How to Put Notes in a PowerPoint Presentation

To put notes in a PowerPoint presentation, open the slide, click Notes on the status bar, and type in the notes pane beneath the slide. Repeat for other slides. Notes are for the presenter: they do not appear on the slide during a normal slideshow, but you can view them in Presenter View or print them as Notes Pages.

What You’ll Need

A PowerPoint presentation you can edit, using PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac, or PowerPoint for the web.
A keyboard and, optionally, a second monitor or projector if you want to read your notes in Presenter View while presenting.
For printed notes, a printer or a way to save the printout as a PDF.

The steps below focus on the Microsoft 365 desktop app for Windows. The notes pane is also available on Mac and in the web app; differences are noted where they affect the instructions.

Step-by-Step

Open your presentation and choose a slide. Open the file in PowerPoint and go to the slide you want to annotate. In Normal view, select its thumbnail in the left-hand pane. Notes belong to individual slides, so check that the correct slide is selected before you start typing.
Open the notes area. In the desktop app, click Notes on the status bar at the bottom of the PowerPoint window. If the notes area is already open, this button may hide it; click it again to show it. You can also use View > Notes Page to work with a larger, print-style view of the selected slide and its notes. In PowerPoint for the web, select Notes near the bottom of the window to show the notes pane.
Click the notes placeholder and type. In Normal view, the pane appears below the slide and may say Click to add notes. Click inside that area and enter your text. If you use Notes Page view, click the notes placeholder below the slide. The text you add here is attached to the selected slide, not placed on the slide canvas.
Write notes that help you speak. Use concise cues rather than copying every word that is already visible on the slide. For example, for a slide showing a three-stage project timeline, you might add: Explain why the launch moved to June; point out that testing overlaps with training; ask the team to confirm the review date. Include names, transitions, reminders, or details you do not want the audience to see.
Move to the next slide and add its notes. Select another thumbnail on the left, then click in its notes area and type. PowerPoint saves notes slide by slide. Continue through the deck, and revisit any slide where a note may have ended up on the wrong page. You do not need to create a separate notes page for each slide manually.
Adjust the pane if it is hard to use. In Normal view, drag the top border of the notes pane up to make it taller, or drag it down to give more room to the slide. If the pane is missing, use the Notes button on the status bar to show it again. In Notes Page view, use the zoom control to make the slide and notes easier to read while editing.
Review the notes in Presenter View. Connect a second display or projector if available. In PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 on Windows, open the Slide Show tab and turn on Use Presenter View. Start the slideshow and check that the audience display shows only the slides while your presenter display shows the current slide, next slide, and notes. On Mac, open the Slide Show tab and enable Presenter View; wording and display controls can vary slightly by version. If you have only one screen, Presenter View may open in a window or be unavailable as a useful presenter-and-audience setup.
Print or save notes when you need a handout. In PowerPoint for Windows, go to File > Print. Open the print-layout dropdown, which commonly shows Full Page Slides, and select Notes Pages. Choose a printer or a PDF option, check the preview, and print or save. On Mac, open File > Print and choose a notes-page layout in the print settings; labels can differ by PowerPoint and macOS version. A Notes Pages printout typically puts one slide and its notes on each page.
Save and verify the presentation. Save the PowerPoint file after adding notes. Reopen it, or close and reopen the notes pane, and check a few slides to confirm the text remains. If you share the file, consider whether recipients should be able to see the notes; the notes are stored in the presentation even though they are not normally visible in the slideshow.

Common Mistakes

Typing on the slide instead of in the notes pane. Text boxes on the slide are visible to the audience and can change the layout. Click below the slide in the notes pane, not on the slide itself, when adding speaker notes.
Assuming notes will automatically show during the slideshow. Notes do not appear on the audience slide in a standard slideshow. To read them while presenting, set up Presenter View and confirm which display is showing the presenter screen before the talk begins.
Putting every spoken sentence in the notes. Dense paragraphs are difficult to scan while speaking. Use short prompts, key facts, and transitions. If a full script is necessary, break it into small sections with clear cues so you can find your place quickly.
Sharing notes unintentionally. Notes are part of the presentation file and may be visible to anyone who opens it or receives a notes-page handout. Check the file and the print preview before sending or publishing them.
Adding notes to the wrong slide. This can happen when moving quickly through a deck. Confirm the selected thumbnail and slide title before typing, then scan the notes while stepping through the presentation.

Tips

Start each note with a useful cue, such as Explain, Ask, Pause, or Transition. These action words make it easier to scan at a glance.
Put essential facts, pronunciation reminders, timing, and audience questions in the notes. Keep information already obvious from the slide out unless it needs context.
Use line breaks to separate separate speaking points. Avoid making one long block of text, especially if you plan to read from Presenter View.
Rehearse with the same screen arrangement you expect to use. If you will present through a projector, check Presenter View with that projector rather than assuming the display arrangement will be correct.
When creating a notes handout, inspect the preview for cut-off text and readability. Long notes may run onto additional pages or become too small to read comfortably.
If you need to give someone the slides without your private prompts, make a separate copy and remove the notes from that copy before sharing. Do not rely on notes being hidden in slideshow mode as a privacy measure.

Troubleshooting

The notes pane is not visible: Click Notes on the status bar. If you are in a different view, switch to View > Normal, then show Notes again. In PowerPoint for the web, look for the Notes control at the bottom of the editing window. The pane may be collapsed to a thin strip; drag its border upward.
You cannot type in the notes area: Click directly inside the notes placeholder, rather than on the slide. If the file is marked read-only or opened in viewing mode, select the option to edit the presentation or save an editable copy, if you have permission. If the notes placeholder is not available in the current view, return to Normal view or choose Notes Page from the View tab.
Your notes do not appear while presenting: Check that you started the slideshow with Presenter View enabled and that the displays are extended rather than showing the same image on both screens. In Windows, use the display settings available from the Slide Show tab to select or swap the monitor if needed. Stop the slideshow before changing display settings, then start it again and verify what the audience sees.
The audience can see the notes: Pause or exit the slideshow if possible and check the display arrangement. The audience display should show the slide show, not the presenter window. On a shared online meeting, share the slide show window rather than the entire desktop when practical, and check the meeting preview before continuing.
Notes are missing from a printout: Return to File > Print and confirm that the layout is set to Notes Pages, not Full Page Slides or Handouts. Check the preview before printing. If printing to PDF, make sure the selected printer is a PDF printer and that the notes layout remains selected in its settings.
Formatting looks different on another device: Notes-page print settings and pane controls vary across desktop, web, and mobile versions. Reopen the file in the desktop app to check the layout, or save a PDF of the notes pages when you need a consistent print-ready copy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the audience see my PowerPoint notes?
No, not during a normal slide show. Notes are for the presenter and are shown in Presenter View when it is set up. However, someone who can edit the presentation or receives a notes-page printout may be able to see them.

Can I add notes in PowerPoint for the web?
Yes. Open the presentation in editing mode, select a slide, choose Notes near the bottom of the window, and type in the pane. Some print and display options may be more limited than in the desktop app.

How do I print notes with one slide on each page?
Choose File > Print, then select Notes Pages in the print-layout options. Review the preview before printing, because long notes can flow onto extra pages.

Can I add notes to every slide at once?
You can add notes to each slide, but PowerPoint does not automatically create custom speaker notes for the whole deck. Select slides one at a time and enter the relevant prompt in each slide’s notes pane.

Do PowerPoint notes appear in a PDF?
A standard slide-only PDF generally does not include notes. To make a PDF with notes, use the print workflow and select Notes Pages before choosing a PDF printer or save-to-PDF option. Check the resulting file before sharing it.

Can I use notes without a second monitor?
You can add, edit, and print notes with one screen. To read notes privately while the audience watches the slides, you generally need a second display or a presentation setup that provides a separate presenter view.

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