6 PowerPoint features you (probably) didn’t know existed

We’ve all heard the phrase “death by PowerPoint.” You know the type: endless bullet points, walls of text, and a presenter reading every line like it’s a bedtime story for robots.

But here’s the thing. Prepping a deck takes graft. Whether it’s a sales pitch, board update or internal all-hands, creating a presentation is anything but passive. We spend hours designing slides, tweaking fonts, battling animations and trying to make something that sticks.

Even experienced PowerPoint users still find themselves surprised by features they never knew existed. The reality? Most of us are only scratching the surface. These seven tools are already built into PowerPoint and can make a real difference to how you present.

1. Rehearse with Coach: Your secret weapon for speaking with impact

On the top of our list, a recent addition to the toolkit, and this one is a game changer. Presenter Coach is Microsoft’s built-in speech coach. It’s now fully embedded in PowerPoint and gives you instant, personalised feedback as you rehearse. It helps you improve:

• Filler words like “um” or “basically”

• Pace and rhythm of your delivery

• Monotone speaking (it picks up on dull delivery)

• Repetitive or overly complex language

• Sensitive or outdated phrasing

🧠 Find it under: Slide Show → Rehearse with Coach

You’ll get a summary at the end showing how you performed. It’s like having a personal trainer, but for your presenting skills.

2. Live Subtitles and Translation: Make your message land for everyone

PowerPoint can now generate live subtitles as you speak. It can even translate what you say into another language on the spot. Whether you’re presenting to a multilingual team, hosting a global webinar or just want to make things more accessible, this feature does the heavy lifting.

🧠 Find it under: Slide Show → Always Use Subtitles

Bonus tip! If you want to send a presentation people can watch in their own time, this is the feature for you. Record voiceovers slide by slide and PowerPoint will sync everything for smooth playback. Ideal for training content, explainers or client walkthroughs.

3. Morph: Smarter transitions that look like animation

Forget clunky fades or distracting fly-ins. Morph creates smooth, natural transitions between slides by letting PowerPoint animate changes in objects, text and positioning. Perfect for showing progression or movement without making a video.

🧠 Find it under: Transitions → Morph

4. Slide Zoom: Navigate your deck like a pro

With Slide Zoom and Section Zoom, you can create clickable links within your presentation. Jump to specific sections, revisit earlier points or give your audience more control over the flow. It’s a great way to make your presentation feel more like a conversation.

🧠 Find it under: Insert → Zoom

5. Cameo: Put yourself in the slide

When presenting remotely, it can be hard to stay visible and connected. Cameo solves that by letting you embed your live webcam feed into your slides. It keeps your face in the frame without switching between camera and content.

🧠 Find it under: Insert → Cameo

6. Cut videos in PowerPoint: No extra tools required

You can now trim audio or video files directly within PowerPoint. No need to fire up separate editing software or ask your design team for help. Cut the fluff and keep your timing tight.

🧠 Find it under: Select the media → Playback → Trim Video/Audio

🎯 The takeaway

PowerPoint has more to offer than most people realise. These features are already part of your toolkit and they’re built to help you present with confidence, connect with your audience and get more value from the time you spend preparing.

Whether you’re speaking to clients, colleagues or the board, it’s not about using more slides. It’s about making the ones you already have work harder.