Speaker Notes and Handouts

Enhancing Your Presentation

While the slides are what your audience sees, speaker notes and handouts are essential tools for both you, the presenter, and your audience. In this section, we'll explore how to create speaker notes and handouts to enhance your PowerPoint presentation.

Creating Speaker Notes

Speaker notes are your personal cues and reminders during the presentation, helping you stay on track and provide additional information to the audience. Here's how to create them:

1. Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
2. In the Normal view, beneath the slide (or in the Notes Page view), you'll see a section labeled "Click to add notes." Click there, and you can start typing your notes.
3. Speaker notes are meant to be for your eyes only, so you can include additional talking points, references, or reminders without worrying about the audience seeing them.
4. You can add speaker notes to each slide in your presentation. Use the scrollbar on the right side to navigate between slides and add specific notes.
5. To print your speaker notes, go to "File" > "Print," select the "Notes Pages" option, and hit "Print."

Creating Handouts

Handouts are physical or digital documents you provide to the audience as a reference after the presentation. They typically contain key points, graphics, and space for notes. Here's how to create handouts in PowerPoint:

1. Go to the "File" menu and select "Print."
2. Under the "Settings" section, you'll find an option called "Full Page Slides." Click on it.
3. A dropdown menu will appear. Choose the format you want for your handouts. Options often include:

• Full Page Slides: One slide per page.
• Notes Pages: Slides with speaker notes.
• Outline View: Displays a text outline of your presentation.
• Handouts (2, 3, 4, 6, or 9 slides per page): Allows you to choose how many slides appear on each page.

4. You can further customize your handouts by choosing to include your presentation's title, date, or slide numbers.
5. To preview what your handouts will look like, use the print preview.
6. Once satisfied, click "Print" to generate your handouts in the chosen format.

Handouts are a valuable resource for your audience, providing them with a physical reference to take away from your presentation. Whether in a business meeting, seminar, or classroom setting, they help ensure your message is better retained and can be reviewed in detail after the presentation concludes.

By creating both speaker notes for your guidance and handouts for your audience, you can ensure that your presentation is well-prepared, engaging, and leaves a lasting impression. These elements are vital for the success of your PowerPoint presentation.