Function

• The purpose of adding sound to a slide show is to enhance a presentation and make it appear more authentic. Music, voice narration, and even sound effects such as chimes to drum rolls all direct the viewer's attention to focus on particular elements within the slide and helps facilitate a smooth transition from slide-to-slide within the presentation.
  
  To insert a sound effect, select "Slide Show" from the toolbar menu. Next, choose "Action Settings." Go to the Mouse Click tab and place a check in the box next to "Play Sound." Next, select a sound from the drop down list and then press "OK."
  
  

Features

• The graphic representation of the sound effect is a speaker icon. Within the file, double-clicking on the icon will automatically play it. The icon will be visible during playback; however, it can be dragged and dropped off the screen so as not to cause a distraction. Running the slide show will enable the icon to play when the particular slide appears unless other timings that override the default settings are made.
  
  

Benefits

• PowerPoint presentations incorporating sound become more memorable to the audience because the show contains more than just plain words and slide transitions. Using both senses of sight and sound draws in an audience to create a well-rounded viewing experience. The result is a presentation appearing more professional and movie-like, which is valuable perception in sales and education.
  
  Inserting sound files such as music and recording voice narration can reduce or eliminate the need for live interpretation while the slide show plays.
  
  

Limitations

• The sound quality is only as good as the speakers installed on the computer which made it and plays it. Computers used to develop and play the file must have speakers and sound cards installed on them.
  
  PowerPoint will not play audio format types that are not supported by the software.
  
  If an audio sound file is larger than 100 kilobytes, by default, it will not be embedded within the file. Increasing the default setting will override this limitation.
  
  

Other Compatible Sound Files

• Compatible sound files other than .WAV files include: .AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format), .AU (Audio), .MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface ) and .MP3 (Moving Picture Experts Groups Audio Layer 3),.SND (Sound files- various) formats and .WMA (Windows Media Audio).
  
  To insert a music file, select "Insert" from the toolbar menu and then choose "Movies and Sounds." Next, click "Sound from File." These files are typically found in the "My Documents" folder and then listed in the "My Music" file. Locate the file and than press "OK."