How to Utilise PowerPoint Presenter View

Maximising your use of PowerPoint without disrupting the flow of the audience’s experience

One of the problems facing PowerPoint users in the past was an inability to separate what they viewed on their own screen from what the audience viewed during their presentation. The presenter view in PowerPoint 2013 allows you to view upcoming slides, speaker’s notes, timers, and access tools to use during your slideshow, without impacting on the view your audience will enjoy.

Presenter View of your presentation

Presenter view displays content on the primary monitor for use by the presenter and shows a preview of the current slide currently being viewed by the audience. In the image above, the audience see the slide introducing “Designing a Database”, while the presenter can preview their Speaker’s Notes and the next slide (“The Relational Database Design Process”).

There are also many more useful parts to the presenter view. At the top of the screen there is a toolbar of display options, a timer and clock. At the bottom of the screen are slideshow and navigation tools. You can also customise the size and position of the panels to suit your own requirements.

Customised arrangement of panels

If you have two monitors connected PowerPoint will automatically use Presenter View when you run your slideshow, if the Use Presenter View option on the Slide Show tab on the ribbon has been checked. If you only have one monitor you can still experience the presenter view by using the keyboard shortcut Alt+F5.