How to Use Music Clips at Meetings
Music sets a particular tone to any environment, including business meetings. Not all music clips are appropriate for use in business meetings, but many are, and when used correctly, music clips can work as excellent transitions and motivational tools. Using iTunes, Media Player and other audio players such as Winamp is an easy way to play music at your meeting for free. Inserting music into your PowerPoint presentations also can enhance the speeches you give.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with good internal or external speakers
- Media player (e.g., iTunes)
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2007
Instructions
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Setting the Tone
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1
Open up iTunes or your media player of choice.
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2
Select the file (or files) you want to play in your music library playlist.
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3
If you want to have the music keep playing continuously from one or more files, then under the "controls" menu choose "select " and pick all or one, depending on whether you want to play a series of songs or just one song.
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4
Single left click on the "play" icon in your iTunes or media player window to start playback.
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5
Adjust your volume settings and let the music play as people enter or leave the meeting. Use the "stop" button in the controls to end playback when you are done.
PowerPoint
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6
Open the PowerPoint presentation to which you want to add music.
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Select the slide to which you want to add music and single left click at the point you want to insert music.
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8
Select the insert menu, and then select "sound" in the far right corner of the task bar.
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If your music file is on your computer already, select "sound from file" and choose the file you want to use. If you want to play from a CD instead, choose "play CD track" instead and select the track you want.
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10
Set whether you want the music to start automatically (good for the start of meetings) or when clicked using the window that pops up after you select your file or track. If needed, you can select the sound icon that PowerPoint inserts for the audio file and then use the task bar that comes up to set looping, volume, and how long you want the file to play.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want the tone of your meeting to be subdued, then choose low-key classical music. If you want the meeting to be upbeat and motivational, then choose music like "We Are the Champions." Avoid songs in minor keys, as these have a tendency to feel "darker."
Don't overdo it with music in the meeting. The music should add to the meeting and not distract from it, so only use the music to emphasize points or enhance the flow of the meeting.
