How to Add Live Subtitles in PowerPoint (Captions as You Speak)
PowerPoint can listen to you and print what you say at the bottom of the slide, live, as you present. It helps people who are deaf or hard of hearing, anyone at the back of a noisy room, and — because it can translate as it goes — anyone whose first language isn't yours. It's built in and free with Microsoft 365.
Quick reference
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Turn it on | Slide Show → Always Use Subtitles |
| Toggle during the show | J |
| Choose languages | Slide Show → Subtitle Settings → Spoken Language / Subtitle Language |
| Move them | Subtitle Settings → Bottom / Top / Below Slide / Above Slide |
| Change the look | Subtitle Settings → More Settings (Windows captions settings) |
1. Turn subtitles on
1. Go to the Slide Show tab.
2. Tick Always Use Subtitles.
3. Press F5 to start. Speak, and your words appear along the bottom of the slide a second or so later.
2. Tick Always Use Subtitles.
3. Press F5 to start. Speak, and your words appear along the bottom of the slide a second or so later.
During the show, press J to turn subtitles on or off, or use the subtitles button on the toolbar at the bottom left.
2. Set the languages
Slide Show → Subtitle Settings:
• Spoken Language — the language you're speaking.
• Subtitle Language — the language to show. Pick a different one and PowerPoint translates live. Over 60 languages are available.
• Subtitle Language — the language to show. Pick a different one and PowerPoint translates live. Over 60 languages are available.
Present in English with Polish subtitles, say, for a mixed audience.
3. Choose the microphone
In Subtitle Settings → Microphone, pick the one you're using. A headset or lapel mic is far more accurate than the laptop's built-in one across a room.
4. Position and style
Subtitle Settings lets you put the captions at the bottom or top of the slide, or below or above it (the slide shrinks to make room, so nothing is covered). More Settings opens the Windows caption settings where you can change the font size, colour and background.
5. Tips for accuracy
• Speak clearly at a normal pace and leave a beat between sentences.
• Avoid talking over the audience; the mic picks up everyone.
• Unusual names and jargon will be wrong. Put them on the slide so people can read them.
• Test it in the room beforehand — venue acoustics vary enormously.
• Avoid talking over the audience; the mic picks up everyone.
• Unusual names and jargon will be wrong. Put them on the slide so people can read them.
• Test it in the room beforehand — venue acoustics vary enormously.
6. Subtitles in Teams
If you're presenting through Teams, use Teams' own Live captions (More → Language and speech → Turn on live captions) rather than PowerPoint's, so remote attendees see them too.
Troubleshooting
Nothing appears. No internet connection — subtitles are processed online. Or the wrong microphone is selected in Subtitle Settings.
The subtitles lag badly. Slow Wi-Fi. Try a phone hotspot, or shorten your sentences so each one is finished and shown sooner.
The option isn't on the Slide Show tab. You need Microsoft 365. PowerPoint 2019 and 2021 don't include it.
Wrapping up
Slide Show → Always Use Subtitles, choose your spoken and subtitle languages, and use a good microphone. Press J to toggle. One tick box makes your presentation accessible to a lot more people.
