How to Convert Your PowerPoint Slides into Engaging Video with AI

Last month, I found myself staring at a folder containing dozens of PowerPoint presentations I'd created for our team training sessions. While the content was solid, attendance at our virtual training was dropping, and feedback suggested people wanted something more engaging than screen-shared slides.

I needed a way to transform these static presentations into something more dynamic without spending hours learning video editing or hiring an expensive production team. That's when a colleague suggested using AI to convert my PowerPoints into videos.

I'll admit, I was skeptical. "It can't be that easy," I thought. "And even if it works, will it look professional enough?"

Spoiler alert: not only was it incredibly simple, but the results were impressive enough that our team engagement shot up, and I've since converted nearly all our training materials into video format using Synthesia. Here's exactly how I did it.

Step 1: Prepare your PowerPoint file

The first step is getting your PowerPoint presentation ready. I learned quickly that clean, focused slides translate better into video. I went through each slide, removed any clutter, and made sure every slide conveyed one clear message or visual.

If you’re using Google Slides, just download your file as a .pptx, it works seamlessly with Synthesia.

One tip: think visually. Sparse, well-structured slides with short text and strong headlines are far easier for viewers to follow in video format.

Step 2: Upload to Synthesia

Once logged into Synthesia, I clicked “AI video assistant” and uploaded my PowerPoint file. Synthesia automatically broke the presentation into individual video scenes - one for each slide. This gave me a scene-based structure to work with, which was much easier than manually building the video from scratch.

Step 3: Review and structure your scenes

After the upload, I checked how the slides were split. Each slide becomes its own scene, but I could also combine or rearrange scenes to better control the flow. I reviewed my speaker notes and edited them to sound more natural as voiceover narration. This part is key - clear, conversational scripts make a huge difference in how the final video sounds.

Step 4: Choose a video template

Synthesia offers over 200 templates designed for different use cases like training, internal comms, or marketing. I picked one that matched the tone of my presentation and tweaked it as needed. Starting with a professional-looking template saved me tons of design time.

Step 5: Add an AI avatar and voice

Next, I selected an AI avatar to present the video. There are tons to choose from, including diverse options in different outfits and settings. For voice, I picked a neutral American accent, but Synthesia offers over 140 languages and accents. This was great for our global team as it removes the need to record multiple versions.

Step 6: Customize script, visuals, and media

Here’s where I polished things up. I fine-tuned the script for each scene, making it sound more like natural speech. I added some stock images, uploaded our company logo, and used Synthesia’s built-in animations and transitions to make things visually engaging. You can even drop in charts, GIFs, or short video clips if needed.

Step 7: Edit for engagement

To keep the video interesting, I varied the layout between scenes and occasionally moved the avatar’s position. I made sure on-screen text was minimal and used bullets to support the narration. The idea is to guide attention, not overwhelm it.

Step 8: Translate or add captions (optional)

Synthesia also makes it easy to localize. I tried out the translation feature and quickly generated a version in Spanish. You can also turn on captions for accessibility, which is a nice touch for internal training videos.

Step 9: Generate and share

When I was happy with the edits, I hit “Generate.” The processing took just a few minutes, even for a longer video. From there, I downloaded the MP4 file and uploaded it to our LMS. I've also shared bite-sized versions on social media, where they outperformed static posts by a mile.

Tips & best practices (from my experience)

After creating about a dozen videos, I've learned some valuable lessons:

Image handling: For crucial visuals, I now export them separately from PowerPoint and upload them directly to Synthesia for better control.

Script personalization: Adding conversational phrases like "Now, let's look at..." makes the narration sound more natural and less robotic.

Templates: For recurring training, I created a template in Synthesia that maintains our branding elements, saving setup time.

Fonts: I now design PowerPoints with simpler fonts, knowing they'll be converted to images.

Localization: For our international teams, I've used Synthesia's translation options to create versions in Spanish and German, which is something that would have been prohibitively expensive with traditional video production.

Easy updates: When information changes, updating a video takes minutes rather than recreating an entire production.

Accessibility: I always enable captions for better accessibility and viewing in sound-sensitive environments.

Conclusion

Converting my PowerPoints to video has transformed how our team consumes information. What started as an experiment has become our standard practice for training and communication materials.

The time savings alone have been substantial. What would have taken days of video production now takes under an hour from start to finish. More importantly, our content is actually being watched and retained.

If you've got a library of PowerPoints gathering digital dust, I'd highly recommend giving this process a try. You might be surprised at how effectively it breathes new life into existing content.