Turn a Google Doc into an audio show
Download a Google Doc as PDF or DOCX, upload it to Lissin, and get a narrated audio show with a transcript. Resolve suggestions first.
The short answer
File → Download → PDF Document or Microsoft Word (.docx), then upload the file to Lissin and describe the show. Both formats carry the full text. Accept or reject tracked suggestions first: DOCX exports them as live revisions and the narration can end up reading both versions of a sentence.
How to do it
Resolve suggestions before you export
In Suggesting mode, a Google Doc holds two versions of every edited sentence. The DOCX export keeps both. Switch to Editing mode and accept or reject everything first, or export PDF, which flattens to whatever is currently displayed.
PDF for layout, DOCX for structure
PDF preserves what the page looks like; DOCX preserves heading levels. If the doc is long and uses Heading 1/2/3, DOCX gives the script an outline to follow, and the episode has clearer chapters. For a short doc it makes no difference.
Ask for the audience, not the document
Tell Lissin who is listening: ‘brief a new engineer joining this project’, or ‘give me the objections a sceptical exec would raise’. Lissin writes for that listener. ‘Read this document’ also works and produces a straight reading, which rarely suits a twelve-page doc.
At a glance
- Sources it takes
- A link, pasted text, or an upload: PDF, DOC, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, HTML
- Best export
- DOCX when the doc has real headings; PDF otherwise
- Comments
- Not exported by either format
- Transcript
- Included, synchronised to the audio
Hear what comes out
Shows already published on Lissin, free to play in the browser.
Questions
- Can Lissin open a Google Docs share link?
- No. Even a link-shared doc sits behind Google’s own access layer, and Lissin does not hold your Google credentials. Download the file and upload it.
- Do document comments make it into the audio?
- No. Neither the PDF nor the DOCX export includes the comment thread, so the show covers the document as written.
- What about a Google Slides deck?
- Download it as PPTX and upload that. Lissin reads slide text and speaker notes. The notes usually hold the argument, and a deck without them narrates as a list of titles.
What this does not do
Charts, embedded Sheets and images with text in them are missing from a DOCX export. A PDF of the same doc gives OCR something to work with, so prefer PDF when the figures matter.
Make your own show, or hear a sample
Make a show from your topic or documents in the Lissin iPhone app (iOS 26 or later). Or listen to public shows in the web player without installing the app.
Last reviewed September 9, 2026 by Lissin Editorial.