Teleprompter

A teleprompter is a display device that shows scrolling text to a speaker, enabling the presenter to read a script while appearing to look at the audience or camera.

In a typical setup, text is displayed on a monitor or tablet and reflected off a partially transparent beam-splitter glass placed in front of the camera lens. The glass reflects the text toward the speaker while the camera captures the speaker’s face. A separate operator or a foot pedal controls the scrolling speed.

Teleprompters were developed for broadcast in the mid-20th century; early systems used glass mirrors and external displays. The technology matured for television studios in the 1950s, and in some markets the brand name Autocue has become a generic term for prompting devices.

There are several variants: traditional glass teleprompters with in-camera monitors, and modern tablet-based prompts running software on laptops or dedicated devices. Some systems use hidden displays placed to the side or behind a panel to show the text without a visible prompt for the audience.

Advantages include maintaining eye contact with the audience, reducing the need to memorize lines, and allowing on-the-fly script edits. Limitations include potential over-reliance, pacing that can sound robotic if read too literally, glare or reflections, and the need for careful font size, line breaks, and prompt timing.

Related topics include Autocue, prompting software, and live presentation tools.