Teleprompters
Teleprompters are a great tool to have in your toolkit. They allow you to maintain direct eye contact with your audience or the camera during a video shoot while reading a script. Viewers are given the impression that a presenter is speaking spontaneously or has memorized a speech since they don’t have to look away from the camera to a written document or cue cards. Using a teleprompter also enables the speaker to build a stronger rapport with their audience by maintaining natural eye contact.
DISTANCE IS KEY
Maintaining a fair amount of distance between the teleprompter and the talent is key to success; at least 7 feet but preferably 8 to 10 feet. This helps to minimize the look of the speaker’s eyes darting back and forth on video. The closer you get to the teleprompter, the more your audience will notice your eyes going back and forth.
PRACTICE AND ADJUST
Practice, Practice, Practice. It's best to practice a lot to get comfortable with the teleprompter. It can be tricky, and you'll need to watch yourself on video after some practice rounds to be self-aware about how you are interacting with the teleprompter. Do you look natural? Does it need to be more eye level because you are giving yourself a double chin? Do you sound like a robot, or do you need to incorporate more natural pauses and tics into your presentation? Do you need to have more or less hand gestures? Are you being expressive enough with your face? Does the text need to be larger or smaller to help you in your reading from a distance of 8 to 10 feet? Do you notice your eyes going back and forth? Practice and then watching yourself will result in a much more natural connection with your audience.
EQUIPMENT
For equipment, there are some great setups for churches. The Telmax Tablet Teleprompter or Prompter People options are great for using an iPad or other tablet for your control. The Parrot Phone Teleprompter is ideal for on-the-road applications or where space is an issue, and you can use it with your iPhone or Android.
APPLICATIONS
For applications for your tablet or phone, check out the PromptSmart Pro app ($20 for the app and $19.99/year for the subscription, but really worth it) that even allows for the talent to go off-script a little and won’t keep advancing with its voice tracking. Also, you may want to check out the Teleprompter Premium App ($14.99 for iOS and $9.99 for Android)