How to Use Teams Presenter Mode for PowerPoint Presentations

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Microsoft Teams offers a powerful integration with PowerPoint to enable engaging presentations directly within Teams meetings. As a presenter, you can utilize Presenter Mode to control your slides and view speaker notes while still seeing participants and meeting chat. For the audience, there are options to translate slides, view closed captions, and adjust accessibility settings.

Benefits of Using Teams Presenter Mode

Here are some of the key benefits of using Teams Presenter Mode for PowerPoint presentations:

  • Unified view for presenter – View slides, notes, participants, and chat all in one place
  • Engaging modes – Choose Standout, Side-by-side, or Reporter modes
  • Audience accessibility – Audience members can translate, get closed captions, and adjust accessibility settings
  • Annotation tools – Annotate and highlight slides as you present
  • Q&A and feedback – See raised hands, reactions, and interactive chat from the audience

How to Start a Presentation in Teams

Starting a PowerPoint presentation in Teams is easy:

If PowerPoint is Already Open

  1. In PowerPoint, select Present > Present in Teams
  2. The PowerPoint slides will open directly within the Teams meeting

If PowerPoint is Not Already Open

  1. In the Teams meeting, click Share > PowerPoint Live
  2. Select the PowerPoint file you want to present from OneDrive or your computer
  3. The file will open in Teams Presenter Mode

Once the presentation is started, you will see Presenter Mode controls at the top of the Teams window when viewing the active slide.

Using Teams Presentation Tools

As a presenter in Teams, you have access to useful annotation and control tools:

  • Laser pointer – Point out items on a slide
  • Ink tools – Draw and annotate on slides as you present
  • Slides pane – View thumbnails of all slides and select to jump around
  • Notes pane – View speaker notes for each slide
  • Meeting controls – Mute, start/stop video, etc.
  • Reactions and chat – See audience reactions and questions

Use these tools to deliver an interactive, engaging presentation within the Teams meeting!

Configuring Presenter Modes in Teams

Teams offers 3 Presenter Mode layouts to choose from:

Standout Mode

In Standout Mode, your video feed shows as a separate window over the slides, enabling your face and body language to stand out.

Side-by-Side Mode

Side-by-Side Mode shows the slides next to the video feed of the active speaker. The audience can see both the slides and presenter’s video.

Reporter Mode

Reporter Mode overlays the presenter’s video feed as a picture-in-picture over the slide content.

Experiment with these modes to find which works best! The mode can be changed at any time by selecting the Presenter Mode button.

Presentation Tips for Teams

Use these tips to deliver great presentations with Teams:

  • Practice your presentation – Become fully comfortable with your content before presenting live.
  • Minimize distractions – Present from a quiet location without interruptions. Use a headset for best audio.
  • Engage the audience – Pause for questions, monitor reactions/chat, and gauge interest levels.
  • Check lighting and framing – Ensure you are well-lit on camera and centered in the frame.
  • Use Presenter View – Take advantage of the tools in Teams Presenter View while presenting.

Additional Resources

For more help with presenting in Microsoft Teams, refer to these resources:

With these best practices, your next presentation in Microsoft Teams will be smooth, professional, and engaging for both you as the presenter and your audience!

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