How to Record a Presentation on Mac With Voice

To record a presentation on a Mac, record your screen with your microphone on while your slides are showing. The free way is the Screenshot toolbar (Shift-Command-5), and Keynote and PowerPoint also have their own recording features. Quibble helps when you also want your face on screen and a quick edit afterward.

This guide goes through each method and says what each one is good for.

First, decide what you are recording

There are two different jobs here:

• Record your slides in the slide app. Keynote and PowerPoint can record your voice (and in PowerPoint, camera) as you move through slides. The result belongs to the slide file.
• Record your screen. Any app can do this. It works for slides, but also for a website, a document, or a live demo inside your talk.

If your presentation is only slides, the slide app is the simplest. If you jump between apps, record the screen.

Method 1: Screenshot toolbar (free, built in)

1. Open your presentation and get it ready to start.
2. Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
3. Choose to record the entire screen, a window, or a selected portion.
4. Open Options and choose a Microphone. Here you can also set a timer and choose whether the pointer shows.
5. Click Record, then start your presentation.
6. Click the Stop button in the menu bar when you finish.

The recording is saved as a .mov file whose name begins with "Screen Recording." (Source: Apple's guide, "Take screenshots or screen recordings.")

You can also start from QuickTime Player: choose File > New Screen Recording, which opens the same tools.

The catch: the recording is one take. If you stumble in the middle, you redo it or trim it later. QuickTime Player can trim, and our guide on how to trim a screen recording on Mac explains the steps. There is no camera picture in this method unless you add it in another app.

Method 2: Keynote's Record Slideshow

Apple's Keynote guide describes recording narration like this:

1. Open the presentation and click the slide you want to start from.
2. Choose Play > Record Slideshow.
3. Click the Start Recording button. A three-second countdown runs first.
4. Use the Right Arrow key to move to the next slide or build, and the Left Arrow key to go back.
5. Click the same button to stop, then press Play to preview.

You can re-record from a certain point, or clear the recording with Play > Clear Recording.

Apple's page for this feature describes voice narration. It does not say whether camera video can be included, so check the Keynote guide on live video if you need your face.

Method 3: PowerPoint's Record

Microsoft's guide says to use the Record button in PowerPoint's top bar, the Record button on the Slide Show tab, or the Record tab. In the recording window, you check your camera and microphone first. You can turn on background blur from the camera modes menu. To fix a slide, delete its recording and clear the narration, or use Reset to Cameo to replace narration with your camera feed. To finish, choose Export.

Microsoft's article has a macOS tab. On a Mac, select the Record button in the top right corner to open Recording Studio.

Method 4: Quibble (screen, voice, camera, quick edit)

Quibble is useful when your presentation includes more than slides, or when you want to clean up the recording without opening another app.

1. Open Quibble. If you want your face in the video, turn on Camera in Settings.
2. Open your slides or any app you want to present.
3. Press ⌥⌘R to start recording. Quibble records your microphone. To include sound from your Mac, turn on System audio in Settings (or Record System Audio in the recording options menu) first.
4. Present as you normally would. Click through your slides.
5. Stop the recording. The editor opens.
6. Move and resize the camera window, round it from a square to a circle, or make it full screen for part of the video.
7. To cut mistakes, press B to turn on the Split tool and click the timeline to cut, then press B again, click the part you do not want, and press Delete.
8. Press Done Editing to get a finished MP4 (saving needs a license).

Quibble does not read your slide file. It records what is on your screen, so it works with any slide app, a PDF, or a browser tab.

Add emphasis without extra work

• Hold ⌘ and move the mouse to draw a yellow highlight into the video. Use it to point at a chart or a line of text.
• Zoom on clicks is on by default. The video glides into the spot where you click and back out. You can turn it off with Use Zoom in the editor if your slides do not need it.
• Captions are ready after you stop recording, in English or Korean. See our guide on adding captions to a screen recording.

Which method should you choose?

Tips for a clear recorded presentation

• Do a ten-second test and listen to it before the full take.
• Close other apps and turn on Do Not Disturb so notifications do not appear.
• Speak a little slower than you do in a room. Pause on each slide.

What Quibble does not do

• It runs only on Macs with Apple silicon, with macOS 15 or later. It does not run on Intel-based Macs.
• It has no cloud upload or share links. You save the video and share it yourself.
• It has no team plan. One license covers one Mac.

Price

Record and edit for free. To save or export, you need a license: $7.99 per month, $79 per year, or $129 once. There is a 14-day full refund on every plan.

Frequently asked questions

How do I record my screen and voice at the same time on a Mac?

Press Shift-Command-5, open Options, choose a microphone, and click Record. Quibble also records your microphone when you press Option-Command-R.

Can I record a presentation with my webcam on a Mac?

PowerPoint's Record window has a camera option. In Quibble, turn on Camera in Settings and move the camera window in the editor. Our guide on screen recording with webcam on Mac has the steps.

Can I record the sound that plays in my slides?

Quibble can record system audio when you turn on System audio in Settings. In the Screenshot app on macOS 27 or later, Apple's guide lists an Include System Audio option; on earlier versions, check whether your video's sound is captured.

Can I fix a mistake without recording again?

Yes. Cut it out in an editor. In Quibble, use Split (B) and delete the part.

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