How to use a teleprompter for presen­tations and speeches

A teleprompter for presentations does one job: it keeps your exact words in front of you while your face stays turned to the audience. Politicians and conference keynote speakers use glass prompters for this, but you don't need that hardware. A tablet on the lectern or a laptop facing you, running a browser-based prompter, covers most talks, from a team all-hands to a best man's speech.

This guide covers when a script helps on stage, the setups that work in a real room, how to share one clicker between your slides and your script, and how to pace a speech for people rather than a camera. The examples use EasyPrompter, a free teleprompter that runs in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer.

When a teleprompter helps on stage

A full script is worth it when the wording matters: a keynote with a time slot, a pitch where every claim has been checked, a eulogy or a wedding speech you'll only give once, or a talk in a second language. It also helps when nerves are the problem, because you never have to search for the next sentence.

For discussion-heavy sessions, workshops or Q&A, talking points usually work better than a word-for-word script. Many speakers mix the two: script the opening and the close, which are the parts people remember, and keep the middle as short prompts.

Choose your setup

The rule is the same as on camera: put the text where your eyes would naturally be. On stage that means near the audience's eye line, not flat on a table.

A tablet on the lectern

The most practical setup for most speakers. Open EasyPrompter in the tablet's browser, set a large font, and stand the tablet on the lectern, tilted up toward you on a small stand or the lectern's ledge. A tablet is big enough to read at arm's length, and from the audience it looks like notes, which nobody minds. A phone works too for a short speech, but you'll need a smaller font or fewer words per line.

A laptop or a confidence monitor

If you present from your own laptop, you can run EasyPrompter on it in a separate window. Conferences often add a confidence monitor: a screen on the stage floor or at the back of the room facing the speaker. If it's connected to your laptop as a second display, drag the EasyPrompter window onto it before you press Start, so the prompter opens full screen there while your slides go to the projector. Ask the AV team how their monitors are wired before the day.

Glass speech prompters

The "presidential" prompters on either side of a podium are panes of beam-splitter glass with a screen underneath. The audience sees clear glass; you see the text. If you have access to a rig like that, lay a tablet under the glass and turn on Mirror so the reflection reads the right way round. Our guide to teleprompter mirror mode and beam splitters covers the setup.

Slides and the prompter: who gets the clicker

A presentation clicker is paired with one device and sends key presses to it, usually Page Up and Page Down. If your slides and your script are on different devices, one clicker can't drive both. Pick the arrangement that suits the talk:

• Let the script scroll, click the slides. Keep the clicker for your slides and let EasyPrompter scroll at a steady pace. Tap the tablet to pause for applause or a question, and tap again to carry on. This is the simplest option and works well for rehearsed talks.
• Two clickers. Pair a second clicker or a small Bluetooth remote with the tablet. On EasyPrompter, Page Up and Page Down move to the previous or next paragraph, and a button that sends Space or Enter plays and pauses.
• Someone else runs the slides. At larger events a colleague or the AV desk advances slides on cue, and your clicker drives the prompter.
• Remote control from another device (Pro). With EasyPrompter Pro, sign in on two devices and use one as the remote for the other, for example your phone controlling the prompter on the lectern tablet: start, pause, speed and size. Or open Remote control on the prompter screen and scan its QR code with any phone: it becomes the remote with no sign-in on the phone.

If the script runs on the same laptop as the slides, the clicker goes to whichever window was clicked last, so test it carefully. A separate device is far less likely to surprise you mid-talk. The clicker section of the user guide explains pairing and the keys EasyPrompter responds to.

Pace a speech for a live room

A room needs more time than a camera. People laugh, react and look at your slides, and pauses carry more weight in person. Most speakers land somewhere around 110 to 135 words per minute for presentations and speeches, slower than the 130 to 160 that feels normal on video.

• Start slower than you think. Set EasyPrompter's speed a little below your rehearsal pace. It's easier to speed up with ↑ than to feel chased by the text.
• Pause the text, not just your voice. Before a big laugh line or a slide you'll talk around, tap to pause. Tap again when you're ready.
• Mark your breaths. Leave a blank line after each paragraph and before key points. On the prompter it shows as space, which reminds you to stop.
• Time it before the day. EasyPrompter shows an estimated reading time under your script, based on your speed. To plan a slot, the speech time calculator turns minutes into words. A ten-minute talk at 120 words per minute is about 1,200 words.

For more on choosing and testing a pace, read the best teleprompter reading speed.

Format the script for the stage

Text you read at a distance needs to be bigger and plainer than text you read at a desk.

• Big, clear type. A font size of 60 px or more on a tablet at arm's length is a good start. Atkinson Hyperlegible, the default typeface, is designed to be easy to read.
• Short lines. Use side margins so each line holds a handful of words. You can take in a line at a glance and look back up.
• Cues in capitals. Put stage directions such as NEXT SLIDE or PAUSE on their own lines in capitals so they stand out from what you say. With Pro you can also color them or set key words in bold.
• Light on dark. White or yellow text on black is easy to read and doesn't light up your face from below.

For writing for the ear, see how to write a teleprompter script. With Pro, the AI script writer has Presentation and Speech formats and sizes the draft to your reading speed, so a three-minute request comes back at about three minutes.

Keep eye contact with the room

On camera you look at one lens. On stage you look at people, and the prompter is a safety net rather than something to stare at.

• Glance, lift, deliver. Take in a phrase, look up, and say it to a person in the room. Then glance down for the next one. With practice the glances become short and regular.
• Move your gaze around the room. Finish each thought looking at a different section of the audience: left, center, right.
• Know the first and last lines by heart. Opening without looking down sets the tone, and a memorized close lets you end on eye contact.
• Gesture as you would without a script. The text keeps moving whether your hands do or not.

Wedding speeches and events

For a toast, a wedding speech or a eulogy, a phone or tablet is less conspicuous than a sheaf of paper and easier to read in a dim venue. A few things make it go smoothly:

• Load the script before you stand up. On the free teleprompter, your script isn't saved and is gone if the page is closed or reloaded, so keep the original in your notes or email and paste it in shortly before your turn. Pro saves your scripts and syncs them, so the speech you wrote on your laptop is already on your phone.
• Silence the phone. Turn on Do Not Disturb so a message banner doesn't cover your next line.
• Hold it steady, or put it down. If there's a lectern, use it. If you hold the phone, keep it at chest height and turn the speed down: you can pause with a tap or drag the text with your thumb.
• Bring paper as a backup. A printed copy in your pocket costs nothing.

Rehearse with the prompter

A prompter speech still needs rehearsal. Read it through in Preview to catch awkward sentences, then run it at full speed out loud two or three times, standing up, with the device where it will be on the day. Turn on Loop to practice the opening until it feels natural. If you can, record a run-through on your phone and watch it back: you'll see straight away whether you look up enough. For general technique, read how to use a teleprompter naturally.

Pre-talk checklist

• Script final, read aloud, timed at your stage speed
• Opening and closing lines memorized
• Font large enough from where you'll stand; side margins narrow the column
• Tablet or phone on the lectern, tilted up, screen brightness checked in the room's light
• Device charged, Do Not Disturb on, screen set to stay awake
• Clicker plan decided and tested: slides, prompter, or both
• Countdown on, speed set a little slow; you know how to pause
• Paper backup in your pocket

Frequently asked questions