How to Record Your PowerPoint Presentation

Step 1: Open Your PowerPoint Presentation

Open your PowerPoint presentation.

From the top menu, click the Record tab.

You can choose to record From Beginning or From Current Slide. If you’re starting a full presentation, click From Beginning.

Step 2: Choose Your Recording View

PowerPoint will open the Recording Studio, where you’ll see a few different layout options.

You might see Teleprompter View, which displays your slide along with your speaker notes. This is useful if you’ve prepared a script or notes you’d like to refer to while presenting.

You can also switch to Presenter View. This makes the current slide the main focus and also shows the next slide, helping you prepare for what’s coming up next.

The third option is Slide View, which focuses mainly on the slide itself and provides a cleaner, simpler recording experience.

For this presentation, I’ll switch back to Teleprompter View.

Step 3: Adjust Your Notes and Appearance

If your notes are too small or too large, use the controls to increase or decrease the note text size until they’re comfortable to read.

At the bottom of the screen, you’ll also see appearance options that allow you to customise the background and overall look of the Recording Studio while you’re presenting.

Step 4: Check Your Microphone and Camera

Before you begin recording, check that your microphone and camera are set up correctly.

Your educator may ask you to include your webcam video. If so, make sure your camera is switched on.

At the top of the screen, select the three-dot menu to choose the microphone and camera you want to use. This is useful if you have multiple devices connected.

You can also change your camera appearance settings. For example, you can show your normal background or apply a background blur to reduce distractions.

Step 5: Start Recording

When you’re ready, click Record.

You’ll see a short countdown:

3… 2… 1…

Once recording begins, present your slides as normal.

To move through the presentation, either use the arrow keys on your keyboard or click the navigation arrows on the screen.

PowerPoint will automatically record your voice, video, and slide timings as you move through the presentation.

If you need to pause at any time, click Pause.

Step 6: Stop the Recording

When you’ve finished, click Stop Recording or press S on your keyboard.

You’ll notice two timers on the screen. The timer on the left shows the length of the recording for the current slide, while the timer on the right shows the total length of your presentation recording.

Step 7: Re-record a Slide if Needed

If you’re not happy with a particular slide, don’t worry. You don’t need to record the entire presentation again.

Simply go back to the slide you’d like to re-record and click Retake.

You’ll be given two options:

• Retake on Current Slide
• Retake on All Slides

In most cases, you’ll want to choose Current Slide.

PowerPoint will give you another 3… 2… 1… countdown, and you can record that slide again.

When you’ve finished, click Stop Recording once more.

You’ll then see the updated recording time for that slide, and your presentation will be updated automatically.

Step 8: Export Your Presentation

Once you’re happy with your recording, click Export.

Before exporting, you’ll see details such as the filename, file type, and current video quality.

By default, PowerPoint usually exports at Full HD (1080p). While this gives excellent quality, it can create a large file size.

To reduce the file size, click Customize Export.

Step 9: Choose the Video Resolution

Under Video Resolution, you can choose between:

• Full HD (1080p)
• HD (720p)
• Standard (480p)

For most assignments, 720p provides a good balance between quality and file size.

The next setting can usually be left as it is, as PowerPoint will use the slide timings and narration you’ve already recorded.

Step 10: Create the Video

When you’re ready, click Create Video.

Choose a location where you’ll be able to find the file easily later, such as your Desktop, Downloads, or a dedicated assignment folder.

If PowerPoint displays a message about continuing without media, that’s generally fine, and you can continue.

PowerPoint will now export your presentation as an MP4 video. Depending on the length of your presentation, this may take a few moments.

Step 11: Check Your Video

Once the export is complete, open the video and watch it through from beginning to end.

If a security prompt appears, click Yes if you recognise the file and know where it came from.

The video will open in your default media player. For me, that’s VLC Media Player, but yours may be different.

Step 12: Check Your Recording

Take a moment to check that:

• Your voice can be heard clearly.
• Any webcam video appears correctly.
• Slides advance at the right times.
• There are no mistakes or missing slides.

Step 13: Submit Your Presentation

If everything looks good, your presentation is ready to submit.

Simply upload the exported MP4 file to the location provided by your educator and submit your assignment.