How to use a teleprompter with OBS and live streams

On a live stream there's no second take. A teleprompter keeps the words that have to be right in front of you: the intro, the sponsor read, the numbers in a product demo, the questions for a guest. The trick is to read without looking like it, keep the script out of what viewers see, and control it while OBS Studio, chat and your other windows compete for the keyboard.

This guide uses EasyPrompter, a free teleprompter that runs in any browser, with free apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac. The same ideas work with Streamlabs, vMix or any other streaming software.

Script the parts that matter

Few streams are read word for word from start to finish. Most streamers script the parts where wording counts and keep the rest as talking points:

• the opening and the close, which people remember
• sponsor reads and anything a partner has approved
• numbers, names, prices and dates
• the order of the show: segments, guests, questions

Put talking points in short lines, with the scripted parts in full. On the prompter both look the same, and you can pause the text while you chat.

Put the text right under the webcam

Viewers notice your eyes before anything else, so the text has to be where the camera is.

One monitor: a narrow window by the webcam

Open EasyPrompter in a browser window and turn on Eye contact in the prompter's quick menu. Only the lines you're reading stay on screen, white on black, in a narrow island at the top of the window. Make the window small and place it right under the webcam, with OBS and chat on the rest of the screen.

A Mac: the island under the notch

In the free Mac app, Eye contact shows the lines in a small black island hanging from the notch, right under the camera, or from the top center of a screen without a notch. The island is its own window and stays above OBS and every other app. The app also asks macOS to keep it out of screen captures; check it once in a test recording.

Two monitors

Read from the monitor your webcam sits on and keep OBS on the other. In EasyPrompter, Another screen in the quick menu opens the prompter in its own window, full screen on the other display in Chrome and Edge, and leaves the tab as a control panel.

A camera with a glass teleprompter

If you stream from a camera, a beam-splitter prompter on the lens lets you look straight into it. Lay a phone or tablet under the glass, run EasyPrompter on it and turn on Mirror. See mirror mode and beam splitters and the teleprompters we recommend. The prompter is then on its own device, nowhere near the stream.

Keep the script out of the stream

If OBS captures the screen the prompter is on, viewers see your script. Three ways to avoid it:

• Capture windows, not the screen. In OBS, use a Window Capture of the game, browser or app you're showing instead of a Display Capture of the whole monitor. The prompter's window then isn't in the stream.
• Read from another monitor or device. With the prompter on a screen OBS doesn't capture, or on a phone or tablet, there's nothing to hide.
• Check before you go live. Look at OBS's preview with the prompter running, or record ten seconds and watch it back.

Control it while OBS has the keyboard

Keyboard shortcuts go to the window in front. When you click into OBS or your chat, Space no longer reaches the prompter. Pick one of these instead:

• Auto speed (free). Turn on Auto by the speed and the prompter follows your voice: it starts with your first words, keeps your pace and waits when you stop to read chat. No keys needed. It listens through the device's microphone, alongside OBS.
• Your phone as the remote (Pro). Open Remote control and scan the QR code with your phone, or sign in on both. Play, pause, the speed and the paragraphs are on the phone, whatever window is in front on the computer. A co-host or producer can hold it too. More on the remote control page.
• The prompter on its own device. On a tablet or phone, a tap pauses it and a Bluetooth clicker paired with it moves through the paragraphs.

A Stream Deck or a macro key can send key presses, but those also go to the window in front, so they only reach the prompter when it has focus.

Pace yourself for a live audience

• Slower than a recorded video. Start around 120 to 140 words per minute; chat needs time to react. More on reading speed.
• One paragraph per segment. Each paragraph is a step you can jump to with the arrow keys or the remote.
• Cues in capitals. SWITCH SCENE, SHOW PRODUCT, READ CHAT on their own lines stand out from what you say.
• Rehearse the sponsor read. Turn on Loop and read it until it sounds like you.

Recording rather than streaming?

For a recorded video, EasyPrompter can do the whole thing without OBS. Press Start camera to see your webcam behind the text, and with Pro, Record records the take while the script scrolls, ready for the video editor. See the teleprompter for YouTube guide.

Before you go live

• Script in, scripted parts in full, talking points short
• Prompter right under the webcam, or on a device OBS doesn't capture
• OBS preview checked: no script in the stream
• Control decided: Auto speed, the phone remote or a tap on the tablet
• Speed a little slow, countdown on, Do Not Disturb on

Frequently asked questions