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A video must be worth at least a million words if a photo is worth a thousand. In any event, a video is occasionally required to explain a point during a presentation. Adding a video to a Google Slides presentation is a relatively simple procedure. Everything you need to know is right here.
Introduction about Google slides
When it comes to Google Slides presentations, I’ve noticed two fairly prevalent instances in the last several years, both in and out of academia.
Scenario 1: You’re in the audience for a presentation. The presenter is halfway through their PowerPoint, and your thoughts have begun to wander as they attempt to explain something complex using diagrams and graphs. By the end of the presentation, your eyes have glazed over and you can’t recall much of what the presenter said.
Scenario 2: You’re the host of the show. You’ve carefully considered integrating a video in your presentation, but the method you choose requires you to minimize your presentation in order to access the video from another program or website. The entire procedure is cumbersome, and you cross your fingers that no technical issues arise.
I have some excellent news for you if you can relate to either of these instances (I’ve been in both). It’s simple and helpful to you and your audience to include videos in your Google Slides presentations. This guide will show you how to comprehend these advantages and how to incorporate video in Google Slides regardless of the format options you select.
- How to put a video in Google Slides
Why is it necessary to incorporate video into your Google Slides presentation?
There are numerous advantages to including video in a Google Slides presentation, one of which is that Slides is both free to use (unlike PowerPoint, which requires a Microsoft 365 subscription unless you use the web version) and extremely collaborative – making it ideal for teams. However, these are the three most compelling reasons to include video in your next presentation.
Catches the interest of your audience
If you identified with the first scenario I described earlier, the presenter’s use of a variety of mediums, including video, is likely to have increased your engagement with the presentation.
According to research, employing a combination of text, graphics, video, and open-ended questions in a learning environment (which might include employee training) has a significantly better chance of improving audience engagement than using just one of these aspects alone.
Videos are simpler to comprehend
How many times have you run into a problem at home, on the internet, or at work, become upset with reading instructions, and then turned to YouTube to find an instructional video instead?
It’s no secret that videos are easier to understand for many individuals. Because films create a more complete experience, they help us make better use of our cognitive burden.
Provides a more professional appearance to your presentation
I was describing a lecture I gave at an academic conference in early 2020 in the second scenario from the introduction (yikes). I’ve learnt from that experience that if you want people to take your comments seriously, you must deliver them professionally.
When you embed a video in a Google Slides presentation, you may stay inside your slide as it plays, allowing you to smoothly go on to the next slide once the movie has finished. Using this strategy, the process takes on a considerably more professional tone.
With those advantages in mind, you should be motivated to include a video in your next Google Slides presentation. Then, using three separate ways, we’ll show you how to achieve just that.
How to add a video to a Google Slides presentation
There is just one alternative way to insert a movie into Google Slides, and that is through Google Drive. Of course, if your videos are already in Google Drive, this method is just as simple as adding a YouTube video:
- Select Video from the dropdown menu by clicking Insert.
- When you go to the Google Drive tab, you’ll see that you have videos in your Drive. You may also use the search box to search through your Google Drive videos if you have a lot of them.
- Reposition and modify your video settings after pressing the blue Select button.
Overall, this strategy appears to be as follows:
- How to add a video to a Google Slides presentation
If you wish to use a video that you already have on your computer, first upload it to your Google Drive account. To do so, go to My Drive, click the New button in the top left corner, and pick File Upload. Then just search for the video file you wish to upload and select Choose for Upload. After it’s been uploaded, you can proceed with the instructions outlined above.
Important: Make sure you’re uploading to the same Google account that you used to create the Google Slide, or Google won’t be able to discover your movie in the Drive.
How to insert a YouTube video into a Google Slides presentation
It’s simple to incorporate a YouTube video into your PowerPoint. Google has had a lot of time to work on integrating YouTube into its products since purchasing it in 2006. There are two options if you wish to use an existing YouTube video that you’ve uploaded (or use someone else’s upload with permission). Either by utilizing the video URL or the integrated search tool.
Using YouTube Search to add a video
Once you’re on the slide where you want the video to show, there are only four simple steps to adding a video to Google Slides using the YouTube search function:
- Go to the Insert tab and select Video from the menu bar.
- You’ll be in the Search option by default, with the YouTube logo visible. Here, input the title of the video you wish to include, then hit Enter or the search button on your keyboard.
- Select the movie you wish to add by clicking on it, then selecting it with the blue Select button at the bottom.
- Reposition and customize your video playback options, which will appear as a panel on the right-hand side of your screen by default.
Overall, it will appear as follows:
- Using YouTube Search to add a video
On the format options pane, you’ll discover the basic playback options, which include:
- Autoplay options are available. You have the option of having the movie play automatically, manually, or according to your click sequence.
- Begin and terminate at. You can modify the start and end times in the video options if you only want to see a portion of the film.
- Audio is muted. You might not want the audio to start playing right immediately (especially if autoplay is enabled). If you check this box, the video will start muted.
The other options are primarily concerned with the look and feel of your slide and video (including whether you want it to have a drop shadow). In general, though, this is the simplest way to embed a video on Google Slide.
Using a direct link to add a YouTube video
Another option for adding a video to YouTube is to use the YouTube URL. Because you won’t be able to search for it, this method is especially beneficial if you wish to add an unlisted video. Again, the steps are straightforward:
- Go to YouTube and pick the video you wish to add, then copy the address bar (or use the ctrl/cmd+L keyboard shortcut) or right-click on the video and select “copy video URL.”
- Return to Google Slides and select the By URL tab after selecting the insert video option in the menu bar.
- Paste your video’s URL into the box, then click the blue Select button when it appears.
- In the format choices panel, reposition and modify your video settings.
Overall, this strategy appears to be as follows:
- Using a direct link to add a YouTube video
As you can see, the procedure is quite comparable and straightforward. If you want to add a video that isn’t on YouTube, though, it can be a little more difficult.
Screenshot and link as a bonus approach
If you’re stuck and can’t utilize YouTube or Google Drive, you can add a screenshot or thumbnail of the video to your Slide as a hyperlink to the video you wish to use. Be warned that this method will take you out of the presentation and into your browser, which practically defeats the purpose, but it works better than manual searching. The basic steps are as follows:
- Take a snapshot of the movie you wish to use, preferably at an intriguing timestamp, and then apply whatever adjustments you want to the image.
- In Google Slides, go to the Insert tab, but this time choose Image, then Upload from computer.
- To add the screenshot to your slide, choose it and then hit Select.
- After you’ve placed the image in your slide, either press Ctrl/Cmd+K to bring up link options or go to the link symbol in the format menu bar.
- Last but not least, paste your link. Then, at any point throughout your presentation, you may click on the image to get straight to the video.
This is how the procedure will appear when you’ve obtained the screenshot:
- Screenshot and link as a bonus approach
Again, using a YouTube video or uploading a video to Google Drive is preferable, but this option can be used as a last resort. If the video you want to add is short enough, you may also post it as a GIF picture in Google Slides, which will give it motion, but be mindful of image quality.
During a Google Slides presentation, how to play a video
When you advance the slide on which the video is playing, Google Slides will automatically start playing it. Simply hit any key, click the mouse, or use a remote clicker to start a movie. Follow the procedures below to make a change:
- To select a video, click on it.
- Click Play under Video Playback in the Format choices tab on the right side to see a drop-down selection.
- When you click to advance the slide, the video will start playing. This is the standard setting.
- No clicks are required to play the video (automatically).
- When you click on the embedded video, Play (manual) starts playing the video.
- During a Google Slides presentation, how to play a video
In Google Slides, learn how to trim and edit a video
- To select a video, click on it.
- Click Video playback under the Format options tab on the right side. You may set timestamps for when the video begins and ends here. You can also choose to mute the audio.
- You can alter the video’s width, height, and angle, as well as rotate it 90 degrees and flip it, via Size & Rotation.
- You can define a precise position for a video in Position, such as top-left or center.
- You can choose a color for the drop shadow and adjust the transparency, angle, distance, and blur radius levels.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
How can I add an mp4 to a Google Slides presentation?
Simply upload an mp4 file to your Google Drive account, then navigate to the Google Drive tab on the Insert Video box and insert it. The video you wish to insert will display on your slide after you select it.
Why isn’t my video showing up in Google Slides?
There are a couple ways to fix videos that won’t load in Google Slides:
- Check your internet connection to ensure it is active.
- Check that your browser version (including cookies and JavaScript) is supported and up to date.
- Clear the cache in your browser.
- Reduce the size of your files; Google may have problems loading huge files (and presentations are limited to 100MB for reference).
- Offline Access can be turned on and off.
- Wait a few minutes and try again; it’s possible that the problem is only temporary.
Is it possible to play a video in Google Slides?
Yes! You can play Youtube clips and videos from your Cloud Drive during your presentation; just make sure you have internet connectivity.
Use video to make presentations that are more engaging
You now understand how including video in your Google Slides presentations may increase audience engagement, clarify your message, and give your presentation a more professional appearance and feel.
You can confidently move forward knowing how to use videos to spice up your next presentation, but are you thinking about what comes next? Consider recording your presentation and sharing it with your colleagues, company, or even the entire world!
Vimeo gives the tools you need to make stunning video presentations and share them with the world.
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