Robot Eyes? 3 Tips to Read a Teleprompter Like You're Looking at the Audience

Keywords: Eye Contact, Teleprompter Tips, Camera Presence, Public Speaking, TempoPrompter

A teleprompter is a double-edged sword. Used well, it's magic; used poorly, it kills connection. The most common issue: Visible eye scanning (reading left to right) or the "dead stare."

Tip 1: Distance is Key

If you read directly from a phone held close, your eye movement is huge. Best Practice: Place the phone/prompter at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) away. The further away, the smaller the visual angle, and the less visible your eye movements become. Of course, this means you need to Increase Font Size.

Tip 2: Use the "Center Zone"

Don't read text that spans the full width of the screen. In TempoPrompter, you can adjust Margins. Confine text to a narrow column in the center. This way, your eyes barely move left/right, only slightly down.

Tip 3: Karaoke-Style Highlighting

Traditional prompters use an arrow pointing to a line. But your eyes wander within that line. TempoPrompter's TTS Highlight Mode works like Karaoke lyrics: Words light up as they are spoken. This locks not just your pace, but your Focus. Your gaze follows the highlighted word precisely, creating a look of intent and concentration rather than wandering.

Don't let the prompter turn you into a robot. Master these settings and let tech serve you.