How to Embed a Video in Google Slides & Everything Else You Need to Know

Here’s the thing, it can be challenging to hold your audience’s attention no matter how informative and well-designed your presentation is. Adding videos can be a game-changer, as it is more engaging and interesting than mere texts and images.

If you’re wondering how to embed a video in Google slides, this step-by-step post has got you covered. We’ll go through the process in an easy-to-understand manner. But before then, here are a few benefits of using videos in your Google Slides.

Pros of Videos in Presentations

Embedding videos in your Google Slide presentations can bring about the following advantages:

1. It is the perfect tool for motivating your audience and draw out emotional responses
2. The audience gets a change of pace
3. It allows you to take quick, short breaks between videos, particularly with longer presentations

In short, when done correctly, videos can give you a more powerful presentation.

Embedding the Right Video

But not every video will suit your presentations. Before you add a video to Google Slides, ensure that:

4. The video adds value and is relevant to the message in the presentation
5. It is professional
6. The clip is not too long. Aim for videos that are about 30 to 60 seconds long

Keep in mind that moderation is always crucial when it comes to adding videos to your slides. Too many videos can and will distract from your message and defeat your purpose.

Now that we’ve got all of that out of the way, let’s see how to correctly embed a video in Google Slides.

Adding Videos from YouTube

Integrating YouTube videos into Google Slides is pretty straightforward. You don’t even need to leave your slide to do that.

1. First, go to the slide where the video will be added
2. Click Insert > Video

3. Three tabs are displayed in the window that pops up, namely, Search, By URL, and Google Drive. The Search tab is active by default. Type in a few keywords into the YouTube search window and hit return or click the search icon to show the search results

4. Click on the video you want to use, and then click the Select button
5. You click on the video and move it to a suitable location on your slide. You can also drag the handles around the video to resize it

Adding Videos Using URL

Another method for embedding a video into your presentation in Google Slides is by inserting the URL of a YouTube video. Before you use this option, ensure that you have a specific video in mind, and you have copied the YouTube video URL.

To use the URL option:

1. Follow steps 1 and 2 in the previous section on adding videos from YouTube
2. Click the By URL tab and paste the URL in the text field

3. A preview of the video is shown. Click Select to add it to your slide

Adding Videos from Google Drive

Adding videos stored on your Google Drive to your slide is extremely easy. Here’s how to do it:

1. Ensure that you are on the appropriate slide
2. Click Insert > Video > Google Drive, and choose the appropriate drive option (where your video is stored)
3. Thumbnails of the videos on your Drive are shown. Click on the video you want to use and click the Select button to embed it into your slide

Tip: If the video is stored on your local device, upload it to your Google Drive so you can access it. Make sure to upload the video to the same Google account where the slide is created.

Setting Embedded Videos to Play Automatically

Learning how to embed a video in Google Slides is good, but you can make your presentation even better by setting the video to autoplay. This makes for a smoother experience.

It’s easy to set your videos to play automatically. Here’s how:

1. Click on the video in your slide
2. Click Format Options (it is located beneath the Accessibility menu). Alternatively, you can right-click on the video and select Format Options
3. The Format Options panel pops up on the right side of the slide. Check the box next to “Autoplay when presenting”

The video will automatically play when you get to the slide with this option enabled during your presentation. You don’t have to click any buttons to start video playback.

Editing an Embedded Video in Google Drive

Sometimes the video you want to use is too long, but because it contains relevant information that will add value to your presentation, you can embed it into your slide and then trim it to size. But whether a video is too long or not, you can cut out parts that are not very necessary.

To do that:

1. Select the video to edit and click Format Options
2. From the panel that shows up, set the start and end time for the video

Let’s end this short lesson on how to embed a video in Google Slides by learning a few other editing options. Apart from setting the start and end time of your embedded video, you can adjust other settings from the Format Option panel.

The Mute audio option is self-explanatory. Check the box if you don’t want sounds from the video in your presentation. The Size and rotation option allows you to modify the height and width value for the video. And if you want to maintain the video proportions, you can use the Lock aspect ratio option to achieve that.

Although you can drag the video to any location that looks good on your slide, Google Slides offers you the option to be precise about the video’s location on your slide. You can choose an exact location by changing the values for the X and Y axes from the Position option.

Lastly, you can use the Drop shadow option to add a drop shadow effect to your video. You can also adjust the properties of the drop shadow, such as transparency, angle, blur, and distance.

Hopefully, you’ve found this quick post on how to embed a video in Google Slides very useful. For more tips on how to use Google Slide, check here.