Presenting PowerPoint slides in Microsoft Teams meetings is easy and provides a seamless experience for both presenters and audience members. Teams integrates directly with PowerPoint to enable PowerPoint Live, allowing presenters to control and view their presentation within the Teams interface.

For Presenters

To start presenting your PowerPoint slides in a Teams meeting:

Open the PowerPoint file you want to present and select “Present in Teams” from the top navigation bar (or if using PowerPoint Online, select “Present” then “Present in Teams”).

This will automatically open Teams and begin sharing your presentation through PowerPoint Live.

As the presenter, you’ll have a customized view displaying your speaker notes, a view of the current and upcoming slides, as well as meeting controls like camera, mic, share screen, and meeting chat. This allows you to control the flow of your presentation while still interacting with your audience.

Presenter View Tools

As the presenter in PowerPoint Live, you have additional tools at your disposal:

Laser Pointer – Use your mouse as a laser pointer to draw attention to items on the slides.
Pen & Highlighter – Annotate your slides with a pen or highlighter in real-time during your presentation.
Zoom Slides – Magnify parts of your slides for emphasis. The audience will only see the zoomed content.

Slide Thumbnails – Quickly navigate to any slide by selecting its thumbnail image.
Notes View – Refer to your speaker notes during the presentation. Only visible to you as the presenter.
Meeting Controls – Manage meeting audio, video, share screen, reactions, and chat without leaving the PowerPoint Live view.

For Audience Members

Audience members also have tools to improve their viewing experience:

Screen Reader Support – Navigate slides and content using a screen reader.
High Contrast View – Change slide color scheme to high contrast.

Language Translation – View slide text translated into a preferred language.
Picture-in-Picture – View slides and meeting video in separate resizable windows.
Q&A – Ask questions, vote on questions, and see answers from the presenter.

Nonverbal Feedback – Provide feedback reactions and raise your hand. Visible privately to presenter.

Presenting PowerPoint Tips

Here are some tips to enhance your PowerPoint presentations in Teams meetings:

Simplify Text – Use concise phrases and bullet points instead of lengthy paragraphs.

Limit Animations – Too many animations can be distracting. Use subtly and sparingly.
Check Transitions – Ensure slide transitions work properly in Teams before the actual presentation.
Share Audio – If your presentation contains audio elements, enable “Include Computer Sound” when sharing.

Spotlight Slides – Zoom into parts of a slide to focus attention and cover other areas.
Face Audience – Turn off slide sharing temporarily to make eye contact with your audience.
Monitor Reactions – Watch the audience reactions for feedback on whether you should adjust pace or content.

Troubleshooting Issues

If you encounter issues while presenting PowerPoint slides in Teams, try the following:

Confirm you are running the latest version of Teams.
If slides do not advance properly, try changing transitions.

Reduce animations/video content if slides freeze or stutter.
If audio does not play, verify “Include Computer Sound” is enabled.
Switch to Teams web app instead of desktop app.

Clear the Teams app cache and restart your device.

Following these tips and best practices will help you deliver smooth, impactful presentations over Microsoft Teams using the integrated PowerPoint Live features. Let your slides enhance your narrative while still connecting with your remote audience.