Speaker notes go in a panel below your slides, and you can access them from the Normal view on any version of PowerPoint

Speaker notes are the text you see during a presentation that your audience does not. They sit in a dedicated area below the slide itself and let you keep talking points, timing cues, or full scripts without cluttering your slides. In PowerPoint, you add them by switching to Normal view, clicking in the notes section, and typing what you need.

The process is the same whether you use PowerPoint on Windows, Mac, or PowerPoint online — the notes panel is always available once you know where to look. You can type as much or as little as you want, and the notes stay with the slide even if you rearrange your presentation later.

Key Takeaways

  • Speaker notes appear in a panel below your slide in Normal view and are invisible to your audience during the presentation.
  • You can add notes by clicking in the notes area and typing, or by right-clicking a slide and selecting Notes Page for a full-screen editing view.
  • Notes sync automatically across devices if you use PowerPoint online or save your file to OneDrive or SharePoint.
  • During a presentation, you see your notes on your screen while your audience sees only the slide, using Presenter View on Windows or Speaker Notes on Mac.

Adding notes in PowerPoint on Windows

Open your presentation and go to the View tab at the top. Click Normal if it is not already selected. You should see your slide in the main area with a smaller notes panel below it. If the notes panel is not visible, drag the divider line between the slide and the bottom of the window upward to expand it.

Click in the notes area below your slide and start typing. Type whatever you need to remember — full sentences, bullet points, timing notes, or reminders about what to say next. The notes stay attached to that specific slide, so if you move to the next slide, the notes panel will show the notes for that slide instead.

If you want more space to write, right-click the slide in the left panel and select Notes Page. This opens a full-screen view where the notes take up most of the space and the slide appears as a small preview at the top. When you are done, click the View tab again and select Normal to go back to the regular editing view.

Adding notes in PowerPoint on Mac

Open your presentation and click the View tab. Select Notes from the ribbon. Your slide will appear at the top of the screen with a large notes area below it, similar to the Notes Page view on Windows.

Click in the notes area and type what you need. You can write as much as you want — the area will scroll if your notes get long. When you are ready to return to the normal slide view, click View again and select Normal.

If you prefer to see your notes while still viewing slides in the regular editing layout, you can also use the Notes pane on the right side of the screen. Click View, then Notes Pane, and a panel will appear on the right where you can type notes without switching views entirely.

Adding notes in PowerPoint online

Open your presentation in PowerPoint online. Click the View menu and select Notes. The slide will move to the top of the screen and a notes area will appear below it, just like the desktop versions.

Click in the notes section and type your speaker notes. Your changes save automatically to your OneDrive or SharePoint account, so you do not need to manually save. If you switch to a different device and open the same presentation, your notes will be there.

To return to the normal slide view, click View again and select Normal. You can switch between Normal and Notes view as many times as you need while preparing your presentation.

Viewing your notes during a presentation

On Windows, use Presenter View to see your notes while presenting. Start your slideshow by pressing F5 (full screen from the beginning) or Shift+F5 (from the current slide). Your screen will show your notes, the current slide, the next slide, and a timer. Your audience sees only the slide itself on the projector or shared screen.

On Mac, press Option+Command+P to start Presenter View, or click the Slide Show tab and select From Beginning or From Current Slide. Your notes appear on your Mac screen while the audience sees only the slides.

On PowerPoint online, start the presentation by clicking Present Online or Present in the top menu. Your notes will appear on your screen in Presenter View while your audience watches the slides in a separate window or shared link.

Organizing and formatting your notes

Speaker notes do not have the same formatting options as slide text — you cannot make text bold or italic within the notes themselves. However, you can use line breaks and spacing to organize your notes into sections. Press Enter twice to create a visual break between different talking points.

If you need more structured notes, consider using bullet points or numbering. Type a dash or number at the start of each line to create a straightforward list format. Some presenters use time codes (like "0:30 — transition to next topic") to keep themselves on pace during a longer presentation.

You can also copy and paste text from other documents into your notes. If you have a script or outline in Word or another program, you can paste it directly into the PowerPoint notes panel and edit it there.

Printing or exporting your notes

To print your notes on Windows or Mac, go to File and select Print. In the print dialog, look for a dropdown that says "Print Layout" or "Full Page Slides" and change it to Notes Pages. This will print each slide with its notes below it on a separate page.

If you want to export your notes as a document, copy all the text from your notes panel and paste it into Word or Google Docs. There is no built-in export function in PowerPoint, but this manual method works for any version.

PowerPoint online does not have a direct print-to-notes option, but you can switch to Notes view, select all the text (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A), copy it, and paste it into a document or text editor to print from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my audience see my speaker notes during the presentation?

No. Your notes appear only on your screen when you use Presenter View. Your audience sees only the slide itself on the projector, TV, or shared screen. The notes are completely hidden from them.

Do speaker notes take up space in my PowerPoint file?

Yes, but not much. Notes add a small amount to your file size, but the increase is usually less than a few kilobytes unless you have very long notes on every slide. This rarely causes any practical problems.

Can I access my notes on my phone or tablet?

PowerPoint on iPhone and iPad can display notes, but the interface is limited. If your file is saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, you can open it on a mobile device and view notes in Notes view, though editing is easier on a computer. For presenting from a phone, most people use a separate device to view notes.

What happens to my notes if I delete a slide?

The notes attached to that slide are deleted along with it. If you think you might need those notes later, copy them to a text document before deleting the slide.

Can I share my notes with someone else without sharing the whole presentation?

Not directly through PowerPoint. You would need to copy your notes into a separate document and share that. If you share the presentation file itself, anyone with access can see the notes in Notes view.