Add Audio to PowerPoint

8 minutes read

@ tutsplus.com

Want to get your audience to listen? Audio is a powerful attention-getter for your presentation.

You can use it to share quotes, play background music, include other voices in your presentation, and more.

The best part? Adding audio to PowerPoint is extremely easy to do. In this tutorial on how to add audio to PowerPoint, you’ll receive guidance on adding the extra oomph your presentation needs.

To make the learning process more effective, follow along with the Airsislide PowerPoint Template. It’s completely FREE from Envato Elements. This means you can count on it having the quality, ease of use, and winning design that’ll help you succeed during your presentations.

The Elements You’ll Need to Add Sound to PowerPoint

1. A Powerful Premium PowerPoint Template

To add sound to PowerPoint, you need, of course, a PowerPoint template. For this tutorial on how to add audio to PowerPoint, we’ll be using the free PowerPoint template from Envato Elements. Here are the main features that make it awesome:

over 55 unique slides
16:9 aspect ratio
full HD resolution
completely and easily customizable
professional, minimal, and flexible design

Browse through the image gallery to get a full idea of how incredible it is and why you should use it in this process regarding how to add sound to PowerPoint:

2. A File to Add Sound to PowerPoint

You’ll also need an audio file. This can be a speech, song, sound effect, or other audio that can improve your presentation. Just make sure it has the correct file format supported by PowerPoint (.aiff, .au, .mid, .midi, .mp3, .m4a, .mp4, .wav, and .wma).

In this case, the tutorial works with Piano Background Gentle, a premium royalty-free song from Envato Elements. It’s a corporate track with a slow tempo and no vocals you can use to add an inspirational feel to your presentation without being distracting. Have a listen:

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How to Add Audio to PowerPoint

Before you step into the tutorial on how to add sound to PowerPoint, keep in mind that this process is done on a Mac computer. However, the steps are fairly similar regardless of the device you work on.

1. Download and Open the Free PPT Template

This is the easiest step there is! To download the free PPT template from Envato Elements, you simply have to click on the link. This automatically downloads a zip file to your computer.

After that, go to Downloads, and double-click the zip file you just downloaded. It’ll be named the-arsislide-multipurpose-powerpoint-template-2021-08-26-22-34-45-utc.

This opens up the folder, and you’ll see two files in it. One is titled “read me.txt,” and it’s a help guide you can turn to if need be. The other, the one that’s most interesting, will be named The Arsislide.pptx. Double-click it to open it up.

2. Have Your Audio File Ready

Once again, you must have your audio file ready to continue the process. As stated, this tutorial on how to add sound to PowerPoint uses the royalty-free Piano Background Gentle track from Envato Elements. So, let’s review the download process.

First, you’ll need to sign up for Envato Elements to have the possibility to download this premium track (and as many other digital assets as your heart desires). You’ll find thousands of royalty-free tracks so you can understand how to add sound effects to PowerPoint.

To the right, you’ll find a pink button named Download. As you suspect, this is the one to click to get the file.

From the dialog box that’ll open, hit Create a new project to make a collection where you can include the file. Name it appropriately.

Next up, click on the pink button Add & Download.

This automatically saves the audio track to your computer. You can find it in your Downloads folder.

Once you have the audio file you want to include in your presentation, head back to PowerPoint.

There, look at the toolbar at the top. This is where you find the options to customize the PowerPoint slides.

You can find the Insert view right next to Home at the very top. Click Insert to display the tools under it.

On the Insert view, to the far right, you’ll see a button named Audio. This is the one we want! You can recognize it as a speaker with sound waves and an arrow pointing down on the side.

4. Select the Type of Audio

Click on the Audio button to pull up the different options related to audio. You can see Audio Browser, Audio from File, and Record Audio.

Let’s go over each of these options:

Audio Browser: This one opens up iTunes on macOS, so you can choose audio from there.
Audio from File: This option allows you to upload a file from your computer.
Record Audio: This one uses your computer’s microphone to record audio that you can then use to add audio to PowerPoint.

5. Add Music to PowerPoint

In this example, the audio from Envato Elements is a file from the computer. The right choice is Audio from File. Click on that to open the dialog box.

Follow this path to get to your audio file: Downloads → Audio Folder → Audio File.

You can choose the audio format you want to add (just make sure it’s supported by PowerPoint - i.e., .aiff, .au, .mid, .midi, .mp3, .m4a, .mp4, .wav, and .wma).

Then, click on the Insert button in the bottom right corner.

6. Customize the Audio Format and Playback

When you add audio to PowerPoint, you get a ton of customization possibilities under Audio Format. This means you can choose what the audio button looks like on the slide. Let’s go through a couple of those alternatives here.

For example, you can drag the button to where you want it to be on the slide. You can also use the guides around the button to change how big or small you need it.

In the image, you can see the button is smaller, placed on the far right, has a turquoise hue and a purple outline. Play around with the options to get the aesthetics just right.

Once you have that down, click Playback to determine how the audio will play. Look around to find the playback options that work for you.

How loud do you want it to be? Should it loop? Do you want it to play in the background? Fade in or out? This is where you can learn how to add audio to PowerPoint for all slides. You can even insert captions.

7. The Finished Result of How to Add Sound Effects to PowerPoint

After you’ve gone through all that, you’re done learning how to add sound effects to PowerPoint! You’ve taken all the steps and are now ready for a fantastic presentation.

Here’s how it looks:

5 Premium PPT Templates from Envato Elements!

Above, we worked with a free PPT template from Envato Elements to figure out how to add sound effects to PowerPoint. Still, you can get plenty of more premium options from Envato Elements!

1. Tortoise - PowerPoint Template

For flexibility, ease of use, and a winning design, trust in Tortoise. You can fully fit it to your needs and add sound to PowerPoint to enhance your presentations. Here are a couple of its main features:

5 PPTX files
over 150 total slides
5 pre-made color variations
handcrafted infographics

2. Portfolio Agency - PowerPoint

Minimalism and elegance are in full effect in this premium PowerPoint template. Moreover, you can brand it so it can represent you accurately. Need more? Here are some of its highlights:

more than 50 unique slides
16:9 slide format aspect ratio
vector 3D infographics, icons, and elements
editable text, photos, shapes, colors, and more

3. Creative PPT Template

Get creative with the Creative PPT template! If you want to save time producing a high-quality presentation but want to get a stunning result, this is the download for you. Check it out:

120+ total slides
5 different color variations
pixel-perfect illustrations
easy drag-and-drop editing

4. SKETCH 2 PowerPoint Template

Sketch and share all of your ideas with this amazing option. It comes with infographics, puzzle diagrams, tree diagrams, maps, and everything you could ever need! Plus, it comes with:

50 pre-made color files
16:9 slide format aspect ratio
full HD resolution
thousands of icons that are ready to be used

5. Colorful - PowerPoint Template

Add color, spark, and a playful look and feel to your presentations. Imagine pairing this beautiful template with a premium audio file to match. Here are a few more reasons to get this download:

32 unique slides
fully editable text, photos, shapes, colors, and other elements
extremely easy to customize
free fonts used