How to share PowerPoint presentations on Zoom

A quality PowerPoint presentation can add immeasurably to an online meeting, so it’s essential to know how to share PowerPoint on Zoom. You can even check your notes while your meeting partners see your presentation. The only prerequisite is having permission to share your screen with the meeting. If you scheduled the meeting, then there’s no need to ask. But if it isn’t your meeting, you’ll need to ensure whoever called the meeting allows other participants to share their screens. Then follow the instructions below, and you can share your carefully constructed PowerPoint presentation over Zoom.

How to share PowerPoint presentations on Zoom

First, open the presentation you want to share in PowerPoint and open the Slide Show tab. Click Set Up Slide Show.

The menu that comes up will let you set important parameters for your presentation. You can choose:

• Whether to present in a window or full-screen.
• Whether to operate the presentation manually or let it run automatically.
• Which monitor will have the presentation on it (for multiple-monitor setups.)

Set your preferences and click OK.

Next, open Zoom and either set up or join a meeting (again, make sure you have permission to share.) Click the Share Screen button at the bottom.

Use the menu that comes up to choose which window you want to share. You can also choose to share or not share audio in this window. Choose the PowerPoint window and click the blue Share button.

You will now be sharing your PowerPoint window with the meeting. Click one of the Begin Slide Show buttons in PowerPoint to begin your presentation.

At the top of the screen, there will be controls for screen sharing. When your slide show ends, click Stop Share to return to the meeting.

Presenting a PowerPoint presentation on Zoom works great with pre-recorded narrations. But what if you want to use your PowerPoint notes as you present live?

How to present PowerPoint on Zoom with notes

There are two situations to consider when you want to use your notes as you proceed through the slides in your presentation. One situation is when you have two monitors (a monitor and a projector), and the other is when you only have one screen.

With two monitors

It’s easy to see your notes when you have two screens to work with. Begin in PowerPoint by clicking Set Up Slide Show.

Set your show type to Presented by a speaker (full screen). Decide whether to advance through the slides manually or by using timings, and click OK. Now go to the Slide Show menu in PowerPoint and click the box that says Use Presenter View. Select the monitor to display the presentation in the drop-down box above it.

Now it’s time to start or join a Zoom meeting. When in the meeting, click Share Screen at the bottom.

From the menu of open windows on your computer that comes up, select the one named PowerPoint Slide Show.

You are now sharing one of your two screens with your Zoom meeting while, through your use of Presenter View, your other screen has your PowerPoint notes on each slide, controls for the presentation, a timer, and a preview of the next slide. It will look like this.

When your slide show has ended, you can use the End Slide Show control at the top of the page to return to your Zoom meeting. As you can see, using two monitors to share a PowerPoint presentation is convenient. But in a one-monitor situation, it can still be done.

With one monitor

To present with only one monitor and still have access to your PowerPoint speaker notes and controls, you will again use Presenter View, but differently. Start by opening Zoom, then continue by setting up your PowerPoint slide show to be full-screen.

Then start your slide show. It will begin in full screen.

In the lower left hand of the full-screen slide show, you will see a three-dot menu. Click the three dots, and a menu will come up. From that menu, select Show Presenter View.

Presenter View will now open in a separate window. Use Alt-Tab on your keyboard to navigate to Zoom, where you can start or join a meeting. When you’re in the meeting, click Share Screen.

From the window that opens, select the PowerPoint Slide Show window, and click the blue Share button.

You will now be sharing the full-screen presentation you started in PowerPoint with your Zoom meeting. Now use Alt-Tab again to navigate to the window whose name contains the words “PowerPoint Presenter View.” Use the sizing icon in the upper right to reduce the window size.

With the window reduced, you can see the full-screen slide show playing behind the Presenter View window while still having access to your notes and presentation controls.

If it’s your meeting, set up the PowerPoint presentation before the meeting’s start time for a more polished presentation so the invitees don’t see you setting up the slide show. If it’s someone else’s meeting, ask for permission to enter before they do, so you will have time to go through the abovementioned procedures.

Check out our list of the best PowerPoint tools and apps for Android for more presentation options on mobile.

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