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Welcome back to the podcast!
This week: Adding Sound to Your PowerPoint Presentations.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, why would anyone want to add spoken words to a presentation of images? Seems like overkill, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not.
Take a look at any movie trailer; what elements do you see? I see moving or still images, brief verbage to peak your interest or to inform, and music.
How does this apply to your presentation? Well, you have probably already figured out the images and animation part, but have you forgotten your narration and soundtrack? How much of an impact would movie trailers have made without the voice of Don LaFontaine saying things like: “In a world where one man’s podcast stands out among the crowd…” Or the wonderful voiceovers for pharmaceutical product warnings being presented by a soft female voice stating things like: “Although not life-threatening in 10% of the population, massive bleeding can occur and cause copious amounts of hemorrhaging.”
How the speaker sounds makes a huge impact on the message being sent. The Don LaFontaine voice gives you the rich, intense feel of an action movie, and the soft-spoken female voice sounds reassuring and less threatening even though it presents a much grimmer topic. Do you think that was purely by mistake?
How many movies have you noticed that have no background music behind them? Virtually none, if any. As an avid fan of horror films, I have become keenly aware of the impact that music (or, in some cases, a lack of music) can have on the mood being presented. If you have ever seen the movie The Exorcist, you might notice that virtually the entire movie is without music except for the theme song in very few scenes. Do you think this was by mistake? Not really; this effect made it hard to predict the sudden scary parts, so that they would startle you when they occur. Likewise, the sound effects in Halloween really let you know when you should be getting scared and are sometimes used to mislead you so they have more impact later.
So what can you do to spice up your presentation? Well, this week’s tips are just what you need.
Recording narrations for your presentation
You, too, can be Don LaFontaine by adding narrations to your slides. When might you want to do this? Think about the trade show booth or kiosk at the mall. Adding narrations allows anyone to man your booth but still maintain the professional sound you want for presenting your information.
- Text Instructions: PowerPoint 2000, 2002, 2003
- Video Instructions: PowerPoint 2007
Playing a sound file throughout your presentation
Now that you have your narrations, let’s add the music. First thing you need to decide when adding music is whether or not it should play for a single slide or throughout the entire presentation. Included in this week’s blog entry are video tips for PowerPoint 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2007 that demonstrate inserting a sound and setting it to play for the entire presentation.
- Text Instructions: PowerPoint 2000, 2002, 2003
- Video Instructions: PowerPoint 2000, 2002, 2003
Inserting sound into a presentation
- Video Instructions: PowerPoint 2007
Well, that’s all for this week’s tips. Be sure to stop by again next week, when we’ll show you an easy method for exporting your slides and creating a DVD for your friends or clients!
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See you next week!
