Teleprompters Can Be a Great Asset, But Only When Used Correctly!
When one of our clients needs to deliver an #AddressToCamera, whether an internal address by a #CEO, or a scripted #scenario with #actors, a #teleprompter is an excellent resource. It allows an individual to appear as though they are looking straight into the #camera and at their #audience, while in reality there is a screen with scrolling text directly in front of the camera lens.
There are many different types of Teleprompters, which are useful for a variety of different purposes. However, we will not be going into detail on the myriad of systems you can obtain in this post. What we are looking to aid you with currently, is to help you understand the basics behind how to use a #teleprompter.
Whether you have clients who you need to coach, or you yourself are going to be using a teleprompter, this post will provide you with a great basis for how to hone in on the necessary skills for utilizing a teleprompter for your next project.
Write in Plain Speech
First and foremost, you need to write your #script to be read out loud. While this may sound like the most commonsensical thing you have heard all day, don’t be fooled. Once you have written your script do everyone a favor and read it out loud. Does it sound like a conversation? Or more like a stiff on-way rant? Hal Landen in his post Teleprompter Tips agrees, stating, “Some things which read just fine on paper, needed to be rewritten so they sounded right”. Test out this theory and see how many ways you can simplify your speech.
Format Your Script
Secondly, when it comes to your script, the formatting you write in might not be the best format to read it within a teleprompter in. For example, having long stretching paragraphs only works when you have someone who is able to read quite quickly. Also, when you bring the text from your word document into a teleprompting software, they may read the bulleted list differently. So be sure to thoroughly check your script once it is in the software and ensure it is formatted in an optimal way for reading aloud.
Leave Time for Testing
Especially if the person on-camera has never worked with a teleprompter before, but even if they have, leave a significant amount of time open for rehearsal. Just because someone is a good speaker, or comfortable on-camera, does not mean they will be a natural when it comes to working with a teleprompter.
Use Your Body Language
We all know how influential our body language can be, so why not use it more often? When it comes to an address to camera, really the only thing the audience is focused on is the person on screen. Therefore that person not only needs to deliver a solid performance in regards to the content, but also when it comes to being visually engaging as well. On the training portion of PromptDog’s website they reiterate this by stating, “there’s nothing more distracting to an audience than a ‘rabbit caught in the headlights’ – the person who is frozen except for their moving lips delivering a speech”.
Keep a Steady Pace
One of the most important things to remember when using a teleprompter is that there is a remote to control the text speed. We recommend that a secondary person is responsible for controlling this speed, but in certain instances the person on-camera will take this on as well. In either case, DO NOT change your reading speed to match the speed of the teleprompter. It should always be the other way around. The person controlling the speed should actually be continually monitoring the pace, along with the upcoming text to know how to adjust. Sentences with longer words will be spoken much faster than sentences with many short words and/or numbers in them.
When it comes to using a teleprompter for your next video project we hope these tips are useful for you. Stay tuned for our video blog regarding the different ways to use a teleprompter!
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