How to Use Text to Speech and Immersive Reader in Google Slides

What is This?

Google Slides renders text as part of a canvas, which means text to speech and Immersive Reader cannot read it directly the way they can on a normal webpage. Helperbird solves this with the Screenshot Reader, which pulls the text from the slide so you can listen to it or read it in a clean, focused view.

Who is This For?

This feature is helpful for:

• Students who need slides read aloud during class
• People with dyslexia who prefer listening to reading
• Anyone reviewing a presentation and wanting to hear the content
• Teachers who want to make their slides more accessible
• People who learn better by listening

Step 1: Open Your Google Slides Presentation

Navigate to your Google Slides presentation in your browser. Go to the slide you want to read.

Make sure the slide is fully loaded and the text is visible on screen.

Step 2: Open Helperbird

Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar. It looks like a small owl and is usually in the top-right corner of your browser.

This will open the Helperbird menu.

Step 3: Find Extract Text

Scroll down to the bottom of the Helperbird menu. You will see a section called All Features.

Click the arrow next to All Features to expand it and show all available features.

Look through the list until you see Screenshot Reader and click on it.

Step 4: Configure Your Options

Before extracting text, you can choose what happens with the extracted text:

• Immersive Reader - Turn this on to open the extracted text in Immersive Reader for easier reading.

• Listen - Turn this on to have the extracted text read aloud using text to speech.

• Translate - Turn this on to automatically translate the extracted text to your chosen language.

• Save as Note - Turn this on to save the extracted text as a sticky note on the page.

After choosing your options, click the Start button.

Step 5: Select the Text on the Slide

After clicking Start, your cursor will change to a crosshair.

Click and drag to draw a rectangle around the text on the slide that you want to read.

Helperbird will show "Looking for Text" while it processes the image.

Tip: Draw the rectangle around just the text area of the slide for the best results. Avoid selecting images or graphics where possible.

Step 6: Listen or Read

Once the text is extracted:

• If you turned on Listen, the text will be read aloud automatically. You can change the voice, speed, and language in the text to speech settings.
• If you turned on Immersive Reader, the text will open in a clean, focused reading view where you can adjust the font, spacing, and have it read aloud.
• The text is also copied to your clipboard so you can paste it anywhere.

Move to the next slide and repeat the process for each slide you want to read.

Need Additional Help?

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.