How to Add Sound Clips to Microsoft PowerPoint

By eHow Computers Editor

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Incorporating sound clips into PowerPoint is an effective way to capture your audience's attention and communicate information in diverse ways. Sound clips are not restricted to pre-installed sound effects. They may also include music and voice recordings.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Computer
Microsoft PowerPoint software
Audio files

Step1

Click on the slide you would like to add a sound clip to.

Step2

Click on "Insert" in the menu bar. Scroll over "Movies and Sounds."

Step3

Click on one of the four options for adding an audio file. Choose from: "Sound from Clip Organizer," "Sound from File," "Play CD Audio Track" or "Record Sound."

Step4

Select "Sound from Clip Organizer" if you want to insert a special effect sound or browse for an audio file on your computer. The Clip Art task pane will open. Find and select your file. When prompted, play the sound clip automatically or when clicked.

Step5

Select "Sound from File" to insert a specific file onto your computer, a shared network or an Internet site. Select the desired file by double-clicking or highlighting and clicking "OK." When prompted, choose to play the sound clip automatically or when clicked.

Step6

Select "Play CD Audio Track" to play a full or edited CD track. Have the audio CD inserted into the computer. A dialogue box will open, prompting you to select CD track, track start time, track end time and the looping option. Enter the information and click "OK."

Step7

Select "Record Sound" to record your own sound clip. When prompted, click the "Record" button (red circle). Stop recording by clicking the "Stop" button (blue triangle). Play the recording back by clicking the "Play" button (triangle). Either record again or click "OK" to insert into slide.

Step8

Click on the audio icon (it will appear on the slide after you select the audio file) to test your sound clip. Impress your friends, teachers and coworkers with your PowerPoint-savvy ways!

Tips & Warnings

Test run your presentation to make sure everything runs smoothly.
You can resize or hide the sound clip icon, or drag it to any desired position on the slide.
Right-click on the sound clip icon and select "Edit Sound Object" to adjust settings such as volume and display.
Copy your presentation and all linked files to a portable device as a back-up.
PowerPoint usually only stores sound clips smaller than 100 KB. Most clips are linked to a separate file. If you plan to present on a different computer, make sure that computer has all necessary files, including your sound files.
If presenting on another computer, make sure the memory and processor speeds are adequate to handle your presentation.