📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓
In this article
The audience sees your slides; you should see much more: your notes, the next slide, a timer. That’s Presenter View, and it’s the difference between reading off the screen behind you and presenting calmly to the room.
Speaker notes
View › Notes opens the notes pane. Write cues, not a script: key numbers, the transition sentence to the next slide, a reminder of the question you expect. Large font in notes: View › Notes Page, or zoom in Presenter View.
Presenter View
Slide Show › From Beginning (F5) or From Current Slide (Shift+F5). With a second screen or projector connected, Presenter View opens on your laptop automatically (Slide Show › Use Presenter View must be ticked). Press Alt+F5 to try it on one screen.
You see: current slide, next slide, notes, a timer and clock, and tools at the bottom.
Keys during the show
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| Space / → / click | Next |
| ← / Backspace | Previous |
| Number + Enter | Jump to that slide (type 4, Enter) |
| B / W | Black / white screen (press again to return) |
| Ctrl+L | Laser pointer |
| Ctrl+P / E | Pen / eraser |
| G | All slides as thumbnails |
| Esc | End show |
Rehearse
- Rehearse with Coach (Slide Show tab, Microsoft 365): gives feedback on pace, filler words (“um”), reading slides aloud.
- Rehearse Timings: records how long each slide takes. Useful to find the slide that eats five minutes. Afterwards untick Use Timings unless the deck should auto-advance.
- Say it out loud at least once. The first spoken run always exposes clumsy transitions.
Presenting on Teams or Zoom
In Teams, share with PowerPoint Live: you see notes and thumbnails, attendees see only the slide. In Zoom, share the slideshow window, not your desktop, and close email notifications first.
Before you start
- Turn on Do Not Disturb / Focus to stop pop-ups.
- Have a PDF copy on a pen drive and in email in case the laptop fails.
- Test the clicker and the projector resolution.
Where beginners go wrong
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Turning to read the screen | Presenter View on your laptop |
| Full script in notes | Cues only |
| Clicking back through 10 slides for a question | Type the slide number + Enter |
| Overrunning | Rehearse Timings and cut |
More: Presenter View tips.
Practice
Download the practice deck below. Write notes for every slide and rehearse in Presenter View. The first slide lists your tasks.
📎 Practice files for this article
- 📙Lesson 7 practice deckWrite notes and rehearse the pitch deck in Presenter View.⬇ PPTX · 39 KB
Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.
Stuck on a step? Ask a question and the AI answers using this article.