Short answer: For Google Slides, share the presentation tab and use Meet's slide controls if they're available on your account. Otherwise, prepare the slideshow first and share only the tab showing the slides. For desktop PowerPoint, run the slideshow in a window and share that window. Check exactly what's visible before sharing, and stop sharing before returning to the editor. For important calls, paper or an unshared second device is the safest fallback for reading your notes.
Why not just share your entire screen?
An entire-screen share can expose notes, notifications and other apps on the selected screen. A tab or window narrows what you're sharing, but it doesn't hide notes or other content displayed inside it. Treat everything visible in the selected tab or window as shareable.
Sharing the Meet window itself can also create a "mirror" effect. Google recommends sharing a new window or a specific tab instead of the meeting window.
Which method should you use?
This guide uses Chrome on a computer. Choose the method by the controls available to you, rather than by whether your email address is personal or work-related.
| Your situation | Best method |
|---|---|
| Google Slides with Meet slide controls available | Option 1: present the Slides tab and control it from Meet |
| Google Slides without Meet slide controls | Option 2: prepare the slideshow and share the slide-only tab |
| PowerPoint desktop app | Option 3: run the slideshow in a window and share that window |
| Slides with video or sound | Share a Chrome tab with tab audio enabled; supported Windows and Mac setups can also share system audio |
Option 1: Present Google Slides using Meet's slide controls
Meet's slide controls depend on your subscription and feature availability. Google's current feature comparison includes Workspace Individual, which can be used with a personal Google Account. A personal Gmail address alone doesn't tell you whether you have the controls. Try them before your call. If Start slideshow or the notes control isn't available, use Option 2.
Google's documented sequence shares the Slides tab before starting the slideshow in Meet. That makes the pre-share check important:
- Open the presentation in a Chrome tab and join the Meet call in a different tab.
- Inspect the Slides tab before sharing. Check for visible speaker notes, comments or other editor content you don't want attendees to see. If you can't make that initial view suitable to share, use Option 2.
- In Meet, select Present now, then A tab. Choose the Slides tab, check the selection preview and select Share.
- In Meet, select Start slideshow on the presentation tile.
- Use the controls below the presentation to move between slides. The More menu includes the speaker notes control.
- When you're finished, select Stop presenting in Meet before leaving the slideshow or returning to the editor.
You can also add a co-presenter and use media or link controls. A co-presenter with edit access to the Slides file can view its speaker notes. Keep file permissions in mind as well as what's being shared on screen.
Adding your camera to the slides
On an eligible account, you can add a speaker spotlight shape to a slide in Chrome to show your camera feed inside the presentation. Insert the shape first, then present the Slides tab and start the slideshow in Meet. Sharing a window or your entire screen turns speaker spotlight off.
Option 2: Present Google Slides without Meet's slide controls
Prepare the presentation before you start sharing:
- Open the deck in its own Chrome tab.
- Choose how to present: select Slideshow for slides alone, or open the drop-down beside Slideshow, choose Presenter view, then select Speaker notes to prepare the notes view. See Google's instructions.
- Identify the tab showing the actual slide presentation. Check that it shows the slide, rather than the editor or the notes view.
- In the Meet tab, select Present now > A tab and choose that slide presentation tab. Inspect the preview before selecting Share. Never select the notes view as your shared content.
- Stop presenting in Meet before exiting the slideshow or switching the shared tab back to editing.
Keeping notes separate
Paper or a second device that isn't being shared is the simplest fallback. You can read your notes there while presenting the slide-only tab on your main computer.
If you use Presenter view, rehearse with your exact screen setup. Google's multi-monitor instructions require Chrome and an extra monitor. Its display options don't allow Presenter view and Full screen together on a single monitor. Don't assume that opening Presenter view automatically makes every sharing choice safe.
Presenting directly from Slides
You can also select Meet at the top of the file and choose Just present this tab. Google's instructions start with joining the meeting first. Your mic, speaker and camera are unavailable in that presenting context, and you can't change which tab you're presenting through this route. Check the file's visible content before sharing it.
Option 3: Present PowerPoint in Google Meet
In the desktop PowerPoint app, you can run the slideshow in its own window:
- Go to Slide Show > Set Up Slide Show and choose Browsed by an individual (window), as described in Microsoft's current guide.
- Start the slideshow.
- In Meet, select Present now > A window and choose the PowerPoint slideshow window, rather than the editor. Check the preview before sharing.
- Read your notes from a separate, unshared place, such as paper or a second device. Stop presenting in Meet before exiting the slideshow.
This is the same windowed-slideshow technique we explain in How to present PowerPoint slides on Teams or Zoom.
If your deck is fairly simple, another option is to upload it to Google Drive, open it in Slides and save a Google Slides copy before following Option 1 or 2. Merely opening a PowerPoint file in Slides can leave it in its original Office format; conversion creates a Google-format copy. Check the converted deck's layout, fonts, animations and media playback before your call.
If your slides include video or sound
- Sharing a Chrome tab: Google says tab audio is shared by default. Check that Also share tab audio is on.
- Sharing a window or your entire screen: Google's system-audio requirements specify Chrome 142 or newer on Windows 11 or newer, or on macOS 14.2 or newer. Turn on Also share system audio in the sharing dialog; it's off by default. It isn't available when your device's audio is merged with other devices through adaptive audio. If unavailable, use a Chrome tab with tab audio enabled for content that can play there.
- On a Mac: you may need to allow Chrome screen and system audio recording in System Settings.
System audio can include sounds from other applications, so close unrelated audio before presenting. Google also recommends using the system default audio output device to avoid echoes. Play your media during a rehearsal and ask someone in the call to confirm they can hear it.
Things that can stop you presenting
Google's presenting help covers these common snags:
- Admin or host settings. Sharing may be disabled. If you're presenting in someone else's meeting, ask the host beforehand.
- Someone else is presenting. Present instead pauses their presentation. Agree a handover first.
- Joining in Companion mode. Selecting Present in the green room before joining uses Companion mode, where your mic and speaker are unavailable.
Five-minute pre-call checklist
- [ ] Deck open in its own tab or window
- [ ] Notifications turned off and unrelated audio closed
- [ ] Notes ready on paper, a second device or a separate, unshared view
- [ ] Correct slide tab or slideshow window identified before sharing
- [ ] Rehearsal with a colleague checking the attendee view from the initial share through slide changes and opening notes
- [ ] Stop-sharing step practised before exiting the slideshow or returning to the editor
- [ ] Video and sound tested, if used
- [ ] A PDF version ready to send afterwards, if appropriate (see PowerPoint or PDF?)