Many situations require the translation of PowerPoint presentations, such as presentations to foreign customers, international conferences, and webinars in foreign languages. Looking for the best way to translate your PowerPoint documents? Here's an overview of the different methods available.
When should I translate my PowerPoint presentation?
Translating PowerPoint documents may be necessary in many situations, including professional or academic situations such as:
Share a PowerPoint document with a multicultural team Host a conference with Slides in a foreign country Host a webinar with Slides for a global audience Give a sales or marketing presentation to a foreign customer Defending a thesis in front of a jury at a university Presenting a product to a foreign customer.
How do I translate a PowerPoint document?
There are three ways to translate a PowerPoint document:
Using the PowerPoint translation module
Microsoft PowerPoint has built-in translation capabilities. It's a convenient solution that allows you to translate documents in just a few clicks, eliminating the need to switch back and forth between your presentation and an external machine translation tool. This PowerPoint feature is available for free on Windows. If you use a Mac, you need an Office 365 (or Office 2019) subscription. With this feature, you can translate your slides into over 60 languages, including French, English, Italian, Mandarin, Greek, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish, German, Russian, and more.
PowerPoint Translator has two translation options.
Translating text in PowerPoint
This option allows you to directly translate the text of your PowerPoint presentation into the language of your choice. To access this translation module, follow these steps:
Select the text you want to translate within the slide. Go to the (Review) tab of your PowerPoint document. Click (Translate), then click (Translate selected text). (A side window opens above the presentation with a list of available languages. Select the target language). You can click (Paste) to directly replace the original text with the translated text, or click (Copy) to copy and paste the translation (for example, into another document).
Generate real-time subtitles in PowerPoint
Microsoft Translator also allows you to simultaneously translate your presentation with subtitles generated in the language of your choice. To enable this feature, go to the (Slideshow) tab and go to (Subtitle Settings). Then select the source language under “Audio Language” and the desired target language under “Subtitle Language”. Translations appear as subtitles when the PowerPoint slide starts. You can enable or disable it at any time during your presentation.
Thanks to the PowerPoint Live feature that allows you to watch the presentation on your smartphone or tablet by scanning a QR code, each participant can also choose subtitles in their preferred language. To enable this feature, go to (Slideshow), then (Present Live). A QR code is automatically generated at the start of the presentation so attendees can access the slides from their screen and select their preferred subtitle.
Translate PowerPoint documents using automatic translation software
Another way to translate PowerPoint documents is to use automatic translation tools (free or paid).
For example, you can use Google Translate to translate PowerPoint documents for free. To do this, go to https://translate.google.com/, click the (Documents) tab, and select PowerPoint. Then click Translate Document. Translations are automatically generated in PowerPoint format. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the entire content and use Google Translate's “text” translation feature to translate it.
However, be aware that these automated tools typically produce literal word-for-word translations without considering nuances such as language, context, cultural norms, or tone. The quality is far from optimal, and translations are often not clear or accurate.
Leave your PowerPoint translation to a professional translator
When you hire a translator through a translation agency like Alphatrad, you can be sure to receive the highest quality PowerPoint translations in both format and content.
When a professional translator translates into your native language, they not only faithfully translate your presentation from one language to another, but also adapt cultural references and nuances to the destination country's culture.
This way, you maintain your company's reputation and professional image, and your customers and stakeholders receive high-quality PowerPoint presentations in their native language.
Request a free quote
Receive an offer within hours
Select the service you need Get a quote Confirm and receive your order
FAQs about PowerPoint translation
To translate an entire PowerPoint document, you can use the built-in translation module in Microsoft 365. Highlight the text or cells you want to translate, click (Review), and then click (Translate). Then select the language of your choice and click (Paste) (to replace the source text with the translation) or (Copy) (to copy and paste the translation into a third-party location). You can also translate PowerPoint documents using Google Translate or other automated translation tools.
To change the language of your PowerPoint presentation, click the (Review) tab, go to the (Language) block and select your desired language. Microsoft PowerPoint is available in approximately 60 languages.
There are several ways to translate a complete document into English. First, place the attachment in the (Documents) tab of the application using Google Translate (Google Translate takes into account various document formats such as .docx, pdf files, .pptx, .ppt, .xlsx, etc.). Masu). . Another solution is to open or copy and paste the document into Google Docs, then click (Tools), then (Translate Document). You can also use other automatic translation software or engage the services of a professional translator whose native language is English.
