How to Use Speaker Coach in PowerPoint (Practise With AI Feedback)
Most people rehearse by muttering through the slides at their desk. Speaker Coach turns that into a proper practice session: it listens while you present, flags things as you go, and gives you a report at the end — how fast you spoke, how many "um"s, whether you just read the slides out loud. Nobody else hears it.
Quick reference
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Start a session | Slide Show → Rehearse with Coach |
| Begin | Click Start Rehearsing |
| Finish | Esc |
| Read the report | Appears automatically at the end |
| Practise one tricky slide | Start from that slide with Shift + F5 first, then open Coach |
1. Start Speaker Coach
1. Go to the Slide Show tab.
2. Click Rehearse with Coach.
3. The slideshow starts with a small Coach panel. Click Start Rehearsing.
4. Present as you would on the day, out loud, at full volume.
5. Press Esc when you've finished.
2. Click Rehearse with Coach.
3. The slideshow starts with a small Coach panel. Click Start Rehearsing.
4. Present as you would on the day, out loud, at full volume.
5. Press Esc when you've finished.
You need a microphone and an internet connection — the analysis happens online.
2. Live feedback as you go
While you speak, the panel pops up short notes: "Try to slow down", "Filler word: um", "Avoid reading the slide". Glance at them and carry on; the full report comes later.
3. The rehearsal report
At the end, a report opens with:
• Time — total length, and words per minute. Around 110–150 wpm is comfortable for most audiences.
• Filler words — how many ums, ahs and likes, and which ones.
• Pitch — whether you varied your voice or stayed on one note.
• Pace — a graph showing where you sped up and slowed down.
• Originality — how much you read straight off the slides.
• Inclusive language and sensitive phrases — anything to reconsider.
• Repetitive language — words you leaned on too often.
• Filler words — how many ums, ahs and likes, and which ones.
• Pitch — whether you varied your voice or stayed on one note.
• Pace — a graph showing where you sped up and slowed down.
• Originality — how much you read straight off the slides.
• Inclusive language and sensitive phrases — anything to reconsider.
• Repetitive language — words you leaned on too often.
Click any item for the detail, including the exact phrases it heard.
4. Use it well
• Run it two or three times and watch the numbers move. The first run is usually humbling.
• Rehearse at full volume, standing up. Mumbling at a desk gives a different pace from presenting.
• If it says you're reading the slides, cut the words on the slide and put them in your notes.
• Practise the opening slide on its own until it's smooth — it's where nerves show most.
• Rehearse at full volume, standing up. Mumbling at a desk gives a different pace from presenting.
• If it says you're reading the slides, cut the words on the slide and put them in your notes.
• Practise the opening slide on its own until it's smooth — it's where nerves show most.
5. On other devices
Speaker Coach is also in PowerPoint for the web (Slide Show → Rehearse with Coach) and in Teams as Speaker Coach during a meeting, which gives private feedback on a real presentation afterwards.
Troubleshooting
Rehearse with Coach isn't on the tab. It needs Microsoft 365 and an internet connection; it isn't in the one-off versions of PowerPoint.
It didn't hear me. Check the microphone in Windows Settings → System → Sound → Input, and that PowerPoint is allowed to use it under Privacy & security → Microphone.
It flags words that aren't fillers. It's not perfect with accents and names. Ignore the odd one and look at the trend.
Wrapping up
Slide Show → Rehearse with Coach, present out loud, read the report. Three runs with Coach do more for your delivery than a dozen silent read-throughs.
