Nothing spices up a presentation like a terrific video clip at just the right moment. How can you add one to PowerPoint?
Fire up PowerPoint and head to the Insert tab. Look on the far right and click the Video button, as shown below:
Let's start at the bottom and work our way up.
1. Clip Art Video...
Don't bother. They are tiny animated GIFs a la 1990's internet. Explore them if you must.
2. Video from Web Site...
This is tantalizing, and if you click it yields a box that allows you to copy/paste a code from YouTube or another site to link to a video on the Internet.
While this is really a cool and exciting concept, there is a giganto flaw in it: you MUST have a reliable internet connection for this to work correctly. "Sure, I've got broadband" you say. Not so fast. The connection must be perfect DURING your presentation or your video dies an ignominious death, whilst you stand there sheepishly explaining how "cool" it was going to be and, well, you get the picture. Use at your peril.
3. Which leads us to Video from File...
This is the best option. You can insert videos directly from your hard drive this way. Use this for consistency and reliability you can trust.
Bonus note: if you need to use a YouTube video, but now I've scared you away, you can Google how to download a YouTube video for PowerPoint. This entails buying some software, or using a free downloader off the 'net. Prepare to spend some time researching this a little but it will be worthwhile.
Until next time, we'll solve our problems Bit by Bit.