In Toby Lux’s article here on The Toolbox, “Captivate Your Audience During Presentations – Checklist,” he discusses many things to keep in mind while presenting. This includes using large and simple talking points, trying not to speak for too long, not reading from the presentation, and thinking of questions that might be asked ahead of time. Using slide notes within PowerPoint can actually help with some of these things. This is a feature that is sometimes underused, but can be a great help when creating a presentation.

We have all taken a public speaking class at one time or another. Maybe even more than once. It is taught to first write out the speech or outline and then create note cards with your talking points that you use while giving your speech. This same idea should be kept in mind when creating a PowerPoint presentation.

When first creating a presentation, you already have in mind what slides you want to have. First create these slides with only the title of each slide. Then in the slide notes area, located below the main slide area or by switching to Notes Page view, write out everything that you want to say about this slide. This can be in narrative or outline form. Also keep in mind any questions that may come up in this area as well. After you have written this all out, take the main points in short form and place them onto the slide as bullets. This is just to give you a quick-glance reference to what you would like to speak about. Remember, it’s not about reading from the slide, it’s about having clear talking points that may or may not need further explanation.

Another great use for the slide notes is when a presentation is being created for another person to present or when several people are collaborating on a single presentation. Should the speaker not be fully informed of the information on the slide, keeping detailed notes in the slide notes area will assist him or her with being able to give an informative presentation. Even when creating a presentation by inserting slides from multiple presentations, the notes will stay with the slide.

A design template can be applied to maintain an overall look. The look can also be modified by editing the Notes Page Master. This is a good ability to have should the speaker decide to use the notes pages as handouts for the audience.

Slide notes are a commonly overlooked feature of PowerPoint. But as you can see, they can be quite beneficial for the speaker and the audience when delivering a presentation.