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 beforejoining the Microsoft Teams meetingto avoid exposing sensitive information. Once you’re confident in your screen’s content, follow the steps below:
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:
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’re able to’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 haslow 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:
Here’s how you can use PowerPoint Live to share your presentation:
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 fordelivering an engaging presentation, you can disable the audience’s navigation control. To do so, enablePrivate viewin 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 canchange each person’s meeting roles in Microsoft Teamsto 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.
