging and capture your audience's attention. Similarly, creating a dual-screen view allows you to prepare for the next slide in advance.

If you have any questions about presenter view and PowerPoint in general, please feel free to contact us. Write to us by email at becker@presentationload.de and we will be happy to help.

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