The Teleprompter – also known as autocue - has been with us for a very long time. US President Lyndon Johnson made the announcement of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by reading it off a big, clunky teleprompter. Today, like all technology, teleprompters have been smaller, lighter, cheaper and more portable. 

President Barrack Obama is often referred as the Communicator-in-Chief, possibly in part due to his mastery of the teleprompter. [He is less flatteringly referred to as the Teleprompter President by conservative bloggers]. In fact, President Obama prefers to use not one but two teleprompters at any given time – so that he can switch from one to the other and give the impression of speaking to the whole audience, as opposed to staring straight ahead. He also prefers the more modern plexi variety on a stand which can retract from view when needed.

As we provide Presentation Skills training, we thought we’d share with you some of our Top Teleprompter Tips (there are 18!) if you intend to use this great device! I’d like to credit Jeroen Beckers from Cuemaster for his advice. Good luck!