TellieField notes
How to see your notes while presenting PowerPoint on Zoom.
You want your slides on their screen, your notes on yours, and your eyes on the camera. On a Mac there are two good ways to get there, and one of them works even when you share your whole screen.
Option one: Presenter View, and share only the slides
PowerPoint's Presenter View shows your notes, the next slide and a timer. It works best with two displays: the slideshow on one, Presenter View on the other. In Zoom or Teams, share the screen or window that holds the slideshow, not the one with Presenter View, and your notes stay on your side.
The catch is where your eyes go. Presenter View sits on your laptop screen or a second monitor, usually below or beside the camera, so every glance at your notes is a glance away from your audience.
Option two: put your notes beside the camera
Paste your notes into Tellie and they sit in the MacBook notch, right next to the lens, while PowerPoint runs the slides. Tellie is hidden from screen sharing by macOS itself, so you can share your entire screen and the notes still never appear. One display is enough.
- Your place is kept for you. Tellie Pro's Voice Follow listens to what you say and keeps your line by the lens, so a question from the audience never leaves you hunting.
- Split the notes by slide. Put a heading above each slide's notes and you can jump between sections with Tab or the number keys.
- Mark what must land. Flag a section as must-cover and Stagehand checks it off as you say it, with a quiet heads-up while there is still time.
| Presenter View | Tellie | |
|---|---|---|
| Notes stay private | When you share only the slideshow | Always, even sharing your whole screen |
| Where your eyes go | Down or sideways to the notes | Next to the camera |
| Displays needed | Two is easiest | One |
| Notes change with each slide | Yes | No for PowerPoint, yes for Keynote |
Tellie reads PowerPoint notes once you paste them in. It does not turn them with your slides. With Keynote, Presenter Magic does.
What your pasted notes can look like
A heading per slide is all it takes. Tellie turns each one into a section you can jump to, and a bang after the hashes marks the slide you cannot afford to rush.
## Slide 1: Welcome
Thank everyone for joining. Thirty minutes, three decisions.
## ! Slide 4: The ask
We need sign-off on the Q1 budget today. [pause]
## Slide 7: Next steps
Owners and dates are in the follow-up email.Anything in square brackets, like [pause], shows as a cue to you and is never read as a word you have to say.
If you can use Keynote
Keynote users get the slide-by-slide version. Presenter Magic reads your Keynote speaker notes and shows the current slide's notes in the notch, changing as you advance. Finish a point and the slide can turn on its own. See how Presenter Magic works.
Google Slides and Teams work the same way
Tellie does not care which call app you use or which browser your deck runs in. It is hidden at the macOS level, so Zoom, Teams, Meet and Webex all behave the same. For Google Slides, paste your notes in the same way as PowerPoint. Here is the full map of what works where.
PowerPoint on Zoom: common questions
Can Zoom attendees see my PowerPoint notes?
Not if you share only the slideshow window or display. If you share your whole screen, anything visible on it is shared, which is why notes kept in Tellie are useful: Tellie is hidden from screen sharing even when the whole screen is shared.
How do I use Presenter View with only one screen?
It is awkward, because Presenter View and the slideshow compete for the same display. A simpler route on a Mac is to run the slideshow, share it, and keep your notes in Tellie at the notch, where they stay hidden from the call.
Does Tellie sync with PowerPoint slides?
No. With PowerPoint you paste your notes into Tellie and read them as one script, split into sections if you like. Automatic slide-by-slide notes work with Keynote, through Presenter Magic.
Does this work in Microsoft Teams and Google Meet too?
Yes. Tellie is hidden from screen capture by macOS rather than through any one app, so Teams, Meet, Webex and Zoom all behave the same.
Your notes by the camera. Your slides on their screen.
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