Embed videos in your Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation

Microsoft Office 2010 is equipped with different applications, set to take care of different tasks. If you have a presentation to prepare, all you need to do is, launch the Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 program on your system. Besides creating slideshows to demonstrate your data/ analysis/ information, you can also embed videos to make your presentation all the more impressive. Embedding a video will treat your audience to a visual as well as audio feast. So, what is stopping you from making your presentations stand out from the rest?

You can use any of the three ways to embed and play a video in your presentation. You can either embed a video from a file, or include a video that is live on a website. Or, you can embed a video from the ClipArt gallery. No matter which one you opt for, you can successfully create a video-embedded presentation. Here are the simple steps that you can follow to embed and play video in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010:

To embed video from a file

• Select the particular slide that you want to embed the video in.
• Go to the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Media Group’.
• Select ‘Video’ and then select the ‘Video from file’ option.
• Go to the ‘Insert video’ box and browse to locate the particular video.
• Once you have selected it, hit on the ‘Insert’ button.

To embed a video link that is online

• In the Normal View, go to the ‘Slides’ tab and select the particular slide you want to embed the video link in.
• Launch a browser and go to the particular video page in the website.
• Scroll below the video display to locate the ‘Embed’ option and then click on it to view the code.
• Copy the embed code and return to your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
• Go to the ‘Insert’ tab, click the arrow below the ‘Video’, and further click on the ‘Video from website’ option.
• In the dialog box that will now open, paste the copied embed code (the code from the website).
• Hit the ‘Insert’ button.

Tip: Ensure that you have the rights to use the video from a third party to avoid copyright issues.

To embed a video from the ClipArt gallery

• Select the particular slide in your presentation where you want to embed the GIF file.
• Go to the ‘Insert’ tab and select ‘Video’.
• Select the last option ‘Clip Art Video’.
• Go to the ‘Search’ box and open the ClipArt task pane.
• Type in the name of the particular GIF series/ categories.
• Select the particular check boxes in the ‘Search in’ box that best describe your search.
• Select only the ‘Movies’ check box and de-select all others to ensure that the results only contain videos.
• Hit on the ‘Go’ button.

Congratulations! By following the step-wise guide mentioned above (for any of the three methods) you can successfully embed a video in your Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation. Be assured that this will surely win you loads of accolades.

Image by The Daring Librarian