How to Add Audio to Google Slides Presentation

Google Slides is often the go-to choice for education, startups, and small businesses. While this PowerPoint rival is free, it comes with a bunch of built-in templates, sharing is flawless and works across all platforms. The list of features is also rich. For example, you can add video, graphics, and even audio to a Google Slides presentation.

Presentations are boring without an audio clip. You would like to make a perfect impression on your boss, investors, or teachers in the classroom with relevant and informative audio clips on Slides. Want to know how to add audio to your Google Slides presentation? Read on to find out how to do this on the Google Slides desktop.

Google Slides Desktop

First of all, we recommend that you start your Google Slides presentation with one of the built-in templates. You can always start from scratch, but the right model will allow you to get things done faster.

If you have a local copy of the audio file, you want to insert it on your computer, upload it to your Google Drive, and then use the Google Drive tab to search and locate it. Google Slides supports MP3 and WAV audio formats. We tried our luck with MP4 but got an error in the process.

To note: The ability to add an audio file to Google Slides is only available on the desktop. There is no way to do it on mobile.

Now follow the steps below to add audio clip to Google Slides presentation.

Step 1: Go to Google Slides on the web and open the presentation you want to edit.

2nd step: In the left sidebar, select the slide where you want to add audio.

Step 3: Click on the Insert option in the menu bar.

Step 4: Select Audio from the drop-down menu.

Step 5: The following menu will open Google Drive Home. Select the audio file you want to insert.

Step 6: Hit the Select button at the bottom and you will see the audio clip directly in the slides.

Before finalizing the presentation, you must go through the customization options offered. Let’s take a look at them.

Google Slides audio customization

In Google Slides, some basic audio adjustments are available. When the audio object is selected, you can click Format Options on the toolbar. You will see the default settings appear and make adjustments.

1. Automatically play audio

From the first autoplay option, you can start playing audio with one click or automatically. We usually prefer it automatically, because you don’t need to click the Play button to start the audio during the presentation. Google Slides also offers an option to hide icons when presenting.

2. Size and rotation

This one is self-explanatory. Using the Size and Rotate menu, you can change the width, height, width scale, and height scale of the Play button.

3. Recolouring

Using the recolor menu, one can easily change the background color of the Play button. You can choose from 23 color themes available. This isn’t required, but using a color profile that matches the overall theme of the slides can highlight your attention to detail as a presenter.

4. Adjustments

It’s just that Google is having fun with a bunch of options. In the Settings menu, you can change the transparency, brightness and contrast of the Play button in Slides.

5. Drop shadow

This one is the favorite of the GT team. With just one click, you can give the audio play button a nice professional look. Activate the drop shadow option in the side menu bar and you will see the immediate change.

You can also play around with the transparency, angle, distance, and blur radius of the shadow.

Add a YouTube video to Google Slides

By embedding relevant YouTube videos with Google Slides, you can further enhance the appeal of the overall presentation. YouTube’s integration with Google Slides is also seamless. Follow the steps below to add a YouTube video to Google Slides.

Step 1: Open the slide where you want to add a YouTube video.

2nd step: Click Insert in the menu bar and select Video.

Step 3: The next menu will offer a YouTube search bar to find relevant videos.

Step 4: Enter the name of the video or YouTube channel and select it to add it to Google Slides.

Like audio, you have plenty of options like size, position, drop shadow, and rotation to customize the look and fit of the video on the slides.

Create a memorable presentation

Google Slides is the de facto tool for many when it comes to online presentations. And music can be a great way to bring your recorded presentation to life and more fully immerse your audience in your message. Follow the steps above and start adding audio to your next Google Slides presentation.