Going Live! Add some spark to sharing slides in Teams

Using PowerPoint Live to bring extra style to your presentations  

Reading time: 5 minutes

Thank you to everyone who has responded positively to my previous blogs about holding great meetings and presentations.  

Your feedback and support are really appreciated and inspires me to continue sharing the knowledge I’ve built up with others, who like I did, are finding their way alone through the world of Microsoft 365 using blogs, YouTube and self learns to develop expertise. 

If you’ve not seen the other blogs, I’ve popped links at the bottom of this one. 

Before joining Scott, here at Your 365 Coach, I was a Microsoft 365 Adoption Champion in the workplace. Working in Internal Communications and Engagement, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Intranets and PowerPoint were the go-to solutions in my toolkit. I find that so many people use these applications, but sadly have not had the value of a mentor to show them the tips and tricks to move their work from good to great. 

This time I want to share some cool magic that combines Teams and PowerPoint that’s been around for a while yet very few people I mention it to seem to know about it  - it’s called PowerPoint Live. 

What is PowerPoint Live? 

PowerPoint Live is a feature that integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams to enhance the presentation experience. It allows presenters (note: plural! 👀) to deliver engaging and interactive presentations directly within a Teams meeting, providing attendees with a real-time immersive experience.  

Using PowerPoint Live, you can share your presentation entirely within the Teams experience, you’re able to read presenter notes, move between slides and annotate slides in real-time. Because you’re still in the Teams window you can easily create audience interaction through live reactions and the chat.  

What benefits does PowerPoint Live add? 

Here are five features of PowerPoint Live that I love: 

1. Presentations show straightaway 

No need to share your screen! Never will an email pop up or people have to endure that awkward pause while you remember how to show your slides in full screen.  You can present directly within Microsoft Teams without the hassle of sharing your entire screen, ensuring a smoother and more professional experience. 

2. More than one presenter can control the presentation 

Multiple presenters can seamlessly manage the slides and content together, creating a more collaborative and dynamic presentation. When it’s time for the presenter to change, the next one just clicks ‘Take control’. No need to stop one screen share and start another. 

3. Attendees can browse your slides at their own pace 

Slow reader? Think you’ve missed a point? Attendees have the flexibility to navigate through the slides independently, ensuring they can revisit important points or catch up if they miss something. But don’t worry, you can switch that on and off if you don’t want to spoil surprises! 

4. Hyperlinks in slides can be clicked by attendees 

Links embedded in your slides are interactive for everyone in the meeting, enabling easy access to more resources or references. I find you do need to tell your audience this – they don't naturally expect it. 

5. It helps everyone enjoy your presentation 

Attendees can adjust settings such as text size and contrast to enhance the accessibility of the presentation, ensuring it is inclusive for all attendees.  And here’s the fall-off-your-chair moment – they can even translate your slides to another language too, live!   

I normally have to show people that one for them to believe 😊. It’s also worth letting people know that the translations are AI generated, they’re good but might not be perfect. 

Want to give it a try?  

Sharing a presentation in PowerPoint Live within Microsoft Teams is straightforward.  

First, join your Teams meeting and click on the 'Share' button in the meeting controls. (Same as is you were going to share your screen) 

From the options that appear, select 'PowerPoint Live'.  You then choose the PowerPoint file you wish to present from the recent files list or upload a new one from your device or OneDrive. 

Your presentation is displayed directly within Teams you’ll see the presenter’s view, so it might be worth joining with a friend so you can have a go at swapping presenters and exploring the attendee’s view too. 

I really think that PowerPoint live is a great feature, that is little known, that can really enhance the presentation experience for your attendees, but also makes life for the presenters easier too. 

I’d love to hear your presentation hacks that help you make Teams like your dreams!  

Matthew 

Matthew Burrell is a consultant at Your 365 Coach

P.S Here’s those links to the other blogs I mentioned: 

Teams Webinars: add the edge to your online events 

Teams Meetings: get set up for success 

Published 4 October 2024

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