Making great PowerPoint handouts in Microsoft Word

You can make handouts in PowerPoint by formatting the Handout Master. Choose View>Master>Handout Master (or View tab> Presentation Views group> Handout Master). To print them, choose File (or Office button)> Print and choose Handouts in the Print What drop-down list. Change the settings in the Handouts section of the Print dialog box and click OK.

But, these handouts are basically just a copy of your presentation. What if you would like to add additional text or images? Change the layout? You have the most flexibility by sending the presentation to Microsoft Word, where you can add or delete anything you want and change the layout to suit your needs.

Follow these steps:

1. Do one of the following:

• In PowerPoint 2013 and later, choose File> Export> Create Handouts> Create Handouts.
• In PowerPoint 2010, choose File> Save & Send> Create Handouts> Create Handouts.
• In PowerPoint 2007, choose File> Publish> Create Handouts in Microsoft Office Word.

2. In the Send To Microsoft Word dialog box, choose one of the options and click OK. You even have the option to create a link (choose Paste Link) so that the Word document is updated if you change your presentation.

Note: When you use the Paste option, you’ll get very large files. Use it if you need to keep the Word format and might move or share the file (which would break the links).

For example, you could add text to thank your audience for attending, give them contact information and your website URL, add a price list, delivery schedule, your resume, your company’s history, even a cover sheet You can also provide a means for your audience to give your feedback on your presentation. If you have added what you plan to say to the Notes pane when you created the slides, these will appear if you choose one of the options with Notes. This is a great way to provide the presentation to people who didn’t attend and avoid putting everything you say on the slide itself.

When you click OK, Word opens and creates a table with the slide number and slide image on the left and the notes or blank lines on the right. You can then modify that Word document in any way you like. For example, I often use the header or footer for my contact information.

Don’t forget to save your Word document!

You can export the Word document to a PDF if you want. For information on another way of creating an electronic document, see “Create an electronic handout with a PDF driver.”