To add audio in a PowerPoint presentation, first select the slide where you want the audio added. Then select Insert>Audio>Audio on My PC. This will open a dialog box where you can browse your folders and select the audio file you want to add. Then click Insert.

After you insert an audio file, a small audio icon will appear on the selected slide. You can select and drag the audio icon to anywhere you would like it on the slide.

To record audio, select Insert>Audio>Record Audio. Remember that you need to use a computer with a microphone enabled in order to record audio.

In the dialog box that appears, type a name for your audio file into the Name field. Then select Record (red circle icon). When you are finished recording, select Stop (blue square icon). To listen to your recording, select Play (green triangle icon). If you are not satisfied with your audio, you can simply press Record again to start over. This will replace the existing recording and you can immediately select Play again to review the new recording. Once you are satisfied with your recording, select OK.

After recording audio, the same small audio icon will appear and you can move it anywhere you want on the slide.

Once you have added audio (either as a file or by recording), you can change the playback options. Click on the audio icon and then select the Audio Tools Playback tab to see options on the ribbon.

Here is a summary of some of the key options you may want to adjust:

• Trim Audio. Once you select Trim Audio, then you can use the red and green sliders to trim the audio file.
• Fade In and Fade Out. Change the number to increase the time for the audio to fade in or fade out.
• Volume. Adjust the volume settings by selecting low, medium, high, or mute.
• Start. Choose how the audio file starts by selecting In Click Sequence, Automatically, or When Clicked On.

You can also choose how the audio plays in your presentation by selecting Play Across Slides and/or Loop until Stopped

If you want to have the audio play continuously in the background across all slides, you can select Play in Background.