How to Add YouTube Video to Google Slides Presentations

When you give a Google Slides presentation, you want to make
sure that your audience is really engaged. Adding video to Google
Slides is a great way to capture your audience's attention and make your
presentation more interesting.

Your presentation is important. You have a message you need
to share with your audience. But your audience won't get your message if they
aren't paying attention to your presentation. That's why it's important to use
attention-grabbing techniques like adding video.

For even more tips on how to give an effective presentation,
review this tutorial:

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If you're not sure how to put a video in Google Slides, this
tutorial is for you. We'll explain why video can be such an effective addition
to your presentation. We'll also provide you with some guidelines and best
practices for choosing the right video for your needs. Finally, we'll provide
step-by-step instructions for how to embed a YouTube video in Google slides.

We also have a helpful compliment to this tutorial. Download our FREE eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. Grab it now before you read on.  

Why Use Video in Your Presentation?

There are many advantages to adding video to your Google Slides presentation.
Here are just a few:

1. 
   Easily accessible. As long as you have access to
   an Internet connection, you can stream a short video through your presentation.


2. 
   Provides a break. Adding a video to your Google
   Slides presentation adds variety and gives audiences a change of pace.


3. 
   Can motivate viewers. Using a video can lead to
   a powerful emotional response since video incorporates both images and sound.


4. 
   Engages your audience. Audiences are comfortable
   with seeing video online and in both movies and television. They are likely to pay
   attention when you add one to your presentation.


5. 
   Makes delivery easier. As a speaker, adding a
   video gives you a short rest during which you don't need to talk. This can be especially helpful in longer presentations.
   
   

Sound can also be an effective attention grabber for your
presentation. We have a helpful tutorial on Envato Tuts+ to lean how to add sound to your Google slides presentation.

How to Choose the Right Video

Of course, not all videos are equal when it comes to
effectiveness. Choosing the wrong video for your presentation could actually
make your presentation less effective.

Here are some guidelines for choosing a video to add to Google
Slides:

• 
  Relevant.
  Don't add video to your presentation simply for the sake of having a video in
  your presentation. The video you add should have something to do with your topic.


• 
  Professional.
  Don't add an amateur or poorly done video to your presentation. At best, you
  will annoy your audience. At worst, the unprofessionalism of the video will
  reflect on the whole presentation and on your business.


• 
  Short.
  The ideal length for a video to be used with a presentation is between 30 to 60
  seconds. Try to never add a video over three minutes. The longer the video, the
  more likely it is that your audience will lose attention.

Caution: Most videos are
copyrighted. Make sure that you have permission to use a video before adding it
to your presentation.

Also, be sparing with the use of videos (and other
multi-media effects) in your presentation. Adding a video to nearly every slide
will only make your presentation seem disorganized. Plus, if you have too many
videos, they will stop working as an attention grabber.

You've just learned about the importance of adding video to
presentations. We've also covered some guidelines for choosing the right video.

Are you ready to learn how to embed video in your
presentation? Let's go!

How to Quickly Add a YouTube Video to Your Presentation (Screencast)

For a quick explanation on how to put a video in Google Slides, study this three minute screencast:

For a more detailed explanation, review the written tutorial below:

How to Embed a YouTube Video in Google Slides

In this section, you'll learn how to add YouTube Video to
your Google Slides presentation.

Step 1. Open Your Presentation

Open
your Google Drive. Select the presentation you want to work with:

Double-click on the presentation to open it. Here's an open
presentation:

For this part of the tutorial, I'll be working with a short
presentation I created about business profiles. The tutorial is based on the popular Everland
Business Google Slides Theme from GraphicRiver, shown here: 

Discover hundreds of professional Google Slides themes, or browse through our curated collection to find just the right one: 

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Step 2. Choose a Slide to Add Video

Once
your Google Slides presentation is open, go to the slide where you want to add
the video. You can open a slide in your presentation by clicking on it in the
side panel on the left of your presentation:

In this case, I've chosen the third slide in the short presentation.
I like this slide because there's already a placeholder for a graphic where I
can insert my video. It's important that there is enough space on the slide you
choose for your video.

Step 3. Add a YouTube Video to Google Slides

Now that you've selected a slide, you're ready to add a
video. Use the Google Slides Insert >
Video menu option:

The Insert Video
dialog box displays:

Notice that there are three options across the top of the
dialog box:

1. 
   Search.
   Use this option to search YouTube for a video to insert.


2. 
   By URL.
   Use this option to type in the URL of a YouTube video.


3. 
   Google
   Drive. Use this option to insert a non-YouTube video from your Google
   Drive. We'll talk about this option more in the next section.

Since
I know the URL of the YouTube video I'm going to insert, I select the second
option, By URL. Another dialog box
appears:

For this tutorial, I'm going to use a URL from Envato's Tuts+ YouTube
Channel. The video I'm going to insert is from Instructor Cindy Burgess. It discusses creating a Video Business
Profile.

Copy the YouTube URL of the video into the dialog box and click the Select button in the lower left corner. The
video is now inserted into the slide:

As you can see, the video isn't in the location where we
would like it to be. In the next step, you'll learn how to move and resize the
video.

Step 4. Move and Resize the Video

Once the YouTube video is added to your Google Slides
presentation, it's not difficult to move it or resize it. Here's what to do:

Click on the video to select it. You'll see blue handles around
the edges of the YouTube video. Without clicking on one of the handles, move your
cursor over the video. Your cursor should look like a crosshair:

Use the crosshair cursor to drag the video to the spot on
the slide where you would like it to appear. Now the video should be in the
right spot, but it's still not the right size for the space.

To resize the video, click on one of the handles and drag
it. Dragging a corner handle diagonally keeps the shape of the video the same.
Dragging a handle on the sides of the box could distort the shape.

The video is now the size and shape I would like it to be
for my Google Slides presentation:

Step 5. Set Video Options

The video may be in place, but it's not quite ready. Use the
Google Slides Video Options panel so
that the video automatically plays when the slide starts.

To
access the Video Options panel,
first make sure the video is selected. Next click on Video options next to the toolbar:

The Video Options
panel appears on the right of the screen:

To set the video to play automatically when this slide comes
up during your presentation, click the check box the left of the Autoplay when presenting option. (It's
nearly clear, so you may not see it until it is selected.)

You can also use the panel to define how much of the video
plays. For example, if I just want to play the first 30 seconds of the video, I
would leave the value in the Start at
field at 00:00. In the End at field,
I would enter 00:30. The video would stop playing after 30 seconds.

Note: If you
decide to play only part of the video, be careful when you choose your Start at and End at values. You don't want to start or end the video in the
middle of a sentence.

You can also select the check box to the left of the Mute audio option to turn the sound off
on your video. This is helpful if you want to show the images of the video playing, but
add your own commentary.

How to Add a Non-YouTube Video to Google Slides

A video doesn't have to be on YouTube for you to add it to your Google Slides presentation. You can add any .mp4 file to Google Slides if it is in your
Google Drive. Here's how:

Step 1. Open Your Presentation

Open
your Google Drive. Select the presentation you want to work with. Double-click
on the presentation to open it.

For this part of tutorial, I'll be working with a short
presentation I created about images in Google Slides. The tutorial is based on
the Everland
Business Google Slide Theme from GraphicRiver.

Once your Google Slides presentation is open, go to the
slide where you want to add the video. You can open a slide in your
presentation by clicking on it in the side panel on the left of your
presentation:

In this case, I've chosen the third slide in the short
presentation. I'm going to place my video over the graphic placeholder.

Now that I've selected a slide, I'm ready to add the video.

Step 2. Add a Video to Google Slides

The video must be on your Google Drive or shared with you through Google Drive for you to be able to insert
it into your presentation. If it is not there, you must download it to Google Drive before
adding it to your slide.

Use the Insert >
Video menu option to bring up the Insert
Video dialog box:

Select the Google
Drive option. Another dialog box displays:

As you can see, the choices at the top are:

• 
  My Drive.
  Shows the videos in your Google Drive.


• 
  Shared
  with me. Shows the videos shared with you through Google Drive.


• 
  Recent.
  Shows recent videos.

Since
the video I want to add is on my drive, I click on the video and click the Select button. The video appears on the
slide:

As you can see, the video is not exactly where I want it to
be. We'll have to move and resize it.

Step 4. Move and Resize the Video

To move or resize the video, click on it to select it.
You'll see blue handles around the edges of the video. Without clicking on one
of the handles, move your cursor over the video. Your cursor should look like a
crosshair.

Use the crosshair cursor to drag the video to the spot on
the slide where you would like it to appear. Now the video should be in the
right spot, but it's still not the right size for the space.

To resize the video, click on one of the handles and drag
it. Dragging a corner handle diagonally keeps the shape of the video the same.
Dragging a handle on the sides of the box could distort the shape.

The
video is now the size and shape I would like it to be for my Google Slides
presentation:

Now that we've got the video inserted into the presentation,
the final step is to set the video options.

Step 5. Set Video Options

First,
make sure that your video is still selected in Google Slides. Then, click on Video options next to the toolbar to
access the Video Options panel:

The Video Options
panel appears on the right of the screen:

Click the check box the left of the Autoplay when presenting option so that the video plays when the
presentation comes to this slide.

In this example, I only want to play the last minute of the
video, so I enter 04:18 into the Start
at field. To play the video to the end, I leave 05:18 in the End at field. Here's what the screen
looks like now:

To turn the sound off on your video, click the check box to
the left of the Mute audio option.

When you are done defining how your video will play, close the Video Options panel by  clicking the X in the upper right corner of the panel.

Conclusion

Whether you give presentations for your business, your
hobby, or for educational purposes—you want to engage your audience in what
you're saying so that your Google Slides presentation is memorable. Adding
video can help you grab your audience's attention.

You've just learned why video can be important for your
presentation and also how to select and use video. Plus, we've given you
step-by-step instructions on how to add video to a Google Slides presentation.
The next part is up to you.

If you liked this tutorial about Google Slides, you may also
like our tutorial series on how to use Google Slides. Get started with these tutorials: 

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For start-to-finish help on how to create and deliver an
effective presentation, take a look at our eBook on presentations:

Make Great Presentations (Free PDF eBook Download)

This is the perfect compliment to this tutorial, which will walk you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully. 

Download our new eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It's available for free with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter.