translate google slides presentation

By use case

Integrations

How to Translate Google Slides in 4 Simple Ways

4 min. read

Looking to share your Google Slides with people who speak other languages?

Make sure the slide pictures are nice. Because that’s the only thing they will understand there.

Unless, of course, you learn how to translate Google Slides.

And that’s exactly what we want to help you with.

Pro tip : Use a translation management system, Centus, to streamline your translation workflow, improve collaboration among translators, simplify payment calculation, and ensure consistency across different projects. Learn more .

Method 1: Use an add-on

Add-ons are third-party tools that integrate directly into Google Slides and provide seamless access to translation services. Here's how to use an add-on to efficiently translate Google slides:

Open your Google Slides presentation

Select the slide add-on you want to use
Click Install
Once the add-on is installed, you will see a new menu item in the Extensions menu.
To translate a slide, select the text you want to translate
Click the Translate menu item
Select the target language
The translated text will appear in a new text box

Method 2: Use DeepL

DeepL is an artificial intelligence-powered language translation service that uses deep learning algorithms to produce high-quality translations.

The tool’s algorithms have been trained on massive volumes of multilingual data, allowing it to better translate context than typical machine translation systems.

Follow these steps to translate Google slides using DeepL:

In your Google Slides presentation, copy the text you wish to translate
Select the target language.
Click the Translate button

Here are the advantages of using DeepL to translate Google slides:

DeepL's neural network technology automatically translates text with a high degree of accuracy and contextual relevancy.
DeepL delivers translations that read naturally, enhancing the overall quality and impact of your presentation.
DeepL supports 31 languages, allowing you to easily engage with foreign audiences.
DeepL's powerful algorithms ensure consistent translation of terms, phrases, and jargon throughout the slide.
Users can obtain translations quickly and efficiently due to DeepL's lightning-fast translation process.

Popular alternatives to DeepL are Google Translate and ChatGPT . You can also use them to translate your slide text into dozens of languages.

Method 3: Convert Google Slides to PPT

When it comes to translating Google slides, one effective method is to convert them to the more widely used Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) format. This will give you access to a wider choice of translation tools and options, which will simplify the translation process.

Here’s how to translate Google Slides by converting Google Slides to PPT:

In the dropdown menu, click Download
Choose the Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) option

Google Slides will then convert your presentation into a PowerPoint file, which is compatible with several translation tools.

You can re-import the translated PowerPoint back into Google Slides to continue working on your presentation. Here's how it's done:

Choose the Upload tab and select the translated PowerPoint file (.pptx extension)
Click Select to upload the file

You can use different translation tools to translate the PowerPoint version of your Google Slides presentation. These options include:

Microsoft Translator

Microsoft Translator is a free online tool that allows you to instantly translate a PowerPoint presentation. Simply upload the PPT file, choose the source and target languages, and click Translate .

CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools

CAT tools can handle PPT files and ensure the efficient management of slide translation. These tools allow translators to use translation memory, which ensures consistency and saves time.

Human translation

If you want a human touch in your PPT translation, refer to language service providers. The professionals can accurately translate your presentation while retaining its original formatting and layout.

Method 4: Use a translation management system

When it comes to translating Google Slides for global audiences, using a translation management system (TMS) is one of the most efficient and accurate methods.

Convert the Google Slides presentation to PPT
Create a free trial Centus account
Upload your PPT document
Select manual or automatic translation
Download the translated PPT document

The use of the professional TMS, Centus, not only ensures the high quality of Google Slides presentations but also simplifies the entire process. With it, you can effortlessly track progress, provide feedback to translators, and calculate the pay rate.

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How to translate Google Slides (Step-by-step guide)

Google Slides does not offer a built-in translation feature, but here are several workarounds to help you translate your presentations

Using Plus AI to translate a slide from English to Spanish

Co-founder, CEO

Customers from around the world use Google Slides every day to make presentations, express themselves, and tell stories.

People who work and live in different countries often need ways to create a presentation in another language, translate a presentation into another language, or translate a single slide into another language.

Unfortunately, Google Slides does not offer a built-in translation feature. This can make it difficult to translate your presentation into another language. However, here are several methods to help you translate Google Slides.

Use the Plus AI Google Slides Add-On

The most seamless way to add translation functionality into Google Slides is by finding a Google Slides add-on that meets your translation needs. There are many benefits to using a Google Slides add-on for translation :

You will be able to translate materials directly in Google Slides, rather than using yet another tool
They are easy to install, access, and use, even with multiple team members
Some add-ons can offer additional AI functionality such as AI presentation generation , AI slide making, slide formatting, content rewriting, and more

There are several add-ons on the Google Workspace Marketplace that can add translation functionality to Google Slides. One of the most popular Google Slides add-ons is Plus AI , which can help you translate your presentations into any language you want.

With Plus AI, you can translate a single slide, a presentation, or even create a new presentation in any language. Here's how to use Plus AI to translate Google Slides:

Step 1: Install the Plus Google Slides AI add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace
Step 2: Open your slide deck to the slide you would like to translate
Step 3: Open the "Edit with Plus AI" sidebar and click the Rewrite button
Step 4: Ask Plus AI to "Translate this slide from English to Spanish," "Translate this slide to Chinese," or any other language that you would like

That’s it! Now you will have a slide that has been translated into Spanish, French, German, Chinese, or any other language you request.

Translate an entire Google Slides presentation using Plus AI

Translating an entire presentation using Plus AI is easy as well!

Start by opening the Plus AI editing sidebar and select the Rewrite menu
Select a language and then click Translate to pre-fill the translation prompt
Click Rewrite all slides

Plus AI will automatically go through each slide in the deck and translate each text box into the language you selected.

Create a presentation in any language using Plus AI

To create a new presentation in another language, follow these steps to create a new presentation with Plus AI:

Step 1: Open the Plus AI add-on and click "Create new Presentation"
Step 2: Give Plus AI a prompt or start with an existing document
Step 3: Pick a language and Plus AI will automatically generate content in the same language
Step 4: Make any final tweaks and edits using Plus AI

Create a multilingual presentation using Plus AI

Plus AI provides a valuable set of AI tools for editing and revising slide decks. One of the most popular features in Plus is the ability to use AI to make edits to individual slides within a presentation.

If you would like to create a multilingual presentation that includes multiple translations side-by-side, Plus AI can help you manage this process step-by-step.

Step 1: Insert a new slide with Plus AI, and select a two column layout

Step 2: Copy the text from column 1 into column 2

Step 3: Select the text in column 2 and ask Plus AI to translate it into the language of your choice

That’s it! Now you have a multilingual slide in both English and Spanish. This process will work with any language you need.

Use Plus AI's free conversion tools

If you already have a PDF or Word doc with your materials in a different language, you can upload those documents directly to Plus and convert them into a presentation. If you'd like to try it out before installing the Plus app, try this Word to PPT converter for free.

Use Google Translate

Translate a google slide using google translate.

One way (that may be very time-consuming) to translate a Google Slide is to just use existing translation tools like Google Translate and copy-and-paste your content back and forth between Google Slides and Google Translate.

To quickly translate a slide using Google Translate, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open two windows side by side with your slide deck and Google Translate

Step 2: Copy and paste the text from each section of your slide into Google Translate

Step 3: Copy the results back

Translate a presentation using Google Translate

The process of copying and pasting text back and forth may take a long time if you have a lot of slides in your presentation. One alternative to translating one section or slide at a time is to download the entire presentation and translate everything at once.

Step 1: Download your slide deck as a plain text (.txt) file

Step 2: Copy and paste your text into Google Translate

Step 3: Copy and paste the translation back into Google Slides

Note: There is a character limit of 5,000 characters in Google Translate, but Google Translate can help you automatically chunk your text into segments that can be translated

Hire a translation service

While this option will likely take longer than using a software add-on or a tool like Google Translate, you can also consider hiring a professional translation service to translate your Google Slides.

There are many translation services available at different price points, and some of them specialize in translating presentations. When hiring a translation service, be sure to ask for a sample translation, typical turnaround times, and how they are actually doing the translation (will it just be someone using a software tool?) before committing to a service to ensure that their work meets your standards.

Tips for reviewing and editing translated text

If you are creating a presentation or translating a presentation into a foreign language, you should keep in mind that translations are not always perfect, and it can be difficult to review your presentation for accuracy.

Here are some tips for how to review and edit translated text:

Try "back-translation" : Back-translation is a common method for systematically checking the accuracy of a translation. To do a back-translation, translate your translated text back into the original language and compare against the source document (ideally using a different translation tool or methodology)
Build a glossary or dictionary : Make sure to document frequently-used phrases so that terms are translated consistently across different documents. For example, if your company has a standard "one sentence pitch" in English, you can make build a glossary to ensure it is always translated the same way into Spanish
Create a feedback loop : Collaborating on translated presentations is very difficult, especially if people have varying degrees of fluency in the languages of the company, customers, and software tools. One important thing to do is create a system where translators can receive feedback on their work, learn from errors, and continuously improve their translations
Work with a native editor : Obviously, there is only so much you can do to verify the accuracy of a translation without being fluent in the language. If you are not able to always work with native translators, consider collaborating with people who can help proofread and edit after you have done an initial translation using your tools
Pilot testing: Last but not least, having one person read a document is great, but especially for marketing materials, pitch decks, and other types of important documents, it may be best to test your materials with a larger focus group or pilot testers to ensure you are delivering the right message

How to collaborate when working on a translated presentation

Collaborating with teammates on a translated presentation can be very difficult if not everyone is familiar with the source language and documents, the translation language, and the background and content of the work.

Here are some tools to better collaborate on translating presentations and creating presentations in foreign languages:

Establish roles and responsibilities: Make sure one person is responsible for the primary source content. Then decide who will be responsible for the initial translation, any reformatting of slides, and the final proofreading and edits
Communicate and check-in: There is typically not a single "right" answer in translation, so it is is important for everyone to stay up-to-date on discussions on whether a message is culturally appropriate or how to subtly communicate the intent of a message rather than a literal translation
Use collaboration tools: Using tools with real-time collaboration and commenting (like Google Slides) can make it easier for everyone to be looking at the same document, tracking version history, and providing feedback
Use AI tools: Consider using a tool like Plus AI to create outlines of presentations, provide initial translations, reformat slides, rewrite content to be longer or shorter. As an AI tool, Plus AI can receive instructions in your native language while creating content in any other language