How to Add Audio to PowerPoint

Planning on adding audio to your PowerPoint presentations? This article is all about how you can do that, and making sure you do it the right way. PowerPoint lets you incorporate audio elements into your presentations. Having audio and sounds in your presentations can enrich your content and help engage your audience. It could be background music, audio narration, or even sound effects, everything adds to the experience. So let’s get right into it.

If you’d rather watch a video, here’s one from our YouTube channel that you will find helpful:

How to Add Audio From Your PC to PowerPoint

Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon and click on Audio.

In the drop-down menu, click on Audio on My PC.

In the window that appears, find the audio file you want to insert into your slide. Select it, and click Insert.

You can even link to the audio file. To do this, instead of clicking Insert, click on the arrow next to it, and select Link to File.

Insert Audio or Link Audio to PowerPoint? Which is Better?

Here’s the difference between the 2 methods:

Inserting the audio file into PowerPoint increases the file size. So sharing the file be a hassle.

Linking to the audio does not increase the file size, but the link can break if the audio isn’t in the same folder as the PPT file. Which can also cause problems while sharing 😅

My advice? Insert the audio. If the file size isn’t too big, you’re good.

Or make sure the audio file is in the same folder as the PPT file when you link to it. Then share the entire folder via a compressed zip file, or on a portable USB storage device.

How to Add Narrated Audio to PowerPoint

Follow the same steps as above, Insert > Audio, and select Record Audio.

Enter a name for your audio recording:

Now click on the Record button to begin your recording. Speak clearly and click on Stop when you’re done. You can play it back before pressing on OK and adding it to your slide.

Playback Options for Audio in PowerPoint:

To adjust playback options for the audio files in your PowerPoint presentation, first click on the audio icon, and click on Playback in the PowerPoint ribbon.

You now have multiple options to choose from.

Click on the Play button to hear your audio. In case there’s a specific point in the audio that you might want to jump to while presenting, you can click on Add Bookmark when the playback reaches that point. This adds a marker, that you can click on (under the audio icon in your slide) to jump to. Remove a bookmark by first selecting it and then clicking on Remove Bookmark.

You can also trim the audio. Click on Trim Audio, and this pop-up box will appear:

Drag the red and green markers to trim the video, or manually enter the start and end time.

Going back, enter the fade in and fade out duration here. This is recommended when you have music in your slides, since it makes the transition to the audio smooth.

Here you can adjust the volume of the audio file. You can then adjust how the audio should start playing in your slide. You can choose from 3 different options:

In Click Sequence: The audio plays according to the click sequence of the presentation.

Automatically: Audio starts playing automatically when you reach that slide during your presentation.

When Clicked On: Audio only plays when you click on the audio icon.

Here are the other options available:

Play Across Slides: Use this to play the audio across multiple slides in your presentation.

Loop until Stopped: This option repeatedly plays the audio until you manually stop it.

Hide During Show: This option lets you hide the audio icon.

Rewind after Playing: Rewinds the audio after playback.

There’s a dedicated button for playing the audio across multiple slides, simply click on Play in Background. To reset, click on No Style.

Click on Insert Captions to insert captions for your audio. Finally, click on Save Media as if you want to export the audio from PowerPoint.

Additional Tips for Inserting Audio to PowerPoint

Ensure your chosen audio files are compatible with PowerPoint, commonly including MP3, WAV, and WMA. 

Always select audio clips that are concise and directly support your presentation’s message. 

Use clear and high-quality audio recordings to enhance the experience of your presentation. Also, be sure to test the playback before you present it!