Today’s digital world is beyond the traditional presentations with simple bullet points. Adding audio effects to your Google Slides will make your presentations truly interactive. But then, the big question here is how to record audio on Google Slides. Don’t worry; it’s a piece of cake, and let’s learn step by step.
Why Audio in Google Slides?
Audio in Google Slides improves your presentation. You’re not after making it sweet to the ears; you’re after making it easier and more engaging. Whether you are narrating slides for a virtual audience, creating background sound, or emphasizing points, audio just gives that extra layer of depth to your presentation.
What You’ll Need
And we’ll give you all the things you would need to get going before we walk you through the steps. These are:
- A Google account: You probably already have this if you are using Google Slides!
- A microphone: Your laptop’s built-in mic will work just fine.
- Pre-recorded audio files, in case you don’t want to record live
That is all!
And so, now that you have all these things, let’s get started!
Recording Audio on Google Slides: Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Record Your Audio
Obviously, there isn’t a feature in Google Slides to directly record audio through the application. Don’t worry though; that’s possible! What you have to do first is record your audio with a device such as your phone, voice recorder app, or even a computer’s built-in recording software. Here’s how you do it:
- Windows & Mac: Both can run with some sort of free voice recording app, voice recorder in Windows, and voice memos in Mac. Open it up and record your voice and save the file on your computer.
- Smartphones: You can use any voice recording app on your phone. Once you’ve finished recording, move the file to your computer.
Pro Tip: Record in a quiet space and speak clearly into the microphone for a better quality of sound.
Step 2: Upload the Audio File to Google Drive
You’ll need to upload the audio to Google Drive; Google Slides doesn’t pull the file from your computer; it rather takes audio files from Drive.
- Open [Google Drive](https://drive.google.com) and click on the left on the “New” “+” button.
- You click the “File Upload” and select the audio you wish to use;
- Wait for approximately 3-5 seconds before the uploading begins. Your audio is then ready to roll!
Step 3: Adding Audio to Google Slides
And finally, it is time to add your audio to your slides.
- Open your Google Slides presentation.
- Select the slide that you prefer to add your audio.
- From the “Insert” menu, click “Audio” from the drop-down list.
- You will be presented with a window of all your Google Drive files. Select your audio file.
That is it! You will now see that the audio file has been added to your slide and there is an icon on the slide pointing to where the audio file is attached.
Step 4: Customize the Audio Settings
You can fine-tune the settings so that it plays the way you’d want when adding audio. Once you click the speaker icon, you can see a toolbar on the right-hand side with the following options:
- Play on click or automatically: Choose whether the audio should autoplay automatically when selected.
- Loop: You can set the audio to loop always, or just let it play once.
- Adjust Volume: You can adjust the audio volume.
Test your presentation to see how the audio flows!
Wrapping It Up
Now, that you know how to put an audio file into Google Slides, the possibilities are open for really more exciting and engaging presentations. Besides, after infusing voice-overs with your slides, your slides will definitely be more interesting to view or listen to, especially when teaching students remotely or when you’re unavailable to give a live presentation.
And of course, using the provided pre-made Google Slides templates in your presentations will be sure to be sleek and professional. If you’d like to record a complete presentation with voiceover, follow our blog “How to Record a Presentation on Google Slides” for a full guide.
Go ahead, record it, and wow your viewers with a good, visually stimulating presentation that is also wonderfully pleasing to the ear!
