Our attention span seems to be dwindling in this digital age, with the average user's attention span currently at a mere 8 seconds.

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To keep your audience engaged during a presentation, it's essential to convey information in an interesting and fast-paced manner. And what better way to do this than to include videos in your slides?

Moreover, you can add YouTube videos to the presentation for a smooth transition between the slides. These videos will help your captive audience to better understand what you are presenting to them. Besides, it will bring more engagement to your content.

Here you'll learn how to embed two types of videos into your PowerPoint presentation: videos from your computer and videos from YouTube.

An infographic explaining the power of presentation
  • Benefits Of Video In A PowerPoint Presentation 👏🏼
  • How To Embed A Video In PowerPoint 🧑🏼‍💻
  • How To Embed A YouTube Video In PowerPoint 💁🏻‍♂️
  • How To Embed A Video In Online PowerPoint 🌍
  • PowerPoint FAQ: Embedding A Video 🙋
  • It’s A Wrap 🎁
  • Important disclosure: we're proud affiliates of some tools mentioned in this guide. If you click an affiliate link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (you pay nothing extra). For more information, read our affiliate disclosure.

    Benefits Of Video In A PowerPoint Presentation 👏🏼

    Videos can help you get the desired engagement from your audience. Here are some benefits of embedding videos in a PowerPoint presentation.

    1. Break In The Monotony

    As you know, videos are more successful in capturing human attention.

    If you are presenting, it may get monotonous with texts and pictures in your PowerPoint. You may feel that communication has reached an impasse because of a lack of layers in the information.

    Furthermore, you would not want to bore your audience with one fact after another.

    Embedding videos in your presentation can rescue you from the embarrassment of being boring to the audience. It will also work in your favor as it will give you a needed break in between the presentation.

    You will also get to see the response of the audience towards the videos and their interests. Just be wary not to add too many video clips, or else your presentation will turn into a movie.

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    Using videos can turn out to be a useful tool to generate discussions with your audience. 

    The viewers will retain more information from videos in comparison to any other means.

    2. Connect Emotionally

    You can include a story, journey, or product history in videos to connect better with the audience.

    Learn how to use marketing techniques to promote a new product, including Facebook ads and other social media platforms.

    This will help you create a wider audience and potential customer base through marketing.

    3. Impactful Communication

    Your presentation may be hours long, which may feel nearly impossible to finish in one go. Besides, you will lose out on communication and engagement with the audience.

    To keep your audience engaged, use short videos of 30-60 seconds to bring back the interest.

    Use colors, graphics, animations, and images that pop out and are relatable for the viewers. This will help in establishing impactful communication even during the long hours of presentation.

    You can also include some jokes and sarcastic information to have some fun. Furthermore, you can play interactive games and questionnaires with such videos to boost audience participation.

    4. Increase In Sales

    This is useful when you are considering generating business from the videos in the presentation.

    Surveys show that customers respond better to video ads and infomercials. They feel more interested as they learn more through the videos. This may help you get more potential clients and turn them into long-term ones.

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    The time and efforts to create and embed the videos are fruitful as the sales increase with video marketing. You can reach more people through videos, even on hard-to-follow subjects. 

    About 80% of video marketers claim that there was an improvement in sales with videos. For instance, creating a video on how to start a streaming service like Netflix will be more welcomed by the fans as they learn more from this medium.

    5. Add Suspense 😱

    You can add an element of surprise and create suspense in the audience with the videos in the presentation. The sound effects and visuals will tie your presentation information together while keeping the audience engrossed.

    How To Embed A Video In PowerPoint 🧑🏼‍💻

    Note: Earlier versions of PowerPoint may not support video embeds for all video formats, so you may have to convert the video to a suitable format first. 

    1. Open the PowerPoint presentation where you want to embed a video and go to the slide where you want to add the video.

    2. Click on the "Insert" tab on the ribbon at the top of the PowerPoint window.

    3. Click on the "Video" button in the "Media" section of the ribbon.

    4. Choose the source of the video you want to add.

    • If you want to add a video from your computer, select "Video on My PC" and browse your files to find the video you choose to use.
    • If you want to add a video from an online source, select "Online Video" and paste the video link in the field provided. You can also search for videos using keywords in the "YouTube" or "Bing Video" tabs.
    Remember that you require a stable internet connection to embed videos from streaming sites you haven't downloaded.
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    Note: You can insert an online video from Youtube or Vimeo using PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021, and PowerPoint 2019 versions.

    5. Click on the "Insert" button to add the video to the slide.

    The video will then appear on the slide, and you can drag to reposition or resize it as needed. Once the video is properly embedded in your slide, remember to save your presentation.

    6. Simply click on the "File" Tab and select "Save" to save the presentation along with any changes you have made.

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    Note: Embedding the video may take some time, depending on its size

    How To Embed A YouTube Video In PowerPoint 💁🏻‍♂️

    You can also embed a YouTube video in PowerPoint and play it with a working internet connection.

    Here’s how you can embed YouTube Video into your presentation:

    1. Go to YouTube and search for the video you want to embed.
    2. Click on the "share" button underneath the video frame, and you will see various sharing options.
    3. Now, click on the "embed" tab from the share option. You will see a code that will embed the video. Copy this embed code by pressing Ctrl+C or right-click and then click Copy.
    Fetching the embed code of YouTube videos

    4. Go to the slide in the PowerPoint presentation to embed this code. Another option is to simply highlight the video URL and copy it.

    5. Click on the "insert" tab. There will be various insert options, including the Video from the Media.

    6. Select the "online video option" or video from website option if you are using an older version of PowerPoint.

    7. After that, a pop-up menu will ask you to: "Enter the address for the online video." Insert the embed code or video URL into the dialog box. You can use the Ctrl+V command or right-click and select paste.

    8. This may require a little time, depending on your internet connection and the duration and quality of the video.

    9. The video rectangle will appear on the slide, which may look like a black box on the slide, which is normal.

    10. You can click on the Playback tab to change the video playback options.

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    Use the Start drop-drag menu to change the video to play automatically when the slide opens. This is to ensure the video plays on the slide. Your video will not play if you forget to choose options from the Start menu.

    11. The video will need a high-speed internet connection to play smoothly, so make sure you are connected to one. There is no way to play a YouTube video offline in the presentation. The embedded link does not add the whole video to the slide; hence it needs an internet connection to play it.

    12. You can add as many relevant videos to the slides by following the same steps.

    How To Embed A Video In Online PowerPoint 🌍

    If you're working from the free online version, you can use the method below.

    1. Click on the "Online Video" button in the "Media" section of the ribbon.

    2. This will open a pop-up menu to add a video from an online source, such as YouTube or Vimeo, by copying the link and pasting it into the search bar provided. Once the video has been loaded, click “Insert.”

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    You can embed videos on multiple slides or play a video across all slides, but keep in mind that this will increase the size of your presentation file.

    PowerPoint FAQ: Embedding A Video 🙋

    What types of video files are compatible with PowerPoint?
    PowerPoint supports a wide variety of video file formats, including .mp4, .mov, .avi, .wmv, and more.

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    If you'd like a cloud-based alternative, check out Google Slides.

    Can I embed a video from YouTube or Vimeo in my PowerPoint presentation?
    Yes, you can embed videos from popular online sources like YouTube and Vimeo by selecting the online video option.

    How do I control the playback options of a video in PowerPoint?
    After you add a video to a slide in PowerPoint, select the video and then click on the "Playback" tab on the ribbon. From there, you can control various playback options such as start time, volume, looping, and whether the video should play automatically or when clicked.

    How can I ensure that my embedded video plays properly during a presentation?
    By ensuring the video file is located in the same folder as your PowerPoint presentation.

    Can I trim a video in PowerPoint?
    Yes, you can trim a video in PowerPoint. Select the video on the slide and then click on the "Playback" tab on the ribbon. From there, click on the "Trim Video" button.

    How do I make sure the video plays on every computer I present on?
    To make sure your video plays on every computer you present on, it's best to embed the video directly into the PowerPoint file rather than linking to an external file.

    It’s A Wrap 🎁

    Now that you know about this exciting feature, you can enhance your presentation and connect with your audience on a deeper level by recording your own or using videos from the internet to embed into your presentation.

    This is a great way to showcase your personality and increase your conversion rates.