how to do a presentation on microsoft teams

How to Present PowerPoint Slides in Microsoft Teams

Ready to elevate your virtual presentations in Microsoft Teams? Discover three distinct methods to deliver flawless PowerPoint presentations.

A successful PowerPoint presentation extends beyond just the content—its delivery is just as important, especially in a virtual space like Microsoft Teams.

In Microsoft Teams, you can choose to present your slide deck by sharing your entire screen, PowerPoint window, or using the Microsoft Teams' PowerPoint Live feature. Let's explore how you can use each of these three methods and discuss their pros and cons.

Method 1: Share Screen

Sharing your screen in Microsoft Teams is pretty easy and straightforward. It's best to minimize or close unnecessary tabs before joining the Microsoft Teams meeting to avoid exposing sensitive information. Once you're confident in your screen's content, follow the steps below:

• A red border appears around your desktop, indicating you're sharing your screen.
• Present your PowerPoint slideshow.

Sharing your screen is a straightforward method, especially when you want to present other documents besides your PowerPoint slideshow. However, the downside is that you may accidentally reveal sensitive information.

Method 2: Share PowerPoint Window

If you want only to present your PowerPoint slide deck, it's best to share just that window. Here's how:

• A red border will appear around your PowerPoint window, indicating you're sharing just that window.
• Launch your slides in slideshow mode and start presenting.
• Open the Microsoft Teams window and click Stop sharing when you're done presenting.

Sharing just your PowerPoint window prevents accidental display of sensitive desktop content. Even if you switch windows, viewers only see the PowerPoint presentation.

However, this method also has its limitations. One of the main limits is that you can't view your PowerPoint speaker notes without the audience seeing them as well. You also can't access Microsoft Teams features like the chat and reactions during your presentation.

Additionally, If your network connection has low bandwidth or slow upload speed , sharing your screen can result in a blurry and stuttering presentation for the audience. Thankfully, the PowerPoint Live feature provides the solution to these issues.

Method 3: Use PowerPoint Live

Presenting with the PowerPoint Live feature is easy and provides additional benefits. Your audience only sees the slides, while you get to see all the extra controls that come with the presenter view. When using the presenter view in your presentation, you have a few helpful tools at your disposal:

• You can easily adjust the font size of your slide notes to make them more readable.
• To navigate between slides, simply click on the corresponding thumbnail.
• You can use the laser pointer, pen, or highlighter tools to draw attention to specific areas of a slide.
• Use the Standout layout to place your camera feed on the slide without the background.
• Use the Cameo layout to insert yourself into the slide, provided you've set up Cameo to record customized camera feeds .

Here's how you can use PowerPoint Live to share your presentation:

• When it's your turn to present, click Share .
• When you're done presenting, click Stop sharing in the top toolbar.

The PowerPoint Live feature tackles the limitations of sharing your entire screen or PowerPoint window. It also comes with really cool features like co-presenting and allowing attendees to click on links in the presentation.

Your Audience's View When Using PowerPoint Live

In addition to the main slide view, your audience also has access to the slide navigation, grid, and more options controls (the three dots icon below the slides).

This means they can navigate the slides at their own pace and change specific slide settings to suit their preference without affecting your view and that of others. If you find this non-ideal for delivering an engaging presentation , you can disable the audience's navigation control. To do so, enable Private view in the top toolbar.

By default, each meeting attendee joins as a presenter. This means they can share their own content or control someone else's presentation. If that's not what you want, you can change each person's meeting roles in Microsoft Teams to prevent it.

Deliver a Seamless Presentation Experience in Microsoft Teams

Presenting your PowerPoint slides in Microsoft Teams might seem tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake. Practice makes perfect. So before your next Teams presentation, familiarize yourself with your chosen method to ensure an effective delivery.

Apr 6, 2021

Try presenting in Teams meetings from PowerPoint

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Hello Office Insiders, I’m Lishan Yu, a program manager on the PowerPoint team. You might have heard that we announced the PowerPoint Live in Teams feature at Microsoft Ignite last month. Today, I’m excited to show you how to check out this new experience, and start presenting in Teams meetings from PowerPoint.

Presenting in Teams meetings

Presenting in a meeting used to be as simple as clicking Slide Show in your PowerPoint deck. Nowadays, even though you may not be in the same room as your audience, we believe your flow to present should be as easy and intuitive – clicking the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint is the only step you need to take to present the deck in your Teams meeting!

How it works

Give the feature a try next time you need to present in a Teams meetings:

• Join a Teams meeting or an ad-hoc Teams call.
• Open your presentation in PowerPoint for Windows.
• Click the Present in Teams button in the top right corner.

Scenarios to try

Ready to take the PowerPoint Live feature for a spin? Try some of the scenarios below.

As a presenter :

• After clicking the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint, notice that you can see both the chat and your content at the same time in Teams (and don’t feel like you’re missing out on the discussion).
• Take advantage of features like grid review and slide notes to present more effectively.

As an audience member :

• If you joined late, move back through the deck and quickly catch up without having to ask the presenter to stop and recap what was already shared.
• Interact with and experience the richness of the content being presented such as better video quality, live web links, and more.
• Make any adjustments you need to more fully enjoy the presentation (i.e., use high-contrast mode).

Requirements

In order to try out the feature, you will need to:

• Have the latest Teams desktop app installed.
• Store the presentation on OneDrive for Business or SharePoint.
• Join a Teams meeting before clicking the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint for Windows.
• Be using an Office 365 E3/A3, Office 365 E5/A5, or Microsoft 365 for Government license. 

Availability

This feature is rolling out over the next several days to Insiders running Beta Channel Version 2104 (Build 13926.20000) and later.

We’d love your feedback, so please let us know how you think. To get in touch, do either of the following:

• Inside the app, select the Help button in the top-right corner of the app.
• Respond to this post or tweet at @OfficeInsider .

Learn what  other information you should include in your feedback  to ensure it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you!

Sign up for the Office Insider newsletter and get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!

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Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials How to Share a PowerPoint Presentation on Microsoft Teams

How to Share a PowerPoint Presentation on Microsoft Teams

In recent years many remote meeting tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have become the norm for regular remote meetings. If you’re new to Microsoft Teams, the chances are you are still finding your way around various options. One of the most common questions a Microsoft Teams newbie might ask is how to share PowerPoint on Teams.

What is Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams is a messaging app by Microsoft for online collaboration and remote meetings that comes integrated with Microsoft 365. It provides a real-time workspace where end users can collaborate via chat, Teams Channels, Live calls, etc. Microsoft Teams also integrates with other Microsoft products like PowerPoint and OneDrive, enabling instant file sharing via the cloud.

Why use Microsoft Teams to Present Your PowerPoint Presentations?

Many organizations use Microsoft Teams for online collaboration and remote meetings. Organizations with integrated Microsoft products like its Windows operating system, Microsoft Office, and Azure Active Directory prefer Teams as the primary internal and external communication app. Organizations use Microsoft Teams to provide secure accounts to employees, with two-factor authentication and data encryption. These accounts are integrated into the Active Directory, providing scalability and control for IT administrators to offer people within an organization an online collaboration platform that can be securely used within the limits of the organization’s data protection policies.

While there are many alternatives to Microsoft teams, such as Zoom and Google Meet, the integration of teams with other Microsoft products, such as Azure, Microsoft Office apps, and OneDrive, makes it attractive within a secure enterprise environment.

How to Present PowerPoint in Teams?

How to present your PowerPoint slides on Microsoft Teams, let us tell you there are at least two methods for sharing presentations. This includes sharing a PowerPoint file directly and presenting your slide deck before one or more meeting participants, or perhaps PowerPoint templates or Google Slides templates to help a colleague design a slide deck.

How to Attach and Share Your PowerPoint Slides on Teams

To share a PowerPoint file on teams, go to an ongoing conversation or meeting window and click Attach files . This will provide you with the option to either fetch a file via OneDrive or from your device. This option can be used for sharing PowerPoint files and other types of files, such as documents, spreadsheets, videos, compressed files, etc.

When sharing a file, you can add a message optionally before hitting Send .

The recipient and the sender can download the file, open it in a browser, or copy the file link for further sharing.

How to Present Your PowerPoint Slides on Teams

Method #1: use the share button in powerpoint.

You can also directly present your slide deck via Microsoft Teams by sharing your screen to start a Live presentation during a remote meeting instantly. Suppose your organization uses Microsoft Teams regularly. In that case, the chances are you will be using it for presentations during remote meetings; therefore, it’s essential to know how to use the screen-sharing option to present online.

Method #2: Share Screen to Present a PowerPoint Presentation

Another way to present a PowerPoint presentation on Teams is by sharing the screen with your audience. If you share your screen, this will show the audience whatever is visible on the entire screen on your device.

Pros of sharing your screen with the audience to present a presentation:

• It is easier to activate
• You can easily switch to other windows besides the PowerPoint presentation and also share them with the audience

Cons of sharing your entire screen on Teams for presenting:

• If you have confidential data in other windows, you may want to avoid switching the windows and keep only the Slideshow window in front.
• You may accidentally switch to other windows, and your audience can lose focus of the presentation.

Method #3: Share PowerPoint Window to Present Your Slides

If you intend to hide parts of your screen, you can simply share the relevant PowerPoint window so that your audience can only view the presentation. During a Live call, click the Share button and select your screen or window to share.

5 Features to Make the Most from Your Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation Sharing in Teams

Microsoft Teams offers a wide array of features that make it a robust remote meeting and online collaboration app since it leverages the full force of Microsoft 365 and other Microsoft products.

1. Translate Slides into a Different Language

This is a private feature that individuals can use to translate slides in their language instantly. As a presenter, you can ask your audience to use this feature if they deem it convenient to help bridge a gap that might exist due to a language barrier.

Slides can be viewed in a different language via More actions > Translate Slides . From the drop-down list, you can pick a preferred language.

2. Use Live Captions

Microsoft Teams supports Live Captions / Closed Captions (CC) to help persons with disabilities, including those suffering from hearing impairment. Closed Captions can also be helpful for people to translate or view text in a preferred language.

Turn on Live Captions: To enable Live Captions on Teams, go to More options > Turn on live captions . Translate Spoken Language: To translate Live Captions, go to Captions settings > Change spoken language .

Turn Off Live Captions: You can turn off Live captions anytime via More actions > Turn off live captions .

3. View Slides in High Contrast

Viewing slides in high contrast on Teams can have several benefits. For example, it helps you focus on the content and is also helpful for people with visual impairment. To configure your slides to appear in high contrast, follow the steps below:

1. Launch your PowerPoint presentation.

2. Click on the Present tab at the top of the window.3. Go to More action > View slides in high contrast .

4. Annotate your Slides in Real Time

Like any standard remote meeting app, Microsoft Teams also provides a number of handy annotation options to help you make the most out of your PowerPoint presentations. You can click on Start annotation when sharing your full screen during presentations to start annotating slides.

Powered by Microsoft Whiteboard, this powerful feature enables one or more meeting participants or the presenter to annotate presentations. It can also be a helpful feature when you’re looking to collaborate online during a Live presentation.

5. Pop Out the Window

You can separate the presentation window from the Teams window to make it easier to work with the two. This feature can be handy when working with multiple monitors or separating the two windows from uncluttering your screen. You can use this option by clicking on the Pop-out option from the toolbar during a screen-sharing session.

How to Stop Presenting on Teams

When presenting your slide deck, you can also present your PowerPoint presentation using any view, be it as a SlideShow or in Normal view. Once you’re done presenting, click Stop Presenting to conclude your session. Furthermore, you can also choose to enable or disable your camera and computer sound when presenting your slides.

To turn off screen sharing during a remote meeting, you can click Stop Sharing .

Present in Teams Button in PowerPoint is Missing. How to Fix it?

Some users might have used the Present in Teams option to share a PowerPoint presentation during a meeting. Suppose you are wondering why the Present in Teams button in PowerPoint Presentations is missing. In that case, this option isn’t available for anyone using the free version of Teams, as only users with a paid subscription, such as a Business Standard or Business Premium Plan. Furthermore, you must share your PowerPoint presentation with OneDrive to use this option. To use the Present in Teams option, upload your PowerPoint presentation to OneDrive. You can do this via File > Save As > OneDrive .

Once done, the Present in Teams button will become available to instantly launch your presentation for sharing during a Teams call.

5 Tips to Make your Presentation a Success on Microsoft Teams

Presenting PowerPoint in Teams can require being mindful of a number of things. This includes accounting for brevity to ensure your presentation does not take more than its designated time, using slides that are suitable for remote meetings. Below is a list of 5 tips to make your presentation successful using Microsoft Teams.

1. Check Your Audio and Video Settings

One of the most annoying problems faced during remote meetings is technical failures such as no or low audio quality. This becomes even more annoying when the meeting organizer or a presenter during their session faces the issue, wasting precious time. This is why you must check your audio and video settings beforehand to ensure everything works correctly. If you need to play a video during your session, make a test call with a colleague and get feedback if the sound and video quality are up to the mark.

2. Make Sure Your Slides are Clear and Concise

Presentations delivered via Microsoft Teams will often take place during scheduled remote meetings. This means that you will have to account for the designated time given for your session, which is why you must ensure that your slides are clear and concise.

3. Use Animations and Transitions Sparingly

Since remote meetings will be attended by participants using different types of computers and mobile devices, some animations and transitions might not be suitable. This is because they can cause Teams to slow down, or the slides might not display appropriately via screen sharing. For example, 3D animations , GIF animations , and objects with elaborate PowerPoint animated sequences might cause issues when displayed via Teams. 

4. Keep Your Slides on Topic

One of the banes of remote meetings is how a discussion can go off-topic very quickly. This is why it’s best to ensure that your slides remain focused on the topic and additional discussions are discouraged during the presentation session.

5. Use Team Members’ Names Sparingly to Call Out Specific Points

Calling out team members for their opinion or advice during a remote meeting can quickly lead to a very lengthy and off-topic discussion. This is why it’s best to call out team members’ sparingly. If you have been using Teams or other remote meeting apps long enough, you would have learned by now that for some topics, it’s best to ask participants to schedule a separate meeting so that the ongoing discussion remains on track.

Other Issues to Troubleshoot while presenting a PowerPoint presentation on Microsoft Teams

Someone has already set up Teams for your organization’s error

If you’re using a premium subscription for Microsoft Teams managed by your organization’s IT team, you might get an error when logging in to Teams. In such a case, you might get the following error:

“Someone has already set up Teams for your organization.”  

If you see the error message mentioned above, this means that your account isn’t ready yet, and you need to contact your organization’s IT team to ask when your account might be ready for use.

We’re sorry–we’ve run into an issue error.

Another prevalent issue is when the following error message appears:

“We’re sorry–we’ve run into an issue.”

This is a generic message, and usually, it can be resolved by clicking the Restart button that appears below the error. In case the issue isn’t resolved after restarting the Teams app, ensure your Internet connection is working. More often than not, the issue is associated with the Internet connection. If the issue persists, you can clear your cache , reinstall Teams or contact your IT support team. The error can also occur if there is an outage affecting Microsoft products or if there is a configuration issue for Microsoft 365 accounts associated with your organization.

Final Words

Using Microsoft Teams to share a presentation file is easy enough. However, when presenting a PowerPoint presentation in Teams, you must decide how to present your slide deck. If you need to switch back and forth between your slides and another document, spreadsheet, or browser window, it might be best to share your entire screen. However, if you wish to focus only on the slide deck, sharing your Window can help you avoid sharing the rest of your screen with the audience.

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You can have your PPT cake and eat it too

PowerPoint is likely one of the most popular apps shared during a Teams meeting. There’s a reason when you bring up the share options, PowerPoint takes up more than a third of it. People present slides all the time. But are they using PowerPoint to its potential when they use Teams? Most people do not. To view a video version of this post (lots of video demos!), press play below. (You should watch it, actually.)

PowerPoint has a lot of really great features and while this isn’t a PowerPoint best practices post, I do really appreciate PowerPoint for many of its professional features, like smooth transitions (Morph can be amazing), slide notes, non-distracting animations, screen annotations, and especially presenter view.

Well, if you’ve ever tried to present a slide deck in Teams, you’ll know that some of these features can be hard to find depending on which method you use to share your slides. There are three main sharing options and these are the only three I’ll cover today.

The three options—and I’m going to stick to this naming convention throughout the post—are The Teams Built-In Share, Desktop Window Share, and Presenter View Share.

TL;DR: For the most part, you want Presenter View Share. Launch your slideshow like you would normally. Alt-Tab to your meeting and share the window (not the screen) , Alt-Tab back to your presentation, right-click, and select Use Presenter View . That's it! Below is a more in-depth review of this way and the most common other ways to share slide decks during a Teams meeting.

Teams Built-In Share

Teams Built-In Share is the first option we’re going to discuss and it uses the built-in PowerPoint option. The sharing drawer shows you all your recent PowerPoint files. Though note that they’re only ones you’ve accessed in SharePoint or OneDrive; you don’t see anything from your local device or other cloud locations like Google Drive. Whether you know it or not, this method makes use of PowerPoint for the web—or formerly known as PowerPointOnline—so you’re getting the “Lite” version of PowerPoint when you present. That can work in many situations, especially if your slides are simple and straight forward.

There are a couple major upsides to this method. First, everything stays right in Teams and you have full control of your computer and its screen, unlike normal presentation mode with PowerPoint, where it completely takes over your screen. The other is that your viewers can actually choose to jump ahead or backward in your slides at their own pace without impacting what others see, which is a benefit you don’t get from any otherPowerPoint sharing option. You can disable this if you want to keep them on the slide you’re presenting, though. I generally don’t like people being able to jump slides on their own; it's usually more a distraction than a benefit. So for me, this isn’t a compelling feature.

The major downsides to this method are that you’re stuck with PowerPoint Lite: animations and transitions are sometimes really poor—and yes, animations and transitions are incredibly powerful for your message when they’re used correctly. But more importantly to me, you don’t get presenter view, so no annotations, no notes, and you have absolutely no idea which slide or animation is coming up next (unless you practice your slides a lot, but let's be real: you probably cobbled them together right before the meeting). Those downsides are the reason that I never use this method, even if it is right up in my face when I want to share a slide deck in Teams. The only way you’ll find me using Teams Built-In Share is once presenter view is built into PowerPoint for the web. 

Desktop Window Share

Desktop Window Share, the second option, is a nice little hack for sharing your presentation from the desktop app, complete with all the slick transitions and animations you’d like. You won’t get presenter view with this method, but you will get safety and comfort of all the full-fledged features in the desktop app and it won’t take up your whole screen while you’re presenting. Though it will include a little chrome in the top toolbar.

This method is similar to what people use when they set up kiosks for people to browse at expos or stores, except in this case, it doesn’t take up the whole screen. To present this way, you need to toggle a setting. Jump into the Slide Show tab in PowerPoint and click Set Up Slide Show . Select Browsed by an individual and click OK.

Now when you present this slideshow, it’ll show your entire slide in its own window, without the rest of PowerPoint showing. It’s like a mini PowerPoint presenter mode. To share this window, jump to your Teams meeting, click Share , and select PowerPoint under the Window section. Handy.

Presenter View Share

Note: This feature seems to have been recently removed from PowerPoint on macOS; I haven't been able to test it on Windows to confirm any impact there. I've reached out to Microsoft for some explanation or insights on this. I'll provide an update when I have one.

And lastly, Presenter View Share is my favorite way to present a slide deck during a Teams meeting and it’s really the subject of this post. Presenter View Share gives you all the features of the desktop app—because that’s what you’re using—including presenter view. That means you get notes and annotations, can see the upcoming slide, and can jump around slides as much as you want.

This technique is actually stupidly simple, but it’s not obvious at all. To share your presentation this way, it works best if you’re only using one monitor. If you have a second monitor, I’d actually recommend disconnecting it. And that’s coming from someone who always uses two monitors. The reason for that is the feature isn't available when you have two monitors because you'll already have presenter view on one of them and you can't share PowerPoint as a window when you have two monitors because the app takes up two windows and becomes essentially disqualified from being shared as a window (the only way to share the slides is by sharing the whole screen, which is less private).

First, have your PowerPoint file open and start the presentation the way you normally would. Now, Alt-Tab (Command-Tab on Mac) back to your Teams meeting and share the PowerPoint window—not the whole screen. Alt-Tab back to PowerPoint. And here’s where the magic happens: right-click on your slide and click Use Presenter View . And that’s it!

Wait, you’re worried that the people on the other end are seeing presenter view? They’re not. In fact, they didn’t even see you right-click because the menu isn’t part of the window. For them, nothing happened. While on your side, you just went from low fi to high fi in a matter of two clicks. From here you can do all the stuff you want through presenter mode and everyone on the other end will only see slides.

So, why do I like this method the most? Because I get to have my cake and eat it too! Sure, the slides take up my whole screen, but that doesn’t stop me from jumping around my device all I want. Alt-Tab is your best friend. If you’re not an Alt-Tab person now, you will be moving forward, because it’s a great little trick for jumping between apps.

That means I can be taking notes about a potential customer in my OneNote app during a demo without them knowing. Or I can check in on the meeting itself to see if someone’s raised their hand or said something I need to respond to. All they’ll ever see is the current slide—even if you see another app on top of it—because all I’m sharing with them is the PowerPoint window.

Edit: Some folks have reported they can actually use two monitors and still are able to share the single presented-view of PowerPoint. I can't confirm this because on Mac, the Use Presenter View isn't available when you have two screens (the option is not available in the right-click menu). That said, if you use multiple monitors, you're a power user. So take 2 minutes to check with a colleagues to test if it still works in your situation to pull this off, but with the multiple monitors you're used to. So if one of your original thoughts was, "I can't not use two monitors", test before you knock it. 🙂

Frankly, I’ll never look back on any other presentation options again. At least until Teams Built-In Share—remember, I really mean PowerPoint for the Web when I say this—finally transitions from PowerPoint Lite to a full-fledged version of PowerPoint. Once that day comes, I may convert. But for now, I’m sticking to the desktop app because it’s a beast.

But what do you think? How do you present slides during Teams meetings? What tips do you have when you’re presenting? Share them in a comment below so others can learn some of your tips and hacks for better meetings in Teams.

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How to share a presentation on microsoft teams.

Do you want to share a presentation on Microsoft Teams ? We’ll take you through the steps of sharing your PowerPoint slides with ease!

• Log into Teams and locate the channel or chat .
• In the message box, click the “Attach” button .
• Select “File” from the drop-down menu and upload the presentation.
• Now everyone can access it.

There’s more! Did you know you can present your slides directly in a meeting?

• Navigate to the meeting or start a new one.
• Click the “Share” button and select “PowerPoint” .
• Present in a window or share a file. This helps participants follow along.

Make your presentations more engaging by using live captions . This is helpful for those with hearing difficulty and those in noisy environments.

Promote active participation from your audience. Use features like annotations and highlighting tools which emphasize key points and gather feedback. This encourages teamwork and productivity.

Overview of Microsoft Teams presentation sharing

Sharing presentations on Microsoft Teams ? It’s a breeze! Just select the file you want to share & who you want to share it with – and you’re good to go. Plus, real-time editing capabilities enable multiple users to work on the same presentation simultaneously. You can even present slides directly from Teams, making collaboration faster and easier. To optimize viewing quality, make sure to adjust resolution settings. There you have it – seamless information exchange and team productivity in no time!

Step 1: Accessing the Microsoft Teams platform

To share a presentation on Microsoft Teams, you must access the platform first. It is key for successful collaboration and communication between your team. Follow these simple steps to easily access Microsoft Teams and begin sharing presentations!

• Go to the Teams website in your web browser.
• Enter your email address and password.
• Click “Sign In”.
• On the dashboard, click “Join or create a team” on the left.
• Choose a team from the list or enter a code from your team leader.
• To create a new team, click “Create Team” and follow the prompts.
• After joining/creating a team, you have access to Teams’ features.
• Use different channels and tabs to interact with your team and locate files.
• To share a presentation, go to the “Files” tab in a channel and upload the PowerPoint.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with your team using Microsoft Teams. Communicate, exchange ideas and share presentations quickly and easily. Start sharing now!

Step 2: Starting a presentation sharing session

• Log into your account with the Teams app.
• Pick the channel you’ll share your presentation to.
• Look for the “Share” button at the bottom of the chat window.
• Select the presentation file you wish to share with “Browse teams and channels”.
• Once you’ve chosen the file, click “Share” to start the sesh.
• Navigate your slides with the provided controls.

Make sure everyone has access to the presentation. Plus, Teams offers collaboration features like annotating and questioning through chat.

Pro Tip: Check your internet connection’s stable before you start the presentation sharing session. No interruptions!

Step 3: Choosing the sharing options

When it comes to sharing presentations on Microsoft Teams, choosing the right option is key. Here’s how to do it:

• Click the “Share” button at the bottom of the meeting screen.
• A pop-up window will appear with several options – select “PowerPoint” to share a presentation.
• Next, decide whether you want to share your entire desktop or just a single window. This lets you control what the participants see.
• Finally, click “Share” to start sharing your presentation.

Remember to double-check that your presentation looks good before you continue with the meeting.

Furthermore, Microsoft Teams offers extra features such as annotation tools and letting people edit documents simultaneously – this boosts collaboration and involvement during presentations.

Did you know that Microsoft Teams is now one of the most popular collaboration tools for businesses? Its easy-to-use interface and many features make it great for remote working.

Step 4: Sharing the presentation

Sharing a presentation on Microsoft Teams is crucial for efficient collaboration with your team. Follow these steps to easily share and engage your audience:

• Get Ready: Make sure your presentation has all the content and visuals you need. This helps others understand your message.
• Open Teams: Launch the Teams app on your computer or use the web version. Sign in with your details to access the workspace.
• Join/Start Meeting: Join an existing meeting or start a new one. Sharing presentations is usually done in meetings with discussion and collaboration.
• To share the entire PowerPoint, select “PowerPoint”.
• To share slides or other documents, choose “Browse”.
• Teams has extra options like Slide Show mode or sharing single application windows.
• Engage Participants: Choose the sharing method, file, or slides. Click “Share” to start presenting. Participants view your presentation in real-time. They can ask questions or give feedback via chat or audio.

Follow these steps for successful collaboration on Microsoft Teams. Be prepared, use appropriate sharing methods, and engage your audience.

Step 5: Navigating and presenting the slides

Want to know how to smoothly move through slides on Microsoft Teams? Here’s the step-by-step guide:

• Press the “Share” button at the bottom of your screen to start presenting.
• Use the arrows on your keyboard or click the navigation buttons to go back and forth between slides.
• If you need to jump to a specific slide, select the “Go to slide” option and enter the number.
• To end presentation mode, click the “Stop presenting” button at the top of your screen.

Plus, use shortcuts like “B” to black out your screen and “W” to display a whiteboard. This helps keep the presentation on track.

A funny thing happened to a colleague presenting slides on Teams. Instead of advancing to the next slide, they clicked an emoji reaction. This caused a lot of laughter. It’s a great reminder to double-check actions when navigating virtual slides.

Step 6: Ending the presentation sharing session

To finish the Microsoft Teams presentation-sharing session, do these steps:

• Click on the presentation screen to go to the meeting controls.
• Find the ‘Stop Presenting’ button at the top of the screen. Then click it.
• A pop-up will appear. It’ll ask if you want to stop presenting. Click ‘Stop Presenting’ again to confirm.
• The presentation sharing session will end. You’ll go back to your regular view of the meeting.
• You can stay in the meeting or leave.

Remember, ending the presentation-sharing session doesn’t mean you have to leave the meeting. You can still talk with others and contribute to discussions before you finish.

Pro Tip: Before you finish the presentation-sharing session, make sure all the points are covered and all questions or concerns are answered. This will help everyone finish the session on a good note.

Share presentations on Microsoft Teams for simple, efficient results! Just follow the steps outlined in this article. Showcase your work, collaborate, and ensure everyone’s on the same page.

• First, upload the file to the platform. Select “Share” and choose the presentation from your files. You can share your entire screen or just a specific window. This lets you control what participants see.
• Navigate through slides smoothly. Make sure participants see each slide clearly. Use presenter view and annotations. Use laser pointer tools for clearer communication.
• Microsoft Teams also offers a recording feature. If you want to share with those who weren’t able to attend or review later, you can record the meeting. Everyone will have access to the presentation.

Start sharing today and experience seamless communication!

Additional tips and troubleshooting guidelines

• Double check the sharing settings. Ensure you enabled the right permissions on Microsoft Teams before the presentation. It will let everyone view and interact with it without issues.
• Optimize your internet connection. Stable and reliable internet is needed for successful presentation sharing. Use a wired network or strong Wi-Fi to avoid interruptions.
• Be mindful when sharing your screen. Close any unnecessary applications or tabs. This will reduce distractions and maintain a professional atmosphere.
• Remember, attention to detail is key when presenting on Microsoft Teams. Consider the tips and troubleshooting guidelines. This will help you deliver a seamless and engaging presentation.
• Technical issues may occur despite preparation. Remain calm and try restarting the app or checking compatibility. If nothing works, contact the support team for assistance.

Let me tell you a story. A colleague had a crucial sales pitch through Teams. His PowerPoint slides didn’t display properly. He had taken our tips into account and switched to screen sharing mode. He was able to deliver his pitch using alternative tools within seconds. This shows the value of flexibility and quick thinking in overcoming challenges while presenting on Microsoft Teams.

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Think Outside The Slide

The Complete Guide to Using PowerPoint Presenter View in Teams – 1 or 2 screens, Windows or Mac

One of the common ways to remember what you want to say or emphasize on a slide is to add speaking notes in the Notes section below a slide in PowerPoint. Then you can use the Presenter View mode to show you the slides and your notes while the audience only sees the slides without them seeing your notes. In a meeting room this is usually the default approach when you connect to a projector or screen.

Now that meetings have moved to Microsoft Teams and will be using this technology in the future, how can you use PowerPoint Presenter View in a Teams meeting? Below you will find the answer, whether you have one or two screens and whether you use Windows or a Mac. You can also learn expert tips for using Presenter View such as a quick way to jump to any slide without the audience seeing it and how you can zoom in on a slide while presenting in this article and video .

Did you find this article using a Google search? Get more answers to your virtual presentation questions here and get updates of new articles and videos here .

Windows – 2 screens

Summary of steps

• Connect a second display ( here are nine options for a second display ) and extend your display
• Arrange the displays in Windows and PowerPoint to match the physical setup
• Start Presenter View in PowerPoint so the slides are on one screen and Presenter View is on the screen that has the webcam (so you are looking at the webcam while seeing your notes)
• In Teams share the screen that has the slides on it
• Deliver your presentation

Full detailed article

I have an article with full details, including screen captures, on PowerPoint Presenter View with 2 screens in Windows .

Windows – 1 screen, Option A

When you display your slides full screen in Slide Show mode you can actually switch to Presenter View and share the hidden Slide Show window in the Teams meeting. This way your attendees see high-res slides while you see your notes and have all the expert features of Presenter View. You can watch how to do this in the video below.

Windows – 1 screen, Option B

• Make sure the presentation is set to use full screen Slide Show
• Start Presenter View Preview by pressing Alt+F5
• In Teams, share the hidden Slide Show window

I have an article with full details, including screen captures, on PowerPoint Presenter View with 1 screen in Windows .

Mac – 2 screens

• Arrange the displays in the Mac OS and PowerPoint to match the physical setup

I have an article with full details, including screen captures, on PowerPoint Presenter View with 2 screens on a Mac .

The steps are very similar to using 2 screens in Zoom because sharing a screen is similar in Teams or Zoom. This video will show you how to set up a second screen on a Mac using AirPlay to a TV and give you the basic steps you need.

Mac – 1 screen, Option A

When you display your slides full screen in Slide Show mode you can actually switch to Presenter View and share the hidden Slide Show window in the Zoom meeting. This way your attendees see high-res slides while you see your notes and have all the expert features of Presenter View. You can watch how to do this in the video below.

Mac – 1 screen, Option B

Feb 2021 update: It appears that Teams on a Mac now recognizes the hidden Slide Show window in Presenter View Preview and will allow you to share it in the meeting, like it does in Windows. In the past it just showed a blank white screen when you shared the hidden window. If sharing the hidden window does not work for you (it may depend on the OS version or other factors), I suggest you consider either a) connect a second screen using one of these nine methods and use Presenter View with two screens , or b) use one of the methods in this article to show your slides and refer to your notes . You can also consider the alternative of using Google Slides Presenter View as explained below.

Use Google Slides Presenter View

Google Slides can read PowerPoint files and has a Presenter View that shows the slides in a browser window and your notes and slide preview in another window. This can be an alternative if you have one screen since you can share the browser window that has the slides in Zoom or Teams so the meeting attendees see just the slides while you can see the slides and your notes. This article shows you how to use Google Slides Presenter View in Zoom or Teams and the video below shows me demonstrate these steps.

Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world . His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don’t overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 4.8 million times and liked over 17,000 times on YouTube.

By Dave Paradi

Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world . His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don't overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 4.8 million times and liked over 17,000 times on YouTube.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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How to Create Slides That Suit Your Superiors: 11 Tips

When you’re pitching ideas or budgets to execs in your organization, you need to deliver slides that fit those particular people just right. This checklist identifies the key considerations.

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I recently interviewed 20 of my customers, all in senior roles at Fortune 100 companies, and asked them their biggest pain point in presenting to higher-ups and even colleagues. What I heard consistently was that it can feel like Goldilocks bouncing from one option to the next, testing to figure out what’s “just right.” Does the audience want deep reports? Sparse slides? Something in between? Like … what?

Teams often come to presentation meetings with vast amounts of backup content just in case an exec wants to take a deep dive on any given point. There’s often a struggle to anticipate every direction attendees might want to go. It’s frustrating, and it’s not efficient.

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There are many ways to build slides. I’m not just talking about crafting them well versus poorly. I’m talking about all of the important decisions regarding how to organize them, how much text to use, when to lean into a chart, the best ways to use bullets and color, and whether to include an appendix with additional information. Before you make your next proposal or request of the executive team, use this list of 11 tips for your next set of slides as a guide.

Four Things You Must Have in Every Exec’s Slides

Before we drill down into the harder aspects, the ones where your executives’ tastes may vary widely, let’s quickly cover four aspects that you can consider the building blocks — the basics you should never proceed without.

Start with an executive summary. Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure. First, start with stating the current realities. Second, clearly state the problem or opportunity your idea addresses and its potential impact. Third, explain how your recommendation solves the problem or exploits the opportunity and the next steps you’re proposing.

Have a logical organization. The arc of the deck — the package from beginning to end — should make sense. If your audience reads only the headline of every slide, the order should be coherent and make most of the case for you. The content below each slide’s headline must support the statement made in the title. Remove everything that doesn’t support your point; as writers will tell you, you sometimes need to “kill your darlings” when you’re editing.

Begin the slide deck with a tight executive summary that follows a three-act structure.

Make it skimmable. Help your audience to quickly grasp the point without getting bogged down in details. Create a clear visual hierarchy. Guide the reader’s eye through the content: Use bold headings, bullet points, and numbered lists to break down information into digestible pieces. Highlight key takeaways or conclusions in a different color or font size to draw attention to these critical points.

Focus on concise insights. Succinct statements with clear insights are everyone’s jam. Every slide should serve a purpose and contribute directly to the decision-making process. Distill complex information. Don’t use 100 words when 20 words will nail it. If you’re having difficulty trimming, consider using company-approved AI tools to help you take out the fluff.

Five Preferences to Confirm With the Person You Want to Reach

Now we’ll delve into what your particular audience does and does not want. If you haven’t yet, start by asking the person you’re presenting to what they generally prefer. They probably know themselves well but have not been asked to articulate how they like to receive information.

Ask how dense is too dense. Some executives prefer detailed slides with comprehensive data. Others favor a more high-level approach. You’re weighing how to balance informative content with readability, ensuring that slides are not overloaded yet are sufficiently detailed to support decision-making.

Confirm the delivery format and timing. Some execs like information presented to them. Others prefer a pre-read of the material followed by a discussion. I always recommend our tool Slidedocs (I’ve written a free e-book on them), which are visual documents using both words and images. The templates help presenters organize their thoughts into a document for a pre-read or a read-along. They are designed to be skimmable and able to travel through your organization without the help of a presenter.

I’m a huge fan of pre-reads and prefer to use my time in meetings to ask questions and build alignment. If your audience didn’t review your material in advance, ask at the top of the meeting whether they would like you to present it or would prefer to read through it and then discuss it.

Find out how much data visualization they prefer. Charts, graphs, photos, and illustrations often communicate complex data more clearly than words alone. When execs can see what you’re saying, they often can better understand the impact of your idea. Does the exec want to understand exact numbers? Bar charts allow them to move their eyes across a series of specifics. Does the exec want to know the shape of a trend over time? Line charts can show the pattern. (See “Classic Charts Communicate Data Quickly.”) Some prefer charts with annotations that draw attention to what you think is the most important point. Others want to make their own conclusions from the data.

One of my clients, the CEO of a massive commercial real estate company, doesn’t want anything visualized. He prefers numbers, only in a table, and only in two colors — black and red. You might think this is archaic. But the fact that he’s clear to his teams about what he wants takes all the mystery out of how to communicate with him.

When the stakes are high, have a conceptual thinker help with diagrams and concepts. If you don’t have one on your team, and when it’s high stakes, find an internal designer to help you or hire one. You can’t afford to have the baby (your idea) thrown out with the bathwater (terrible slides).

Identify which details need spelling out. How well do the people you’re presenting to know the landscape and function of the company and products you’re talking about? For example, if your engineering team threw a slide into a deck about an issue that requires executive approval, do the execs all speak geek? Or do you need to explain the technology so that they will really understand the ask? Either eliminate internal jargon and acronyms or unpack those bits, especially if your proposal deeply involves expertise outside of the executives’ domain.

Ask whether appendices will be useful. When you’re organizing a presentation, you often troll data, read through complicated reports, and even hire external experts to figure out what’s best for the company. Do your execs want access to that supporting data? You can add a document to the end of the presentation as an appendix to show all of the data and source material. This allows the main content of the slides to remain focused and accessible while still providing comprehensive background information for those who want more.

Two Tips to Improve Your Presentation Skills

Getting materials in place is the biggest step. They will be your best tools for selling your ideas. But there are two extra areas to pay attention to as a presenter: how you handle questions and how you use every experience to improve.

Anticipate questions, and practice your answers. Before you have your meeting, gather a small team to challenge every point you make. Invite colleagues you trust to role-play as “a rapidly inquisitive exec” or “the doubting naysayer exec” so you are prepared to present your idea well. They’re gonna grill you, and practicing will help you remain unruffled when it happens.

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Ask for feedback after the presentation. Establish a feedback loop with those you presented to. Ask what worked well and how you can improve. If attendees don’t have the time, find people who have had their ideas funded and talk to them about what they did that worked. Advice and some perspective will help you nail your performance even better next time.

Empathetically understanding your audience members and how they process information, whether it’s executives or peers, sets up your ideas for success. Clarity creates efficiency. When a presentation fits just right, you’ve given your great thinking the best chance of moving through your organization and having maximum impact.

About the Author

Nancy Duarte is CEO of Duarte Inc. , a communication company in the Silicon Valley. She’s the author of six books, including DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story (Ideapress Publishing, 2019).

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PPT Slides in Living Meeting do not progress for all attendees

Facilitator is sharing PPT slide deck, and about 3-5 people in the meeting do not see the slides progress. When person progresses the slides using the arrows themselves, they get a "Sync to Presenter" button that pops up. This button takes them back to a slide that is not synced with the presenter (it's the first slide). Issue does not happen for all participants. People having the error restarted Teams and rejoined the meeting and this did not resolve the issue.

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Hello Stephanie Wohler , Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Teams support. Based on your description, it appears that only a subset of attendees is experiencing the issue with PowerPoint slides not advancing during the meeting.  Here are some potential troubleshooting steps to help address this issue: Individual Attendee Troubleshooting :

For the affected attendees, ask them to:

Refresh the Meeting : Refresh their Microsoft Teams meeting window to ensure they have the latest updates.

Check Network Connection : Verify that their internet connection is stable. Sometimes network disruptions can impact slide synchronization.

Clear Cache and Cookies : If they are using Teams Application, request them to Clear the Teams cache . If it is Teams web, clearing browser cache and cookies might help resolve issue.

Check Attendees’ Teams Versions : Verify that the attendees experiencing the issue have the latest version of Microsoft Teams installed. If not, encourage them to update their Teams app to the most recent version.

Try a Different Device : If possible, they can try joining the meeting from a different device (e.g., switching from a laptop to a mobile device or vice versa).

Leave and Rejoin the Meeting: If the issue persists, suggest that the affected attendees  leave the meeting and rejoin . Sometimes rejoining can help resolve synchronization issues.

Presenter’s Actions :

The presenter should:

Re-Share the Presentation : Stop sharing the presentation and then share it again. Sometimes re-sharing can re-sync the slides.

Advance Slides Slowly : Advancing slides too quickly might cause synchronization issues. Advise the presenter to click through slides deliberately and allow attendees to catch up.

While sharing the PowerPoint presentation, go to the  Ribbon  (the top menu).

Look for the option that says,  “Private View”

Click on it to turn it Off

Please note that our initial response may not always resolve the issue right away. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

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The Planner app in Microsoft Teams brings together all your tasks and plans across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem in a single convenient location. It helps you manage tasks more efficiently for individual plans and team initiatives, as well as larger scale projects that are aligned to goals and key strategic objectives. 

Once you add the Planner app to Teams, you'll find:

My Day : Includes any tasks that are due today, along with any tasks you choose to add to this view.

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Your daily dashboard:

Handpicked priorities: Determine and add your main tasks for the day.

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Start fresh in My Day each day: My Day clears itself every night, so you can start the next day with a blank slate and personalize your day. Any unfinished tasks in My Day that are left over before it clears will be available in the original Plan that they came from.

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Assigned to me :   Includes all of the tasks that have been assigned to you in Teams meeting notes, basic plans, premium plans, Loop component, and shared lists in To Do.

Flagged emails : All your flagged emails from Outlook appear in the Flagged emails section. You can also navigate to the emails directly from the task by selecting the attachment.

All : The All view provides an aggregation of all your individual tasks from Private tasks, Assigned to me, and Flagged emails. You can then filter and sort to meet your needs. For example, if you want to see all your tasks that are due tomorrow and are urgent, just apply the filter on this view and you will get a curated list of tasks.

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The My Plans page in Planner shows all of your plans, no matter where they were created. This includes lists created in To Do, plans created in Planner and Project for the web, Loop plans, plans from Teams meeting notes, and more.

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Tip:  Use keywords to quickly find plans and lists by selecting  Filter by keyword .

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