A presentation can contain all the right information and still leave its audience unsure what to do. Practising aloud exposes a different problem from editing the slides: whether the explanation has a clear path from the opening claim to the final request.
PowerPoint’s Speaker Coach listens during rehearsal and produces a delivery report. This documentation-based walkthrough uses the web version and an original practice exercise; we have not measured its accuracy or a speaker’s improvement.[1]
Set up one short rehearsal
Sign into PowerPoint for the web with a personal, work or school Microsoft account. Microsoft describes Coach as a free preview without a subscription requirement. Use a microphone, internet access and an English interface; Coach understands English. Speech is sent to Microsoft’s Speech Services. Government Community Cloud accounts are excluded.[1]
Choose three slides from a real talk, or prepare a fictional proposal for a neighbourhood repair café: the problem, the proposed event and the help needed. Aim for three minutes. That is a suggested exercise length, not a product limit. Write one sentence describing what listeners should understand by the end.
Open Slide Show → Rehearse with Coach, then Get Started. Microsoft’s guide directs users to View if their ribbon configuration hides Slide Show. Speak through the slides, then leave full-screen mode to see the report. Take a screenshot before closing it: the report disappears.[1]
Turn one observation into a specific revision
What the feedback is measuring
| Report area | What Coach examines | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Pace | Speaking rate and its variation | Recent seconds can differ from the overall pattern.Source 2 |
| Originality | Reading extended slide text aloud | Short titles and spoken numbers are treated differently.Source 2 |
| Repetitive language | A database of common words and phrases | A clean report does not cover every possible repetition.Source 2 |
Microsoft suggests 100–165 words per minute, while acknowledging that a suitable rate depends on the speaker and audience. Treat that range as a guide. The system also evaluates transcribed wording, so a transcription error can produce a mistaken language suggestion.[2]
For the repair-café exercise, suppose the first slide lists repairable items but your spoken explanation never says who should attend. Add a concrete sentence: “Bring one portable household item and stay while a volunteer helps you assess it.” This is our illustrative revision, not feedback generated by Coach.
On the next run, concentrate on that explanation. Keep the other slides broadly stable so you can judge the change. Ask yourself whether someone hearing only this version would know what to bring, where to go and what participation involves. A better speaking-rate number alone cannot answer those questions.
Web-only body-language feedback can be enabled when starting Coach. Its critiques assume a stationary, seated presentation; interpret them in that setting.[2]
Keep a version you can return to
PowerPoint for the web saves edits to OneDrive. To keep a local presentation copy, choose File → Create a copy → Download a Copy, then confirm Download. The browser completes the transfer.[3]
Keep the before-and-after report screenshots beside the revised deck, with a short note explaining the change you chose. Finish by delivering the opening and final request without watching the feedback. The useful result is a talk whose important idea you can explain clearly, supported by a practice record you can revisit.
Sources & further reading
- Rehearse your slide show with Speaker Coach Microsoft Support · Accessed 12 Oct 2026
- Suggestions from Speaker Coach Microsoft Support · Accessed 12 Oct 2026
- Save a copy of your presentation with PowerPoint for the web Microsoft Support · Accessed 12 Oct 2026