How to Check Word Count on Google Slides 

One of the basic principles of effective slides is to keep them nice and simple, as simpler slides are easier to digest and as such, can help you communicate your message effectively. Presentation novices are often tempted to overwrite their slides, that’s why it’s not a bad idea to refer to a word count tool to keep things concise. 

While there isn’t a Word count tool on Google Slides, you can count the characters on your presentation by using a workaround that does the job in a couple of clicks. 

Let us quickly show you how to use word count on Google Slides. 

1. Open your Google Slides presentation. You need to download the file as plain text, so click File > Download > Plain text (txt). 

Downloading google slides as plain text

2. Go the Downloads folder on your computer and open the plain text file. Select the whole text (Ctrl + A) and the copy it (Ctrl + C). 

Copy plain text

3. Paste it onto a blank word file (you can go with whatever software you normally work with).  

4. In Microsoft Word Word count is displayed on the lower left-hand corner but you can also access it from Review > Word count 

Microsoft Word word count tool

5. For Google Docs click Tools > Word count. 

Google Docs word count

You may also want to use an online word counter like this one.  

And that’s it. Easy as pie.

Word count tool online

Now you know how to check word count on Google Slides presentations and so keep an eye on it. Remember, you don’t want people to read from your slides, you want them to be listening to what you have to say to them. The slides are there to support your key message, so keep them nice and simple.  

Is Google Slides your preferred presentation tool? You’ll find extensive information on the most popular presentation tools on our blog, just type in Google Slides in the search field and enjoy the results.