How to Add Voice Over on Google Slides

Adding a voice over to a presentation is one of the best ways you can bring it to life. Whether you want to record it on your own or hire a voice over professional, your audience will appreciate you going the extra mile to make your presentation more entertaining and engaging 

If you want to add a voice over or two to your Google Slides presentation, look no further. It’s a straightforward process, but we’ve outlined everything you need to know. 

In this article

1. What Is Google Slides?
2. Equipment You’ll Need
3. Step-By-Step Guide to Adding a Voice Over to Google Slides
4. Step 1: Gather Your Equipment
5. Step 2: Create a Script
6. Step 3: Begin Recording
7. Step 4: Upload Your Audio File to Your Google Drive
8. Step 5: Insert the File Into Your Google Slides Presentation
9. Step 6: Adjust the Audio Settings if Necessary
10. Why You Might Add a Voice Over to Your Google Slides Presentation
11. Final Thoughts

What Is Google Slides?

Google Slides is similar to Microsoft PowerPoint, but it’s a free online app powered by Google. You can create presentations across platforms with others with a simple link. Unlike PowerPoint, you can access your Google Slides anywhere with a computer, internet access, and a Google account. 

Equipment You’ll Need

If you’re not hiring someone to record the audio for your presentation, you’ll need more than just your laptop or desktop computer. 

You’ll need a microphone or headphones with a microphone attached to them to record your voice over. The equipment is only half the battle. You’ll want to have a quiet space to record your voice over. 

A quiet room will help eliminate background noise and make your voice over audio track clear. Not including a voice over is better than having one with a noisy background, where people can’t hear what you’re saying.

Step-By-Step Guide to Adding a Voice Over to Google Slides

So, without further ado, here’s how to add a voice over to your Google Slides in six simple steps: 

Step 1: Gather Your Equipment

Before you can add any audio to your Google Slides, you’ll need to gather all the necessary equipment. Whether you’re hiring a voice over actor or not, you’ll need your computer. If you intend to hire a voice over actor from Voices, then you can ignore the rest of this step. 

If you have a high-quality microphone, that’s amazing. If not, headphones with a microphone feature will do the trick in a pinch. Once you have the equipment, ensure you’re in a quiet room or environment before recording.

Step 2: Create a Script

Some people prefer to wing it when recording to make the audio sound more conversational or natural. If you’re not one of those people, writing a script is a smart second step. 

Writing a script is a great idea, especially when hiring someone else to record the audio. The actor might not be as knowledgeable on the subject matter, so having a script from you is necessary. 

Step 3: Begin Recording

Once you have all the equipment you need and the script and are in a quiet room, you can start recording. You can use recording software or just record a voice memo that you can transfer from your phone to your computer. 

Whichever option you choose, you should see a red record button you can click when you’re ready. You can pause, stop, and restart the recording whenever you need to. Remember to replay the final recording to ensure you’re happy with it before moving on to the following steps. 

Step 4: Upload Your Audio File to Your Google Drive

Once you have your voice over file, it’s time to upload the file to your Google Drive. 

Log into your Google account and head to your Google Drive. You can upload the file to your Google Drive by clicking ‘File’ and then ‘Upload’. From here, find the file you want to upload to your Google Drive.

Step 5: Insert the File Into Your Google Slides Presentation

Once you upload the audio file to your Google Drive, you can upload it into the specific Google Slides file you have in mind. 

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow: 

• Open the Google Slides presentation you want to add the audio file to
• Click on ‘Insert’
• Select ‘Audio’ and find the file you want to upload as your voice over 
• Repeat the above steps for each slide you have a voice over recorded for

Step 6: Adjust the Audio Settings if Necessary

Once you have all the voice overs uploaded onto their appropriate slides in Google Slides, you can start to make adjustments. You can crop the voice over to make it fit the slides better, adjust the audio, and ensure it works best with your Google Slides presentation. 

If you need to adjust the audio settings; it’s pretty easy to do. You’ll need to click on the audio playback settings, which is the speaker icon. From there, you’ll click on the format options. 

Once you’re in the format options, you can adjust the volume to increase or lower the voice volume to make sure it’s at an acceptable level. After modifying any volume, make sure you click on ‘Preview’ to hear what your audience will listen to and see if you’re satisfied with the audio quality. 

If you want the audio to loop, you can add that setting now too. Most people don’t because people can just rewind the audio, but it’s an excellent option to have.

Why You Might Add a Voice Over to Your Google Slides Presentation

Adding a voiceover to a Google Slides presentation is an excellent way to help with engagement. People will feel more engaged and interested in your presentation when they can hear a natural voice talking about the subject rather than reading it themselves. 

There are several examples of people who use voice overs in their Google Slides presentations like: 

• Teachers
• Guidance counselors
• Life coaches
• CEOs or C-Suite Executives
• Marketing and Branding Teams

Final Thoughts

Adding a voice over to your Google Slides presentation is easy. Whether you want to record your voice or hire a voice over actor, adding audio to your presentation is simple.

Follow these easy steps, and you’ll have a more engaging Google Slides presentation in no time!