How to Enable Live Captions for Your Webinar or Course Session

Give your attendees/students the option to read your words in real-time during your webinar or course session for accessibility purposes. You can utilize Google Chrome's live caption feature to do this. For slide presentations, you can use Google Slides or PowerPoint to utilize a similar feature.

Enable captions in Chrome

Chrome can transcribe words from any audio coming from the browser and display them on the screen. This feature can be enabled by attendees/students before joining a webinar/course. See more details about this feature here.

Get your attendees/students to join your webinar/course from Chrome and have each of them toggle the Live Caption feature. You can also enable the feature on your end and you will see the captions when someone else speaks on the webinar/course or when a video is played. You won't see captions of your own words on your screen.

Note: This feature is only available in English.

Step 1: Open Chrome settings.

Step 2: Click Advanced and then Accessibility.

Step 3: Enable Live Caption.

Step 4: Close and reopen Chrome to restart it.

Once done, attendees/students can join your webinar/course. Captions will be displayed at the bottom of their screen whenever someone speaks or whenever a video is played.

Enable captions in Google Slides

When you present slides, turn on live captions to display your words on the presentation in real-time then share your screen with your attendees/students. See more details about this feature here.

Note: This feature is only available on Chrome devices in English.

Step 1: In the Studio, click the screen share icon on the left menu.

Step 2: Click Chrome Tab, then choose the Google Slides tab.

Step 3: Expand the shared screen window in the Studio and choose your preferred layout.

Step 4: Switch to the Google Slides tab, then click Present to start presenting.

Step 5: Go to the lower-left corner of the presentation then open the options menu.

Step 6: Go to Captions preferences, then click Toggle captions.

Once done, you can start presenting. Captions will be displayed at the bottom of the presentation as you speak which will be visible to your attendees/students through screen share.

Enable captions in PowerPoint

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 can also transcribe your words as you present and display them on-screen as captions. In addition, it can translate to another language in real-time. See more details about this feature here.

Note: This feature requires Windows 10 and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 version 16.0.11601.20178 or higher. The feature isn't supported if you're using an earlier version of Windows.

Step 1: In PowerPoint, go to the Slide Show ribbon tab, then select Subtitle Settings.

Step 2: Select from Spoken Language to transcribe your words in the same language you are speaking. Or select from Subtitle Language to translate your words into another language.

Step 3: In the Studio, click the screen share icon on the left menu.

Step 4: Click Window, then choose the PowerPoint window.

Step 5: Expand the shared screen window in the Studio.

Once done, you can switch back to the PowerPoint window and start presenting. Captions or subtitles will be displayed at the bottom of the presentation as you speak which will be visible to your attendees/students through screen share.

Tips

• Set your attendees'/students' expectations of the captions. When using the live caption feature in Chrome, each attendee/student has to enable it on their end. All the speakers, as well as videos on the webinar/course, are captioned. When using Google Slides or PowerPoint, only the voice of the person who's presenting is captioned.

• These features require a reliable internet connection throughout your webinar/course.

• For best results, we highly recommend using a headset or an external microphone connected to your computer.

• Be sure that your preferred microphone is selected within the app you are using for live captions.

• Avoid background noise.

For further assistance, contact us through live chat at the bottom right of this page or send us an email at support@proprofs.com.