Power­Point Presenter view: here’s how to present properly

Power­Point has become an important tool as part of the modern office en­vir­on­ment. The Microsoft software now supports a wide variety of present­a­tions worldwide. But it can be useful for more than showing one slide after another. Power­Point’s present­a­tion mode includes the option to select Presenter view which provides the presenter with ad­di­tion­al in­form­a­tion during a speech. Find out all about Presenter view and how to use it in this article.

The Power­Point Presenter view is an expanded view to make giving present­a­tions easier. The view allows orators to see their own notes and a preview of the next slide. This ad­di­tion­al in­form­a­tion is only visible to the presenter but not the audience. This makes it easier to give talks and allows you to focus on what’s important.

To use Power­Point in Presenter view, you will need a second monitor. During official present­a­tions this may take the form of a beamer or a second screen. The following steps ensure that the screen is being detected by your computer:

1. Switch on the second monitor.
2. Connect the second monitor via HDMI or another cable to your computer.
3. Switch on your computer.
4. Log in and launch Power­Point.
5. By pressing the Windows key + P you will gain access to the monitor control settings. Select “Expand.” On Mac devices, launch System Pref­er­ences, click on “Displays,” select the relevant monitor, and drag it into place as main or side display.
6. Activate Power­Point Presenter view.
7. Within Presenter view, click on the display settings option and select “Swap Displays” for the audience to view the present­a­tion.

Presenter view is struc­tured as follows:

1. Menu: The menu pane includes the option to “Show taskbar,” “Display settings,” and “End slide show.” Showing the taskbar can be useful if you need to swap between ap­plic­a­tions during a present­a­tion.
2. Timer & time: The timer shows you how long you have been present­ing for. It can be paused and reset. The clock is shown on the right side of the window.
3. Current slide: View the currently shown slide here.
4. Mark pointer & slides: The pointer lets you point at elements in a slide. You can also mark slides in this way.
5. Show all slides: This function allows you to view all sorted slides to jump to the right one quickly.
6. Magnify: Use the magnifier to enlarge parts of a slide.
7. Black-out screen: This button lets you pause a pro­jec­tion on the second monitor, which is blacked out as a con­sequence.
8. Other options: You can set ad­di­tion­al options such as “white screen” (an al­tern­at­ive to the black screen).
9. Next slide: In this field, you can view the next slide.
10. Power­Point Notes: Power­Point provides the option to add in­di­vidu­al notes to each slide which help you with your present­a­tion.
11. Font: Change the font size of your notes.

Your present­a­tion depends on your pre­par­a­tion. The day before a present­a­tion, you should ensure that the tech­no­lo­gies you’re using are working correctly. Always bring along your Power­Point present­a­tion on a USB stick as a backup.

Save your present­a­tion as a .ppsx file for enhanced com­pat­ib­il­ity. This ensures that the present­a­tion is auto­mat­ic­ally launched in present­a­tion mode. For enhanced security, save your present­a­tion as a .pdf file. That is how you can ensure that the layout remains the same and you have guar­an­teed access to all of your slides. However, effects will be no longer viewable and the audience will see the full slide.

Be careful that you can locate a file quickly and clean up your USB stick and desktop. Sometimes you may need to locate a file during a present­a­tion or need to restart Power­Point. If you do not blackout or de­ac­tiv­ate your screen during this, the audience will get a full view of your PC dashboard.