Are you looking for a way to present your PowerPoint slides on Zoom while keeping your speaker notes hidden from the audience? Presenting with PowerPoint is a common way to share information during Zoom meetings, but you may not want meeting participants to see the presenter notes you’ve written for yourself.
Fortunately, PowerPoint has a built-in setting to keep notes private during Slide Show mode, and it’s easy to configure your Zoom screen sharing to present PowerPoint slides without revealing your notes. This guide will walk you through the steps to present a PowerPoint on Zoom with notes hidden.
Why Hide PowerPoint Notes When Presenting on Zoom?
Speaker notes in PowerPoint are a helpful tool for presenters to remind themselves of key points to cover for each slide. Your notes might include:
- Additional details and context about slide content
- Verbal transitions between topics
- Reminders to pause for questions
- Cues for advancing slides or playing animations
- Quotes, statistics, or other references to mention
- Timing notes to help pace the presentation
While these notes are useful for the presenter, you usually don’t want them to be visible to your audience during the presentation. Showing the audience your behind-the-scenes notes can be distracting and unprofessional. It may give the impression that you are unprepared or simply reading from a script. PowerPoint’s Presenter View solves this by letting you view notes privately while presenting.
Additionally, your speaker notes may contain information that you don’t necessarily want to share with attendees, like:
- Internal company information
- Sensitive or confidential details
- Personal reminders or off-topic asides
- Verbatim scripts that sound unnatural when read word-for-word
By using Presenter View to access notes privately, you maintain more control over what attendees see and keep the focus on your polished presentation.
Set Up PowerPoint to Hide Notes in Slide Show
To deliver a PowerPoint presentation on Zoom without the audience seeing your notes, you first need to configure Slide Show settings in PowerPoint. Here’s how:
- Open your PowerPoint presentation
- Click the Slide Show tab in the ribbon
- Check the box next to “Use Presenter View”
- Hover over the Monitors icon and ensure “Primary Monitor” is selected from the dropdown
- Adjust any other Slide Show settings as needed (e.g. presentation resolution, speaker timing)
Enabling Presenter View in PowerPoint will display your slides on one screen (the one shared with the audience) and your slides plus notes on another screen (your private view as the presenter). If you only have one screen, your presenter view will appear on that monitor while the audience will only see the slideshow.
Understanding Presenter View Layout
When you use Presenter View, PowerPoint will display a special interface with several panes:
- Current Slide: This pane shows the slide you’re currently presenting to the audience.
- Next Slide: This thumbnail shows a preview of the upcoming slide so you know what’s next.
- Speaker Notes: Your notes for the current slide appear here for easy reference.
- Slide Timeline: This strip of thumbnails lets you see the full presentation at a glance and jump to any slide.
- Tools: Presenter View includes tools to turn on a laser pointer, highlighter, or pen to annotate slides. You can also zoom in, instantly jump to a black or white screen, and more.
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Presenter View layout and tools before using them in a live Zoom presentation.
Share PowerPoint Slides in Zoom
Now that PowerPoint is configured, you’re ready to share your presentation in Zoom:
- Start or join a Zoom meeting
- Click the Share Screen button in the Zoom toolbar
- Select your PowerPoint slideshow window
- Click the Share button
Alternatively, you can start sharing and then open PowerPoint if you prefer. Just remember to select the slideshow window in PowerPoint, not the editing window.
- Put PowerPoint in presentation mode by clicking Slide Show > Play from Start or using the F5 shortcut
Your PowerPoint slides will now appear to the audience, but your speaker notes and the rest of Presenter View will remain hidden. You can click through the slides and view your notes without the Zoom attendees seeing them.
Tips for Using PowerPoint Presenter View on Zoom
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when sharing a PowerPoint presentation with notes on Zoom:
Prepare Your Presentation in Advance
Take time before the meeting to write out thorough speaker notes for each slide in the PowerPoint Notes pane. Include key points you want to cover and specific phrasing you want to use. The more detailed your notes are, the easier it will be to stay on track during the live presentation.
Practice with Presenter View
Even if you’ve rehearsed your presentation, it’s a good idea to do a dry run using Presenter View, especially if you haven’t used it before. Make sure you’re comfortable with the controls and know how to smoothly advance slides while referencing your notes. Consider doing a test run on Zoom as well to ensure screen sharing works as expected.
Position Windows Strategically
When delivering your presentation, arrange your windows so your speaker notes and Zoom meeting controls are easy to see at a glance. You may want to keep the PowerPoint window with Presenter View on your main monitor and move the Zoom window to a secondary monitor. This makes it simple to read your notes while still keeping an eye on the Zoom chat, participant list, etc.
Use a Neutral Slide Background
Pick a simple, non-distracting slide background so your speaker notes are easy to read in Presenter View. A solid color or subtle texture works well. Avoid busy photo backgrounds that could make text hard to see.
Keep Animations Simple
Using complex animations and transitions in PowerPoint can make it trickier to smoothly advance slides while viewing notes in Presenter View. Stick to simple animations that automatically play when you click to the next slide to avoid fumbling with extra clicks as you present.
Stay Connected with Your Audience
It’s easy to get engrossed in your speaker notes and forgot to look up at your audience. Make an effort to maintain eye contact by looking at your webcam regularly as you present. Pause periodically to check the chat window or invite attendees to unmute and ask live questions. Presenter View makes it easy to stay on track with your content, but don’t let it become a crutch that disconnects you from your audience.
Alternatives to PowerPoint Presenter View on Zoom
If you have a single monitor and find it difficult to view your notes and slides simultaneously in Presenter View, there are a couple other options to consider:
Use Speaker Notes in a Separate Window
One alternative is to display your speaker notes in a window beside PowerPoint. Here’s how:
- Open your PowerPoint file
- Click the View tab in the ribbon
- Click Notes Page
- Resize the Notes window and place it next to the PowerPoint window
Now when you share your screen on Zoom, attendees will see only your slides while you can view your notes in a separate window. Advance slides with your keyboard arrow keys or a presentation remote.
This method works well if you have limited screen space and want to avoid flipping back and forth between PowerPoint and your notes. However, keep in mind that you’ll need to manually scroll through your notes as you present, which may be less smooth than using Presenter View.
Print Notes and Use Hard Copy
Another low-tech option is to print out your PowerPoint slides with speaker notes and keep a hard copy in front of you as you present. You can print notes pages from PowerPoint by:
- Clicking File > Print
- Selecting Notes Pages from the “Print Layout” dropdown
- Clicking Print
With your notes printed, you don’t have to worry about managing on-screen windows as you present on Zoom. Simply share your PowerPoint window, click through the slides, and reference your printed notes as needed.
Printed notes are a good backup to have even if you plan to use Presenter View. They can save the day if you encounter any technical issues with screen sharing or slide navigation.
Final Thoughts
Keeping speaker notes hidden while presenting PowerPoint slides on Zoom helps you deliver a polished, professional presentation. By enabling Presenter View in PowerPoint and strategically sharing your screen on Zoom, you can access your notes privately while attendees only see your slides. With your notes in view to keep you on track, you’ll be well prepared to engage your audience and communicate your message effectively.
Investing a bit of time upfront to draft thorough notes, practice with Presenter View, and plan your Zoom setup pays off in a smooth and impactful presentation. Use these tips to put Presenter View to work in your next Zoom meeting and share your PowerPoint slides with confidence!
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