Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view
Using Presenter view is a great way to view your presentation with speaker notes on one computer (your laptop, for example), while only the slides themselves appear on the screen that your audience sees (like a larger screen you're projecting to).
If you're using a newer version of PowerPoint, just connect the monitors and PowerPoint automatically sets up Presenter View for you.
-
If Presenter view appears on the wrong screen, you can swap the display quickly.
-
Turn off Presenter view if you prefer not to use it.
Start presenting
On the Slide Show tab, in the Start Slide Show group, select From Beginning.
Now, if you are working with PowerPoint on a single monitor and you want to display Presenter view, in Slide Show view, on the control bar at the bottom left, select 
Use the controls in Presenter view
-
To move to the previous or next slide, select Previous or Next.
-
To view all the slides in your presentation, select See all slides.
Tip: You’ll see thumbnails of all the slides in your presentation (as shown below), making it easy to jump to a specific slide in the show.
-
To view a detail in your slide up close, select Zoom into slide, and then point to the part you want to see.
For more details on zooming in, see Zoom in to part of a slide.
-
To point to or write on your slides as you present, select Pen and laser pointer tools.
Press the Esc key when you want to turn off the pen, laser pointer, or highlighter.
-
To hide or unhide the current slide in your presentation, select Black or unblack slide show.
You can use PowerPoint on your smartphone as a remote control to run your presentation and view your speaker notes. See Using a laser pointer on your smartphone when presenting in PowerPoint for more information, including a brief video.
Swap the Presenter view and Slide view monitors
To manually determine which screen shows your notes in Presenter view and which shows only the slides themselves, on the task bar at the top of Presenter view, select Display Settings, and then select Swap Presenter View and Slide Show.
What the notes look like in Presenter view
Tip: You can add notes either while you’re presenting, directly from Presenter view, or as you’re editing your presentation. For information on how to add speaker notes to your presentation see Add speaker notes to your slides.
When your computer is connected to a projector and you start the slide show 
The notes appear in a pane on the right. If you need to add or delete something, simply click in the text box to edit it. The text wraps automatically, and a vertical scroll bar appears if necessary. You can change the size of the text in the Notes pane by using the two buttons at the lower left corner of the Notes pane:
To change the size of the panes in Presenter View, point your mouse at the vertical line that separates them, then click and drag.
Tip: If you don't need to see the current slide in Presenter View at all, and would like your notes to be larger, drag that vertical separator line all the way to the left.
Turn off Presenter view
If you want Presenter view turned off while you are showing your presentation to others:
On the Slide Show tab of the ribbon, clear the check box named Use Presenter View.
Keep your slides updated
If you're working with a team of people to create your slide deck it may be that changes are being made to the slides right up to the last minute. Traditionally once you've started your presentation your slides wouldn't update. If you're using PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 you have the option to let your slides be updated by your team even as you're presenting so that you always have the up-to-the-minute changes.
You can turn this on by going to the Slide Show tab of the ribbon, selecting Set Up Slide Show, and checking the box for Keep slides updated.
If you've already started your presentation and you want to make sure that setting is on, you can do that from Presenter view. Select the More slide show options button (which looks like three dots) and on the menu make sure Keep Slides Updated is checked.
See also
Using a laser pointer on your smartphone when presenting in PowerPoint
Start presenting
To start using Presenter view, select Slide Show > Presenter View.
Use the controls in Presenter view
-
To move to the previous or next slide, select the Previous or Next arrow.
-
To point with a laser or write on your slides, point at the screen with the mouse and then select the Pen and laser pointer
To turn off the pen, laser pointer, or highlighter, press the Esc key.
-
To make the screen black or to un-black the screen, Press b on the keyboard.
-
To turn subtitles or captions on or off, select the Toggle Subtitles
You can use PowerPoint on your smartphone as a remote control to run your presentation and view your speaker notes. See Using a laser pointer on your smartphone when presenting in PowerPoint for more information, including a brief video.
Extend your Mac desktop to the second monitor
-
On the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
-
Open the Displays app.
-
Click the Arrangement tab in the dialog box.
-
Clear the Mirror Displays check box.
By doing this process, you now have a two-monitor setup. You can present a PowerPoint slide show on one screen while having other applications open on the other screen, keeeping those other apps private to yourself.
Swap the Presenter view and Slide view monitors
To manually determine which screen shows your notes in Presenter view and which shows only the slides themselves, on the task bar at the top left of Presenter view, select Swap Displays.
What the notes look like in Presenter view
When your computer is connected to a projector and you start Presenter View, it appears on your computer's screen, while only the slides appear on the projector screen.
The notes appear in a pane on the right:
-
The text wraps automatically, and a vertical scroll bar appears if necessary.
-
You can edit the text in the Notes pane.
-
You can change the size of the text in the Notes pane by using the two buttons at the lower left corner of the Notes pane:
You can adjust the size of the current slide, and notes and next slide panels, by using your mouse to grab and drag the vertical line that separates the two panels.
Tip: If you don't need to see the current slide in Presenter View at all, and would like your notes to be larger, drag that vertical separator line all the way to the left.
Turn off Presenter view before a presentation begins
-
On the PowerPoint menu, select Preferences.
-
In the PowerPoint Preferences dialog box, under Output and Sharing, click Slide Show.
-
In the Slide Show dialog box, clear the Always start Presenter View with 2 displays check box.
-
Close the dialog box.
Turn off Presenter view during a presentation
-
At the top of the Presentation view window, click Use Slide Show.
This button closes Presenter view. As a result, both your personal computer screen and the projector screen show the slide show.
Keep your slides updated
If you're working with a team of people to create your slide deck it may be that changes are being made to the slides right up to the last minute. Traditionally once you've started your presentation your slides wouldn't update. If you're using PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac you have the option to let your slides be updated by your team even as you're presenting so that you always have the up-to-the-minute changes.
You can turn this on by going to the Slide Show tab of the ribbon, and checking the box for Keep Slides Updated.
If you've already started your presentation and you want to make sure that setting is on, you can do that from Presenter view. Select the More slide show options button (which looks like three dots) and on the menu make sure Keep Slides Updated is checked.
See Also
Need more help?
Want more options?
Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.
Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.
