How to Insert a Video into Google Slides

Why add videos to your Google Slides presentation?

Videos are an excellent way to enhance your Google Slides presentation and make it more engaging and dynamic. Incorporating videos can help you to communicate your message more effectively, capture your audience’s attention, and create a more memorable experience for your viewers. Videos can be used to illustrate concepts, provide examples, or simply add some visual interest to your slides. They can also be used to break up the monotony of text-heavy slides and keep your audience engaged throughout your presentation. By following a few simple steps, you can easily insert a video into your Google Slides and take your presentation to the next level.

How to upload a video to your Google Drive?

Before you can insert a video into your Google Slides presentation, you’ll need to upload it to your Google Drive. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open your Google Drive and click on the “New” button in the top left corner of the screen.
2. Select “File upload” from the drop-down menu and locate the video file on your computer.
3. Once you’ve selected the file, it will begin uploading to your Google Drive. Depending on the size of the file, this may take a few minutes.
4. Once the upload is complete, you’ll be able to find the video file in your Google Drive.

Note that there are file size limitations for videos uploaded to Google Drive. If your video is too large, you may need to compress it or use a different video hosting platform such as YouTube.

How to insert a video from Google Drive into your Google Slides?

Once your video is uploaded to your Google Drive, you can easily insert it into your Google Slides presentation. Follow these steps:

1. Open your Google Slides presentation and navigate to the slide where you want to insert the video.
2. Click on the “Insert” tab in the top menu bar and select “Video” from the drop-down menu.
3. In the “Insert video” dialog box that appears, select “Google Drive” and navigate to the folder where your video is stored.
4. Select the video file you want to insert and click “Select” to add it to your slide.
5. Once the video is inserted, you can resize it, move it around, and adjust its formatting as needed.

Note that your video will be linked to your Google Drive account, so if you make any changes to the video file in Drive, those changes will be reflected in your Google Slides presentation as well.

How to format and customize your video in Google Slides?

Once you’ve inserted your video into your Google Slides presentation, you can customize its appearance and behavior to suit your needs. Here are some formatting options you can use:

1. Resize the video: Click on the video to select it, then drag the handles at the corners to adjust its size.
2. Crop the video: Click on the video to select it, then click the “Crop” button in the top menu bar. Drag the handles on the sides of the video to crop it as needed.
3. Change the video’s start and end time: Click on the video to select it, then click the “Video options” button in the top menu bar. Use the “Start at” and “End at” fields to adjust the video’s start and end times.
4. Add a border or shadow: Click on the video to select it, then click the “Format options” button in the top menu bar. Use the options in the “Borders & lines” or “Drop shadow” sections to add a border or shadow effect to the video.

In addition to these formatting options, you can also customize the behavior of your video by adjusting its playback settings. Click on the video to select it, then click the “Video options” button in the top menu bar. Use the options in the “Autoplay” and “Mute” sections to control whether the video plays automatically when the slide is displayed, and whether it is muted by default.

Tips for optimizing video playback in your Google Slides presentation

Here are some tips to ensure that your video plays smoothly and looks great in your Google Slides presentation:

1. Use a high-quality video: The higher the quality of your video, the better it will look when it’s displayed on your slides. Try to use videos with a resolution of at least 720p.
2. Keep your video short: A long video can be difficult to incorporate into a presentation and may lose your audience’s attention. Try to keep your video under two minutes if possible.
3. Compress your video: Large video files can slow down your presentation and cause playback issues. Use a video compression tool to reduce the file size of your video before uploading it to Google Drive.
4. Use a strong internet connection: If you’re presenting your slideshow online, make sure you have a strong and stable internet connection to ensure that the video plays smoothly.
5. Preview your presentation: Before presenting your slideshow, make sure to preview it to ensure that the video plays correctly and looks the way you want it to.