Glossary
What are speaker notes?
Speaker notes: Speaker notes are text attached to a slide that the audience does not see. They hold what the presenter wants to say, the key numbers and the transition to the next slide.
Speaker notes are text attached to a slide that the audience does not see. They hold what you want to say about the slide, the numbers you must get right and the sentence that leads to the next slide. In PowerPoint they sit in the notes pane under the slide, and Presenter View shows them to you while the audience sees only the slide.
Notes let a slide stay clean. The slide carries the key message and the picture, and the notes carry the explanation.
What good notes look like
Notes do not repeat the slide. They tell you what to say, what to skip and what to do when someone asks. The example belongs to a status slide with three green rows and two that need the Board's attention.
How to write speaker notes
- Write what you will say, not what the slide says. Start with the sentence you want people to remember.
- Write the first and the last sentence in full, and the rest as keywords. A script read aloud pulls your eyes away from the audience.
- Keep exact figures with their unit and source where you need them, so you do not have to remember them.
- Add the planned time per slide. The sum is your talk, and the speaking time calculator helps with the arithmetic.
- Note the likely question and its answer on the slide where it will come up.
- Mark the transition to the next slide in one sentence.
Typical mistakes
- Putting the full script on the slide and leaving the notes empty.
- Reading the notes aloud word for word.
- Leaving remarks in a file that you send out. Notes travel with a PowerPoint file. Check them before you share it; PowerPoint's Document Inspector can find and remove them.
- Keeping essential content only in the notes, where the audience never sees it. If people need it, put it on a handout.
In the AI editor behind this site, notes live in a plain-text strip under each slide, and they come along in the PowerPoint export.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What should you write in speaker notes?
Write what you will say, not what the slide already shows: the opening sentence, the exact figures, the likely question with its answer and the transition to the next slide. Keep the rest as keywords so that you can look at the audience.
Can the audience see speaker notes?
Not while you present. But notes travel with a PowerPoint file, so anyone who receives the file can read them. Check or remove the notes before you send a file to a client.
How long should speaker notes be?
As short as you can manage while still being useful: a full first and last sentence and keywords in between. A script that you read aloud pulls your eyes from the audience and makes the talk sound flat.
Are speaker notes included in a PDF?
No. A PDF contains the slides, not the notes, unless you export a notes page layout. If readers need the explanation, put it on a handout.
Keep reading
Delivering the talk
- GuideBest fonts for presentations
Which fonts work for presentations, how many to use, what size to set and how to stop fonts changing when a PowerPoint file opens on another computer.
- Free toolSlide count calculator
Enter your time slot, the minutes for questions and the format. This free calculator returns the number of slides, a range and a minute plan per slide.
- GlossaryAppendix
The appendix is the backup section after the closing slide: data, methods and details you show only if someone asks. See what belongs in it and what does not.
- Free toolFont size calculator
Free font size calculator for presentations: enter the screen size and the farthest viewer's distance, get the smallest title, body and footnote size in points.
Where to go next
- ProductGenerate the deck as an editable .pptx
The AI builds the pages from your brief; text, shapes and tables stay editable in PowerPoint.
- ConvertTurn rough notes into a presentation
The AI asks a few questions first, then builds the slides from your notes.
Less theory, more finished slides
Describe the deck you need. The AI plans, writes and designs it, and hands you an editable PowerPoint.
Build your first deck freeFree plan, no card needed