[Libs-Or] Tech-Talk: PPT/G-Slides - Just "Talk" to Get Live Captions

Tue Oct 28 13:33:42 PDT 2025

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November 5: [EMAIL] Organizing Email: Clear the Clutter, Stay in Control. Why Attend: You're tired of inbox overload and want ways to reduce it.

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December 3: [EXCEL]  Spreadsheet Storytelling: Interactive Features You Need. Why Attend: You want tips on bringing out your messages.

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PPT/G-Slides - Just Talk to Get Live Captions

Intermediate

[PowerPoint Logo]

Wouldn't you love to have your presentations be more understandable? How about adding captions! Now they can see the words you're saying. It's easy with the live caption feature!

Here's how it works ... as you speak, the program listens and shows captions at the bottom of your slides. You don't need any additional software, just a microphone and PowerPoint! This helps anyone who is hard of hearing. It also is handy in a noisy room or when the sound system isn’t great. Even better, captions can translate what you say into another language!

Why Use Live Captions?

There are several reasons why you could use live captions in PowerPoint. Some of them are...
1.  For accessibility. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can follow along.
2.  Increased clarity. Captions help if there’s background noise or weak audio.
3.  Supporting languages. You can show captions in another language for multilingual groups.
4.  Increasing engagement and memory. Many people remember more when they both hear and read the words.

How to Turn On Live Captions in PowerPoint

When you are ready to add captions to your presentation, you will need to make sure you have a working microphone connected to your computer. Open PowerPoint and follow these instructions to get Live Captions:
1.  At the top of your screen select the Slide Show tab.
2.  In the ribbon, click Always Use Subtitles. This turns on captions for your presentation.
3.  Start your slide show.
4.  When you speak clearly, captions will appear automatically on the screen.

[PowerPoint window showing the Slide Show tab selected. A red box highlights Always Use Subtitles in the toolbar.]

NOTE: Live captions only works in the desktop version of PowerPoint. It is currently not supported in Office 365. A workaround would be to manually add text that looks like captions. You could even animate the text so it rolls out as if you were creating captions on the spot.

[A dropdown menu titled Subtitle Settings with options for spoken and subtitle language microphone and subtitle position choices Bottom Overlaid Top Overlaid Below Slide Above Slide and More Settings.]
How to Change Caption Settings

Of course there are options you can choose. Aside from selecting the language you want shown (and identifying what language is being spoken, you can also place the text location of the caption.

By default, captions are in English and appear at the bottom of your slides. You can make changes such as:
·     Spoken Language lets you choose what language the speaker is using.
·     Subtitle Language allows you to select how the captions appear.
·     Microphone lets you choose which microphone you're using.
·     Bottom (Overlaid), Top (Overlaid), Below Slide, or Above Slide has you choosing the location of the captions.

Helpful Tips for Using Live Captions

The captioning program does a good job, but it is best at catching every word if you don't rush. Take your time when speaking!

 Some other helpful tips:
1.  Speak loudly and clearly.
2.  Stay close to your computer’s microphone.
3.  For best results, use a headset or another microphone.
4.  Eliminate background noise. This might interfere with your voice.
5.  Ensure you have a strong and reliable internet connection. Captions and subtitles depend on a cloud-based speech service.

Google Slides - Live Captioning

If you use Google Slides, you can still show captions at the bottom of the screen. However, these only work in English. It does not have built-in language translation like PowerPoint.

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To turn on the captions in Google Slides:
·     Click the Slideshow button (upper right of screen) to start your presentation.
·     Hover over the bottom left corner of your slide ... so that a button appears. You'll see three vertical dots.

[Settings for Google Slides with a red circle around the captions preferences.]
·     Click on these dots and choose Caption Preferences.
·     Choose Toggle Captions. You can also press CTRL + Shift +C to turn the captions on and off.

NOTE: This Toggle switches back and forth between having the caption text show or not.

TIP: If the captions don't show, and you've toggled it back and forth, make sure your microphone is connected and turned on ... and that you are speaking clearly and slowly.

You can also change the font size and location in this Preferences area.

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Communications: Presenting

Drop the pitch of your voice

There are multiple ways of presenting these days. You could stand up in front of an audience, be a speaker in a webinar or make a voice-over video … to name a few.

In most cases, you may find yourself creating a set of slides (often in PowerPoint) with text that you could “read” as your talking points. That’s good. You’ve thought it through. You have a narrative flow.

I’m sure your intention is to present the material so that it in no way sounds as if you are reading it … even if you are. You want to be conversational.

It’s best if you can sound as if you are saying it for the first time. That you’re talking with the folks in the audience, rather than at them.

Here’s a simple technique that will do the trick every time. Drop the pitch of your voice. When you start talking lower, you’ll sound more relaxed and believable.

On top of that, what you say will be better received by the audience. They’ll hear your message and give it greater trust.

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Cheers,
Darci Hanning, MLIS (she/her/hers)
Public Library Consultant / CE Coordinator
Continuing Education Resources: https://slo.oregon.gov/conted/
State Library of Oregon | Library Support and Development Services
971-375-3491 | darci.hanning at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:darci.hanning at slo.oregon.gov> | www.oregon.gov/library<http://www.oregon.gov/library>

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