Canva Collaboration: Speaker Notes and Comments

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:

• Add and manage speaker notes in Canva presentations to improve your delivery
• Use comments to collaborate with team members on presentation design
• Control who can see your speaker notes and manage comment visibility
• Apply real-time collaboration techniques to streamline your workflow

Introduction

Speaker notes and comments are two features that can transform how you prepare and collaborate on Canva presentations. Speaker notes keep your key points handy without cluttering your slides, while comments let you work with others to polish your design. This chapter shows you exactly how to use both features to create better presentations with less stress.

Lessons

Adding Speaker Notes to Your Slides

Speaker notes live behind the scenes, giving you prompts and reminders that your audience never sees.

Here's how to add them:

Step 1: Open your Canva presentation and click on the slide you want to add notes to.

Step 2: Look for the 'Notes' button at the bottom right of your screen and click it.

Step 3: A panel opens on the right side. Type your notes here – anything from key statistics to presentation timing.

Step 4: Click outside the notes panel to save your changes automatically.

Your notes stay with each slide, so you can add different reminders for different parts of your presentation. Keep them short and scannable – you'll thank yourself when you're presenting live.

Using Comments for Team Feedback

Comments let you and your team discuss specific parts of a presentation without endless email chains.

To add a comment:

Step 1: Click on any element in your presentation – text, image, or shape.

Step 2: Click the comment icon (speech bubble) that appears in the toolbar.

Step 3: Type your comment and press Enter to post it.

Step 4: Team members get notified and can reply directly to your comment.

Comments appear as small icons on your slide. Click them to read the full conversation. Once you've addressed feedback, you can resolve comments to keep things tidy.

Managing Who Sees What

Not everyone needs access to your speaker notes, and you might want to control comment visibility too.

For speaker notes:

Step 1: Open the Notes panel as described above.

Step 2: Your notes are private by default – only people with edit access to your presentation can see them.

Step 3: When presenting, use Canva's Present mode to see your notes while your audience only sees the slides.

For comments:

Comments are visible to anyone with edit access to your presentation. Viewers (people with view-only access) can't see comments unless you specifically enable this in your sharing settings.

Practice

Create a simple three-slide presentation about your favourite hobby or a work project. Add speaker notes to each slide with key points you'd want to remember. Then share edit access with a colleague or friend and ask them to leave comments on at least two elements. Practice responding to their feedback through the comment system.

FAQs

Can I see my speaker notes on mobile devices?
Yes, speaker notes sync across all devices where you access Canva. The mobile app shows notes in a slightly different layout, but they're all there.

What happens to comments when I download my presentation?
Comments don't appear in downloaded files – they're part of Canva's collaboration system. Make sure to address all feedback before your final download.

Can I print my speaker notes?
Currently, Canva doesn't offer a direct way to print speaker notes alongside slides. You'll need to copy important notes to a separate document if you want printed prompts.

Do comments slow down my presentation file?
No, comments don't affect file performance or loading times. They're stored separately from your actual presentation content.

Jargon Buster

Speaker Notes – Hidden text that appears only to the presenter, containing prompts, statistics, or other helpful information for delivering the presentation.

Comments – Messages attached to specific elements in a presentation that allow team members to provide feedback, ask questions, or suggest changes.

Edit Access – Permission level that allows users to modify the presentation, add comments, and see speaker notes.

Present Mode – Canva's full-screen presentation view that shows slides to your audience while displaying speaker notes only to you.

Wrap-up

You now know how to use speaker notes to keep your presentations on track and comments to collaborate effectively with your team. These tools work behind the scenes to make your presentation process smoother and more professional. Start with simple notes for your next presentation, then gradually build up to full team collaboration as you get comfortable with the features.

Ready to improve your presentation skills further? Check out more courses at: https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership