Thanks to a Tweet from Mike Tholfsen this afternoon I learned about an exciting new feature that is coming soon to PowerPoint. That feature is called Presentation Coach. Presentation Coach is a rehearsal mode that you can use in PowerPoint (web version only, it appears) to get instant feedback on your presentation including your pacing, redundant use of words, and use of filler words and noises like “um” and “ah.”

Presentation Coach will give you suggestions on how to replace filler words and how to alter your pacing. Presentation Coach will alert you if you’re just reading from your slides instead of speaking from your memory. And when your rehearsal is completed Presentation Coach will give you a report about your presentation.

Applications for Education

Presentation Coach should be a PowerPoint feature that students and teachers will embrace when it rolls-out later this summer. Students will be able to practice and revise their presentations with the assistance of Presentation Coach as many times as they need to before speaking in front of their classes.

An updated presentation theme design tool is coming to PowerPoint later this summer too. You can read more about that update here.