This section provides information on how to pre-record your presentation using either PowerPoint or Zoom. Both of these options let you create a video file of your presentation that can be presented at the time of your Streamed Presentation or Poster Session Presentation. Pre-recorded Streamed Presentation speakers must be available during their presentation time.
Creating Your Pre-Recorded Presentation Using PowerPoint
The instructions below can be used to create a pre-recorded presentation for streaming (a plenary, symposia or large group presentation) AND for on-demand Poster Session Presentations.
PowerPoint allows for the creation of video directly from the software platform. You can record audio right inside of PowerPoint, and have it playing while viewers watch the slideshow presentation. Best of all, the audio stays synced to the slide timings you set while recording the audio.
Here are some tips to help you improve the quality of your presentation narration:
- As a presenter, we suggest you write an outline or script of your audio presentation. Use the speaker notes section in PowerPoint or print your notes to keep your audio on track.
- NOTE: purchasing any inexpensive USB microphone is a major upgrade over your laptop’s built-in microphone.
- As always, remove background noise when possible. Turn off fans, devices, and close the door to avoid distractions.
Step 1. Setup Your Microphone
Before you start recording audio inside PowerPoint, start by making sure that your microphone is plugged in and ready to record. You’ll want to access the audio device settings and set your default microphone. You can’t change which device to record from or set volume levels for the microphone inside of PowerPoint, so make sure that your microphone is ready for recording before you dive into your presentation.
Step 2. Recording Your Presentation Audio in PowerPoint
Make sure that you start on the first slide in PowerPoint to record audio and timings for the entire presentation. To record narrations in PowerPoint, start by finding the Slide Show tab on PowerPoint’s ribbon. Click on the Slide Show tab to view the available options.
On the Slide Show tab, choose Record Slide Show to launch the recording options. A new window will pop up with two options to set before you start recording:
- Slide and animation timings. Leave this option checked. It allows you to sync up your narration with slides.
- Narrations, ink, and laser pointer. Leave this option checked to record audio narrations, even if you don’t plan to use ink or the pointer to add illustrations.
Make sure you’re ready before you press Start Recording. As soon as you click on it, PowerPoint will begin to record your screen and audio.
Step 3. Start Recording Your Narration
Once you Start Recording, PowerPoint will go into a full screen presentation view. It also begins recording audio from your microphone. In the upper left corner of the window, you’ll see a Recording window with a runtime counter and other buttons. Use this to keep track of the length of your presentation.
You can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to switch between slides while recording. Use the right arrow to jump to the next slide, or the left arrow to move to the previous PowerPoint slide.
While recording, you’ll see a window with the runtime of your current recording. This will help you pace yourself, to see when you are at the midpoint of your presentation and when you are getting close to the end.
When you’re finished, click on the X button in the upper right corner of the Recording window to complete the audio recording.
If you have one available, it’s recommended that you have a dual monitor setup and you can use Presenter View, which puts a preview of your next slide with your speaking notes on a second screen. Turn on Presenter View on the Slideshow tab by checking Use Presenter View.
It’s great to have Presenter View on a second screen while you’re recording your narrations. You can use this to show your Speaker Notes and a preview of the next slide to keep you on pace.
Step 4. Use Annotations (Optional)
While you’re recording your presentation, you can also add annotations to your PowerPoint. You can use a digital pen, highlighter or laser pointer to add markings.
To use annotations, hover in the lower left corner of your presentation while recording the presentation. There are extra tools that you can choose from. For an annotation, click on the third icon of the left to choose from one of the tools.
Step 5. Reset Presentation Timings as Needed
If you recorded your audio perfectly, but the timings of your slide changes were off, you can restart the process of setting your slide timings.
To do so, make sure that you’re on the Slide Show tab and click on Rehearse Timings. Your presentation will go into full screen mode and you can use the arrow keys to change slides to set new timings while listening to your previously recorded audio.
Step 6. Adding Audio to select slides (Poster Sessions Only)
If you are pre-recording a Poster Session Presentation and you do not want to record audio with timings for your entire presentation, you can add audio to a selected slide. To do this, click on the Insert tab on the PowerPoint ribbon.
On the right side of the ribbon, find the Audio button and click on it. Again, you’ll want to make sure that your microphone is selected in your system settings before choosing this option.
Record audio for an individual slide from the Insert tab by choosing Audio > Record Audio.
On this dropdown menu, you can actually add audio clips that you’ve recorded in other apps using the Audio on My PC… option, or record audio right inside PowerPoint by clicking Record Audio.
Press the record button to record audio for an individual slide.
If you choose to Record Audio, you’ll see a new window where you can press the red record button to capture audio inside PowerPoint and place it on a slide directly.
Step 7. Creating a Video File of Your Presentation
After you’ve created your slides and recorded any timing and audio narrations, you’re ready to create a video file.
- On the File menu, select Save to ensure all your recent work has been saved in PowerPoint presentation format (.pptx).
- Click File > Export > Create a Video. (Or, on the Recording tab of the ribbon, click Export to Video).
- In the first drop-down box under the Create a Video heading, select the video quality you want, which pertains to the resolution of the finished video. The higher the video quality, the larger the file size. We recommend the following:
- The second drop-down box under the Create a Video heading tells whether your presentation includes narration and timings. Use the default value: Use Recorded Timings and Narrations.
- Click Create Video.
- In the File name box, enter a file name for the video, browse for the folder that will contain this file, and then click Save.
- In the Save as type box, choose MPEG-4 Video.
You can track the progress of the video creation by looking at the status bar at the bottom of your screen. The video creation process can take up to several hours depending on the length of the video and the complexity of the presentation.
Tip: For a long video, you can set it up to be created overnight. That way, it’ll be ready for you the following morning. - To play your newly-created video, go to the designated folder location, and then double-click the file.
Step 8. Submitting Your Video File
Once you’ve saved your video file on your computer, you can then submit it to us for inclusion in the program.
Please refer to Streamed Presentations on the right-hand menu to learn how to upload your Pre-recorded Streamed Presentation video or Poster Sessions to learn how to upload your Poster Session Presentation video.
