Teleprompter for live events: stage monitors, operators and running orders

At a conference, an awards night, a town hall or a product launch, a teleprompter lets speakers deliver a script word for word while looking at the room. The speaker reads; someone else usually runs the prompter. This guide is for that person: the organizer, the AV team or the volunteer at the desk.

It covers the screens speakers read from, how to drive them from one laptop, how an operator follows the speaker, and how to take several speakers through one running order. If you're the one speaking, start with the teleprompter for presentations guide. The examples use EasyPrompter, a free teleprompter that runs in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer.

The screens speakers read from

Confidence monitors

A confidence monitor is a screen facing the stage: on the floor at the front, or at the back of the room above the audience. From the back, the speaker reads while looking out over everyone. Connect the monitor to the operator's laptop as a second display, set to extend, not mirror. In EasyPrompter, choose Another screen in the prompter's quick menu: the prompter opens in its own window, full screen on the monitor in Chrome and Edge (in other browsers, drag it there), and the laptop's tab becomes the control panel.

Glass speech prompters

The pair of glass panes on stands either side of a lectern are beam-splitter prompters: the audience sees clear glass, the speaker sees the text reflected from a screen at the base. Both panes show the same picture. Feed them from the laptop's second display through an HDMI splitter, and turn on Mirror so the reflection reads the right way round. See mirror mode and beam splitters.

A tablet on the lectern

For a smaller room, a tablet on the lectern is enough, and it needs no cables. The operator drives it from the desk with the remote control below.

Operate the prompter

The operator's job is to keep the text where the speaker is: speeding up, slowing down, pausing for applause, and jumping when they skip ahead.

• From the laptop keyboard. With Another screen, the laptop's tab is the control panel: Space to pause, ↑ and ↓ for the speed, ← and → or Page Up and Page Down for the previous or next paragraph, Home back to the top.
• From another device (Pro). Sign in on the device the speaker reads from and on the operator's laptop, tablet or phone. The remote shows a live preview of the speaker's screen, play and pause, the speed and the list of paragraphs. A phone can also become the remote by scanning the QR code in Remote control, with no sign-in. More on the remote control page.
• Edits during the event (Pro). A name changes or a line is cut: edit the script on the remote and tap Save & sync. The speaker's screen shows the new words and keeps its place.

Without an operator

For a small event, Auto speed can stand in for the operator: the prompter listens to the speaker's voice, follows their pace and waits when they stop. It's free. It listens through the microphone of the device showing the text, so it works best with a tablet on the lectern, close to the speaker. A laptop at the back of the room, behind a PA system, won't hear well: for big rooms, keep a person on the controls.

A presentation clicker paired with the device is the other option: each press of Page Down brings up the next paragraph.

Several speakers, one running order

• One script per speaker. With Pro, scripts are saved and can be sorted in running order, so the list on the home screen matches the programme.
• Move to the next speaker in the prompter. Previous and next script are inside the prompter, so you don't leave full screen between speakers.
• Size and speed per speaker. Ask each speaker their pace at the rehearsal and note it in the script's title or first line.

Send speakers their script before the day

Speakers who have read their script aloud on the prompter sound far more natural. With practice links (Pro), send each speaker a link to their script. It opens on their phone or computer with no app and no account, laid out for the screen they'll read from on the day, and the speed, text size and edits they make come back to the script. You arrive at the rehearsal knowing each speaker's pace.

Format scripts for the stage

• Size for the distance. A confidence monitor at the back of a hall needs much bigger text than a tablet on the lectern. Check from where the speaker stands.
• Short lines. Use the side margins, so a line can be read at a glance.
• Cues in capitals. APPLAUSE, VIDEO PLAYS, WALK TO CENTER on their own lines, so speaker and operator both see them coming.
• Light on dark. White or yellow on black reads well and doesn't glow on stage.

Event checklist

• Scripts final, one per speaker, in running order
• Confidence monitor or glass prompters connected, display extended, prompter on Another screen
• Mirror on for glass, off for monitors; text size checked from the stage
• Laptop on power, sleep off, notifications off
• Operator, remote or Auto speed decided and tested at the rehearsal
• Each speaker's pace noted; countdown on
• Printed copies at the lectern

Frequently asked questions