How to write a presentation script from your slides

Most presentations go wrong in the same way. The speaker reads the bullets on the slide, the audience reads them faster, and nobody is listening by slide four. A script fixes this. It gives you something to say that the slide doesn't already say.

This guide shows how to write one from a finished deck, how to time it, and how to practise it. There is a section for people presenting in a language that isn't their first, because that is a large share of students, and the advice is a little different.

What a script is (and isn't)

A presentation script is the words you plan to say, slide by slide. It is not an essay, and it is not the slide text in full sentences.

A good script does three jobs on each slide:

1. Says the point. One sentence: what this slide is about.
2. Explains it. One to three sentences: why it matters, an example, what the chart shows.
3. Moves on. A short link to the next slide: "So what does this mean for prices?"

The slide shows the evidence. You give the meaning.

Step 1: Budget your time

Before you write a word, do the sum.

• How long do you have? Leave time for questions if there are any.
• How many slides do you have? Count the content slides; a title slide and a "Thank you" slide need only a sentence each.
• Divide. That is your target for each slide.

Not every slide needs the same time. A complex chart may need a minute; a section title needs five seconds. But if the average is under 20 seconds, you probably have too many slides for the time. Cut slides now. Talking faster is not the fix.

Step 2: Write one section per slide

Go through the deck in order. For each slide, write a heading ("Slide 4: Why prices rise") and then two to four spoken sentences.

Some rules that help:

• Don't read the bullets. Explain them. If a bullet says "Demand-pull inflation", your script says what that means and gives an example.
• One slide, one message. If you need two messages, you probably need two slides.
• Charts need directions. Tell the audience where to look: "The blue line is this year. See how it jumps in March?"
• Short slides get short sections. A picture slide or a quote might need one linking sentence.
• Keep the specifics right. Copy numbers, names and dates carefully from the slide, and say them slowly.

Write an opening line before the first slide and a closing line after the last. The opening says what you will cover. The closing says the one thing you want people to remember. These two lines are worth learning by heart.

Step 3: Write for the ear

Listeners can't scroll back. Written English and spoken English are different, and a script is spoken English.

• Short sentences. One idea each. If a sentence has more than one comma, split it.
• Common words. "Use" instead of "utilise". "Help" instead of "facilitate". The US government's plain language guidelines are a good reference for this.
• Active voice. "The study found..." rather than "It was found that...".
• Signposts. "There are three reasons. The first is..." Signposts tell the audience where they are.
• Same term, every time. If you call it "the control group" on slide 3, don't call it "the comparison sample" on slide 7. The audience will think it is something new.
• Round numbers when you can. "About a third" is easier to hear than "32.7 percent". Keep the precise figure on the slide.

Step 4: Time it

Now read the whole script aloud with a timer running. Not in your head: out loud, at the speed you will really use, with your pauses. Silent reading is much faster than speaking, so a script that looks short can run long.

Note the time for each slide against your budget from Step 1. Then:

• Too long? Cut sentences that repeat the slide. Cut the second example. Cut slides.
• Too short? Add an example or explain a chart in more detail. Don't add filler.

A useful trick: after one timed read, divide the number of words you read by the minutes it took. That is your own speaking rate. You can use it to estimate any new section without reading it aloud.

Presenting in a second language

If English is not your first language, a script helps even more. A few things make a big difference.

Write simpler English on purpose. Short sentences, everyday words, no idioms. "Kick off", "on the same page" and "ballpark figure" are hard to say and hard to understand for half the room. Keep technical terms exactly as your course uses them, but explain each one in a few plain words the first time.

Mark the hard words. Underline words you find hard to pronounce. Check them with a dictionary that has audio, and mark the stressed syllable: "an-AL-y-sis", "e-CON-o-my". If a word stays hard, choose a simpler one that means the same thing.

Mark your pauses. Put a "/" where you will pause: at the end of each sentence and before an important number. Pauses give you time to breathe and the audience time to think. They feel long to you and normal to everyone else.

Don't memorise every word. If you forget one word of a memorised script, you can lose the whole sentence. Instead, learn your opening line, your closing line and the first sentence of each slide. Then speak from the ideas.

Prepare for questions. Write down three questions someone might ask, with a short answer for each. Also prepare a sentence for when you don't understand a question: "Sorry, could you say that again more slowly?" It is a normal thing to ask.

Step 5: Rehearse

Three rehearsals is a sensible minimum.

After the third run, turn the script into short notes: a few keywords per slide. Present from the notes and keep the full script as a backup. You will sound like you are talking to people, not reading to them.

Group presentations. Agree who presents which slides, and write a one-line handover at the end of each part: "Now Maria will explain the results." Rehearse the handovers together at least once. They are where group presentations usually wobble.

Doing it with FileAI

FileAI is a tool that reads your files and writes from them. Upload your deck as a PowerPoint (PPTX) or a PDF with selectable text and press Presentation script. You get:

• One section for each slide, in order, headed "Slide N:" and the slide's topic.
• Two to four spoken sentences per slide, about 30 to 60 words, or 20 to 30 seconds of speaking. Slides with little text get one linking sentence.
• An opening line and a closing line, and an estimated speaking time at the end.
• A source on every section. Click it to open the slide the section was written from, so you can check the script says what the slide says.

FileAI reads the speaker notes as well as the slide text, and ignores image credits and licence lines.

Simpler English. Turn on the Simpler English switch before you press the button, or pick the suggestion "Script for each slide, in simpler English". The script then uses common words, sentences under 15 words and no idioms, and keeps technical terms exactly as your slides spell them. It writes in simple English even if your slides are in another language. With the switch off, the button writes in the language of your slides. You can also type your request in your own language and get the script back in it.

How long a deck. The free plan writes a script for decks of up to 15 slides. For a longer deck, you can write a script for the first 15 slides on the free plan, or use Pro, which has no slide limit for scripts.

What it can't do. It can't see what a chart or photo shows unless the slide or its notes say it in words, so add those explanations yourself. It doesn't read scanned PDFs yet. It can be wrong, so check the numbers and names against each slide. And it doesn't know your voice: the script is a first draft. Change the words until they sound like you, then rehearse it the way this guide describes.

You can see a presentation script made from a real 17-slide lecture deck, without an account, on the study guide from lecture slides page, and try the numbered sources on a sample document in the demo.

A note on school rules. If your presentation is assessed, check your school's rules about AI before you use a script a tool wrote. Either way, rewrite it in your own words and rehearse it. A script read out word for word is hard to listen to, whoever wrote it.

Sources

• Digital.gov, Plain language guide series: writing for understanding (short words, active voice, familiar terms)