2022.08.04– 0581 – Prompts On Using Your Voice With A Teleprompt
Teleprompters
While we are talking about reading from a screen, a few words on systems[1] which project the words you have to read, onto the lens of a TV camera, or alongside the lens of a mobile phone.
Teleprompter positives
· In using a teleprompter, presenters naturally look into the lens (or the text is so close to the lens that their eye-line doesn’t look askew), giving the impression of eye contact which helps ‘connect’ with the viewer
· The intention is to make the presenter appear to know their material off by heart and are simply talking naturally and fluently to the audience
· Looking at a screen at eye level means that you will have your head up and be sitting with a ‘long spine’ both postures to help with your breath control and resonance.
Teleprompter Negatives
· What frequently spoils the illusion is the way some presenters stare woodenly into the camera
· Using a teleprompter can make you look shifty if you don’t know how to use it properly, with your unblinking eyes going from left to right. Then people watch you rather than listen to you
· Reliance on a prompter can make some presenters feel as though they can’t look away from the screen at all, let alone ad-lib.
[1] Autocue is a trademarked name of a teleprompter system.
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