Part 1 of TelePrompter Training Series
A great communicator always looks the person they are speaking to directly in the eye. But you may be asking yourself, how do I maintain eye contact with my audience when I’m using a camera with a teleprompter? Answer: By looking beyond the teleprompter and directly into the camera lens. When you do this, you create the illusion that you are looking directly at whoever is watching you on screen.
One tip of the trade is to imagine that you are speaking directly to a person from your audience. How you talk to your mom, boss and best friend are quite different. So make sure that you are talking to the individual that you want your message to hit home with.
*Example
If your target audience is full of 15 year olds, then imagine that you are talking directly to a 15 year old. For me, I would imagine I was talking to a 15-year-old I know that lives a couple houses from me. When I start to read the copy that the teleprompter is displaying, I will read it as if I were talking to this 15 year-old. By doing so, my voice and cadence would match how I would talk to this 15-year-old, plus my mannerisms also are more relaxed and casual to fit the age group.
Eye contact is arguably the most important aspect to having successful communication. Eye contact is often associated with telling the truth. And when you are being interviewed there couldn’t be anything more important than the audience believing what you are telling them!
When shooting video, you want to make sure you don’t have a wandering gaze. Don’t look away from the camera because you need to let the audience know you are speaking directly to them. If there are other people in the room while you are filming – ignore them completely! The minute you look off at either a person in the room or even at your shoes, you break eye contact and you lose that connection with your audience.
Minimize Eye Tracking
For some who are just starting out “eye tracking” can often happen. This is where I can see your eyes moving from word to word on the teleprompter. To minimize this noticeable eye movement here are some tips:
- Adjust the distance of the teleprompter to you. The further away it is from you the more you can minimize the audience noticing your eyes tracking from left to right. But make sure you can read still read the copy!
- Adjust the width of copy being displayed. The narrower the column of words, the shorter distance your eyes need to travel in order to effectively read the copy.
- Adjust font and style to make it as easy to read as possible.
The most important reason for using a teleprompter is to ensure you keep eye contact with the viewer. When you speak directly to the camera through a teleprompter you are setting yourself up to create a powerful connection with your audience. It will take some practice to learn how to use a teleprompter. But by implementing the tips listed above you are well on your way to achieving the perfect presentation.