How to Add Audio to Google Slides (Simple 2024 Guide)

A couple of years ago, Google added an important update to Google Slides. This update allowed you to add audio to Google Slides by simply uploading it.

This feature is useful for creating narrations, background music, or sound effects for your slides. So how do you add sound to Google Slides? All you have to do is head to Insert > Audio and then follow the on-screen file explorer. But, if you need a little extra help, don’t worry. In this article, we’ll show how to add audio to Google Slides in detail with screenshots and step by step instructions.

How to Add Audio to Google Slides Step-by-Step

The most important thing you need to do is to upload the audio to your Google drive. This is the only way to add audio to Google Slides.

Let’s look at the steps to add an audio file to Google Slides with Google Drive.

Upload the Audio File to Google Slides Through Google Drive

To upload the audio file to Google drive:

1. Go to Google Drive.

2. Click New.

3. Click File Upload.
4. Choose the audio file you want to upload.
5. The upload status will appear at the bottom of the screen.

This status will alert you once the file is done uploading.

How to Add an Audio File to Google Slides

Here’s how to insert sound into Google Slides:

1. Go to Google Slides.
2. Click Insert.

3. Click Audio File. A window will open up with the options My drive, shared with me, and Recent.

4. Choose My drive or wherever you’re audio file is.
5. Choose your audio file
6. Click Select.

A speaker icon will appear on your slide. If you click on it, a play bar will appear, and you can play your audio. It also has the options to change the volume of the audio and the playback speed.

In the presentation view, you can play the audio by clicking the speaker, or you can set it up to play automatically the moment you start your presentation in this view.

Note that the above method is also how to insert a video file from your Drive into Google Slides.

How to Format Your Audio

There are a few options available on Google Slides to format your audio once you have inserted it.

First of all, you can reposition your audio bar around your slide using the audio icon. Click on it once until a blue border appears. Then click the audio icon, hold it, and drag it around the slide to where you want to reposition it to.

You can also resize it using the boxes on the corners and edges of the blue border. Click one of the boxes and drag it to change the size of the speaker icon to your desired size.

For more formatting options:

1. Click the speaker icon once.
2. Click Format options. A window for Format options will appear on the right side of the screen.

3. On the window, you’ll see the drop-down option for Audio Playback.

If you click the drop-down for Audi Playback, you’ll get the following options:

Start playing: This option lets you choose how to play audio on Google Slides. There are 2 options either On click or Automatically. On click means that the audio will start playing when the play button is clicked in the audio play bar.  Automatically means that the audio will start playing the moment the presentation starts in the presentation view.

Options: This contains a number of options, including the volume scale for when presenting and the option to loop audio so that when it ends, it starts playing again. There’s also the option to hide the icon when presenting and the option to stop playing when the slide is changed.

The rest of the options in the format options pop-up are for formatting the image of the speaker, including resizing, positioning, recoloring, adjustments, drop shadows, and reflection.

You can also change the playback speed of your audio:

1. Click on the speaker icon.
2. On the play bar, click the three dots to open the menu. You’ll see the Playback speed option.

3. Click it and choose the speed you want.

How to Add a Spotify Song to Google Slides

If you want to add a Spotify song to your slides, the only way is to insert it as a link. Just make sure that you’re logged in. Here’s how to add music to Google Slides in 2024 from Spotify:

1. Go to Spotify on your device.
2. Select the song you want.
3. Click the three dots on the right of the song to open the menu options.

4. Choose Share.
5. Click Copy Song Link.
6. Go to Google Slides and select a word in your slide.
7. Click the hyperlink icon on the toolbar or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + K

8. Paste the link in the hyperlink tab and click enter.

This will link the song in your slide so that when you click it, it will take you to Spotify, where you can listen to the song.

This method works the same for most music streaming services like SoundCloud.

How to Add Audio from A YouTube Video into Google Slides

Although there isn’t really a direct way that you can add audio from a YouTube video to Google Slides, there are ways that you can work around it. One way is to download the Mp3 file from the YouTube video and then insert it into your slide.

Another way you can do this is to:

1. Go to YouTube and find the video.
2. Click Share and copy the URL link
3. Open Google Slides and go to Insert
4. Choose Video
5. Paste the link in the tab for the YouTube video and click search.
6. Click the video and click Select. The video will appear on your slide as a thumbnail.
7. Resize the video and move it out of your slide or add an image over it.
8. In the Format option window, go to Video Playback.
9. Click the drop-down for Play and choose play automatically.
10. Enter the “Start at” and “End at” timestamps for the audio you’ll be using.

You can now play your audio in Google Slides without showing the YouTube video.

Important Things to Note When Adding Audio to Google Slides

Adding audio to Google Slides is simple. However, there are some things you need to keep in mind when doing so. Otherwise, you might face some challenges:

• The audio file you want to add to your Google Slide should be in MP3 or Wav format. Any other format won’t appear when you go to Insert > Audio in Google Slides.
• You can listen to your audio by hovering the cursor over the speaker icon and then clicking the play button.
• Make sure to research copyright policies when using popular songs or songs that don’t belong to you and are not free for public use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Add Your Own Audio to Google Slides?

Yes, you can add your own audio to Google Slides. All you need to do is upload it to your Google drive. Then you can follow the following steps for how to insert audio into Google Slides:

1. Go to Google Slides.
2. Click Insert.
3. Click Audio File. A window will open up with the options My drive, shared with me, and Recent.
4. Choose My drive or wherever you’re audio file is.
5. Choose your audio file
6. Click Select.

Why Can’t I Add Audio in Google Slides?

In this article, we’ve shown you how to add an audio file to Google Slides step by step. If you have trouble or are unable to add your audio file, then this may be because it’s in the wrong format. Check the file format and make sure that it’s in .mp3 or .wav format. If not, you should convert it first and then upload it to your drive.

Is Google Slides Compatible With Microsoft PowerPoint?

Yes, but you’ll first have to download the presentation as a PPT file by navigating to File > Download.

What Is Presentation Mode in Google Slides?

Presentation mode in Google Sheets is the mode you use when you’re giving your presentation. It removes editing lines and plays the slides, audio, and video at the specified rate.

What Platforms Is Google Slides Available On?

You can use Google Slides on any device that uses a desktop browser. You can also use the Android or iOS apps when you’re on the go.

When Should You Add Audio Content to a Presentation?

The answer really depends on your situation. We wouldn’t recommend you add audio to an important meetings slideshow just for the sake of it. However, if you have audio files that are relevant to what you’re talking about, you can absolutely add them. For example, you may take a short section of a Ted talk’s audio that addresses what the meeting is about.

Wrapping Up

Thanks to the update that Google added to Google Slides, we are now able to add audio to Google Slides files to our single slides. In this article, we have given you a step-by-step guide for exactly how to add audio to Google Slides.

If this article was helpful, you could consider taking on a comprehensive G Suite course to brush up on your learning.

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