How to Add Speaker Notes in PowerPoint (2026)
Speaker notes are private talking points attached to each slide — your audience never sees them, but you can read them in Presenter View or print them as a handout. The notes pane sits right under the slide in Normal view. Here’s how to add, view, and print them.
1. Add Notes in the Notes Pane (Windows & Mac)
- Click Notes on the status bar at the bottom, or go to View > Notes.
- The notes pane opens below the slide.
- Click into it and type your talking points for that slide.
Each slide has its own notes. Drag the divider up to make the pane taller.
2. Add Notes (PowerPoint for the Web)
- Open the View tab and click Notes, or click Notes on the status bar.
- Type in the pane below the slide.
Notes you add on the web sync to the desktop app and appear in Presenter View.
3. Use Notes Page View for Longer Notes
View > Notes Page shows a printable layout with the slide image on top and a large text area below — handy for long notes and basic formatting that the small pane can’t show.
4. Read Notes While Presenting
Turn on Slide Show > Use Presenter View. Your notes appear on your screen only, with + / − buttons to scale the text up or down. The audience sees just the slide.
5. Print Speaker Notes
- File > Print.
- Under Settings, change the layout to Notes Pages.
- Print — each page shows one slide with its notes beneath.
6. Troubleshooting
The Notes pane is missing
Click Notes on the status bar, or use View > Notes to bring it back.
Notes show on the projector
Your displays are mirrored. Set them to Extend and enable Presenter View so notes stay on your screen.
Notes won’t print
Make sure the print layout is set to Notes Pages, not Full Page Slides.
Related PowerPoint guides: How to use Presenter View · How to record a presentation · How to add a footer · How to add slide numbers · How to add audio
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