Microsoft Powerpoint is the most used presentation tool on the planet, and for very good reasons. If you want to create professional presentations for work, this program is your best bet because it is super easy to use, therefore, it should not take much time to prepare.
Now, the PowerPoint web app may not be as feature-rich as the desktop version, but it is good enough for most of what you are going to do. Microsoft introduced an interesting feature called Presenting Coach for PowerPoint on the Web. The tool is designed to allow users to rehearse their presentations in private before entering the real world.
Before continuing, remember that a Microsoft account is required to use the web version of PowerPoint. So go ahead and create your account, a simple step that shouldn’t take more than five minutes.
How to use Presenter Coach in PowerPoint
Before continuing, visit account.microsoft.com to create a Microsoft account, if you don’t already have one.
Log in with a Microsoft account
OK, so the first thing you need to do is log into your Microsoft account by visiting the PowerPoint web application page. After doing so, you should see a list of all of your recent online presentations if you have already done so.
Alternatively, you can visit the Microsoft Office online page, then click the PowerPoint button to start.
All modern web browsers are supported here, but use Mozilla Firefox well throughout the article.
Start the PowerPoint presentation coach
We will assume that you have previously created a PowerPoint document on your computer. Click Download and open, then locate the document and download it to the web application. Once done, select Slideshow in the tab at the top, then click Repeat with Coach.
Let’s get ready to rehearse
The first step to follow is to click on Rehearsal with the coach then wait for it to load in full screen. Make sure to allow the browser to use your microphone when asked, as this is very important for the future.
Select Start Rehearsals in the section that says Welcome to PowerPoint Presenter Coach (Preview). Everything should now start, so continue and practice your presentation by speaking into the microphone.
Make sure to click on all the slides because to get a full report at the end of your presentation.
Take a look at your report
Once the presentation is complete, the next step is to click the Escape button on your keyboard, and the system should immediately report your performance. As you can see in the image above, we’ve used the word umm a few times, and it’s bad.
In fact, during rehearsal, the tool will recognize the words you say to determine if you are making a consistent presentation.
