How to work with Keynote Presenter Notes on Mac and iOS

When you are presenting a slideshow in Keynote, you’re likely going to be doing some talking. You probably want to explain each slide or expand on what your audience sees. This is when the Presenter Notes in Keynote come in handy.

You don’t have to worry about writing up physical notes or using index cards. And your audience cannot see these notes. Here’s how to work with Keynote Presenter Notes.

Keynote Presentation with Notes on iMac

Create your Presenter Notes on Mac

1) Open up your presentation or create a new one in Keynote and click View from the menu bar.

2) Select Show Presenter Notes.

Keynote on Mac Show Presenter Notes

3) You’ll then see a large white box appear at the bottom of your Keynote window. Click inside the box to create your notes.

Keynote on Mac Create Presenter Notes

Customize your Presenter Notes

You can customize the way your Presenter Notes appear on your Mac. This makes it convenient to create bullet points, emphasize text, or create an easy-to-read format for your presentation.

When you click inside the Presenter Notes box, the formatting options will appear in your sidebar. If your sidebar is closed, click the Format button on the top right to open it.

Keynote on Mac Format Presenter Notes

Using your Presenter Notes on Mac

You can view presenter notes on your Mac’s screen when you’re giving the presentation, and your Mac is connected to an external display. These notes will not appear on the connected display so that the audience can’t see them. Here’s how:

1) Play your presentation and click the Presenter Tools button on the top right.

2) Select Presenter Notes.

You’ll see your screen immediately change to show those notes, while the main presentation is not affected at all.

Keynote on Mac Show Notes

If your Mac is not connected to a display, you can still see these presenter notes to make sure everything is alright. To do this, click Play > Rehearse Slideshow from the top menu bar. Now, click the Presenter Tools button and select Presenter Notes.

Create your Presenter Notes on iPhone or iPad

1) Open Keynote on iPhone or iPad, select your presentation or create a new one. After that, tap the More (three-dot icon) button from the top right. On iPad, tap Presenter Tools on the top left.

2) Tap View Options > Show Presenter Notes.

Similar to on Mac, you’ll see a white box appear at the bottom of the Keynote screen to enter your notes.

Keynote on iPhone Show Presenter Notes

Using your Presenter Notes on iPhone

If you use your iPhone as a remote for your Keynote presentation, you can enable your Presenter Notes on your device. When the presentation starts, tap the Presenter Layout button on the top. Depending on the slide you want to begin seeing the notes for, you can select from Current and Notes or Next and Notes. You’ll then see your notes on your device for the rest of the slideshow.

Keynote on iPhone Show Notes

Make sure that your presentation goes smoothly by taking advantage of the Keynote Presenter Notes feature so that you don’t forget a thing during your slideshow. Are there other features of Keynote that you find really helpful during your presentations? If so, let us know below!

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