How to Use a Teleprompter App: Prompter Mode vs Camera Mode

Prompter Mode: When Another Device Is the Camera

Prompter mode is designed for situations where something else — a webcam, a MacBook's built-in camera, a separate DSLR — is doing the recording, and your phone or iPad is purely a script display device.

Your phone sits near the recording camera. Because the script fills your screen in large, scrolling text, reading it and looking at the camera lens are nearly the same eye position. The recording device captures you looking forward. Viewers see eye contact.

When to use Prompter mode

• Video job interviews. This is the highest-value use case for Prompter mode. In a video interview, your interviewer sees your face via their browser. Prop your phone directly below your laptop's camera and run your teleprompter app in Prompter mode. You read answers to anticipated questions — compensation expectations, project walk-throughs, "tell me about yourself" — while appearing to maintain natural eye contact. In our coaching experience, candidates who prepare scripted answers for their opening and behavioral responses perform more consistently than those relying entirely on real-time improvisation.
• Zoom and video call presentations. For structured pitches, demos, or training sessions on Zoom, position your phone near your webcam and run Prompter mode. The script scrolls; you deliver. For a full Zoom-specific setup guide, see using a teleprompter for Zoom calls.
• Loom recordings on Mac. Loom records from your Mac's built-in camera. Open the free online teleprompter in a window positioned below your MacBook's camera, or prop your phone there — both run Prompter mode.
• Dedicated camera setups. If you record YouTube or podcast video with a DSLR or mirrorless camera on a tripod, prop your iPad between yourself and the lens and run Prompter mode. The iPad display sits inside your camera's line of sight.

How to set up Prompter mode

1. Open Teleprompter-Scrolling Scripts on your iPhone or iPad and tap Prompter mode.
2. Paste your script into the text field. Keep sentences short — one idea per sentence.
3. Set font size to 36–44pt. At arm's length, this is large enough to read without scanning left to right.
4. Position your device as close to the recording camera lens as possible. On a MacBook, aim for directly below the top bezel. On a tripod setup, angle the device so the top of the screen aligns with the camera lens.
5. Start the scroll a beat before you begin speaking, then deliver your script naturally.

Camera Mode: When Your Phone IS the Camera

Camera mode is for recording video directly with your iPhone or iPad. The script text overlays the live camera preview on your screen — you see your script; the recording does not include it. When you finish and stop recording, the video file contains only your delivery, with no visible teleprompter text.

When to use Camera mode

• YouTube videos, Reels, TikTok. Mount your iPhone on a tripod at eye level. Open the app in Camera mode, paste your script, and tap the record button inside the app. The script scrolls as you record. This is the setup most video creators use for talking-head content — no additional equipment needed beyond a phone and a tripod.
• UGC (user-generated content) for brands. Camera mode lets you record polished takes quickly, which is critical when you're shooting multiple products or variations in a session. Scripted delivery with eye contact is what distinguishes professional UGC from casual footage.
• Course videos and tutorials. For educational content where precision matters — step-by-step instructions, specific terminology, cited statistics — Camera mode keeps your delivery accurate on the first take.

How to set up Camera mode

1. Open Teleprompter-Scrolling Scripts and tap Camera mode.
2. Paste your script and set font size. In Camera mode, font needs to be readable on a device screen you're facing from 60–90cm — 36pt is a good starting point on iPhone, larger on iPad.
3. Mount your iPhone on a tripod at eye level, lens facing you. The lens on an iPhone is at the top-left corner of the camera module — aim to have it at the same height as your eyes.
4. Tap the record button in the app. The app starts recording and the script begins scrolling. Tap to pause if you need to re-deliver a line.
5. When done, stop recording. The app saves the video to your camera roll without any teleprompter overlay.

A 2024 content performance analysis by Wistia found that videos where presenters maintained consistent camera eye contact had a 37% higher completion rate compared to videos where the presenter frequently glanced off-screen. For short-form platforms like Instagram Reels, where the first 3 seconds determine whether a viewer scrolls past, eye contact in the opening frame is one of the strongest signals for watch retention.

How to Write a Script That Works in Both Modes

The way you write for a teleprompter is different from writing an essay or a slide deck. Read aloud while writing. If a sentence sounds stiff when spoken, rewrite it.

• Short sentences. Every sentence should be one complete thought. Long compound sentences require more eye tracking and break your reading rhythm.
• Write numbers out in words or very short forms. "Three million dollars" is faster to read than "$3,000,000." Formatted numbers slow your scan.
• Mark your pauses. Add a dash — or a line break — where you'd naturally breathe or let a point land. Scripts without built-in pauses produce rushed delivery.
• Don't over-script. Script your opening, your data points, your transitions, and your close. Leave the middle sections — where you know the material deeply — for natural delivery. Over-scripting produces flat recordings.

Scroll Speed and Font Size: The Two Settings That Matter Most

Every other setting in a teleprompter app is secondary to these two. Getting them right is what separates delivery that sounds natural from delivery that sounds read.

Font size

The rule: increase font size until you stop scanning left to right to read a line. If your eyes move horizontally, the text is too small. At the correct font size, you can read each line within your central visual field without turning your eyes — this keeps your gaze centered on the camera. Most people land at 36–44pt for arm's-length reading (60–80cm). On an iPad used farther away, go higher.

Scroll speed

Start at 90–110 WPM. The right speed is one where you feel slightly ahead of the text — you could speak the next word before it appears. That pace reads as confident and deliberate on camera. Speed that chases the scroll reads as rushed.

Calibrate this way: record a 30-second test clip, watch it back, and watch your eyes specifically. If your gaze tracks visibly, slow the scroll. If you stumble or rush, adjust. Most people need two or three test recordings to find their ideal setting.

Tips for Looking Natural While Using a Teleprompter App

• Don't start the scroll and your delivery at the same time. Start the scroll one second before you speak. Your opening sentence should already be visible when you begin — finding your place in the first second shows on camera.
• Blink normally. People who concentrate on reading sometimes under-blink. Make a conscious effort to blink at your normal rate. Under-blinking creates a fixed, unnatural gaze.
• Vary your pace deliberately. Use your pause markers to slow down for emphasis. A one-beat pause after an important point is one of the most effective delivery tools available — it's hard to do naturally in conversation but easy to plan into a script.
• Re-record sections, not whole videos. In Camera mode, you can tap to pause the scroll and the recording mid-take, adjust your delivery, and continue. Most professional content creators record in sections rather than trying to nail a full script on the first take.

Research published in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2022) found that teleprompter delivery was judged as equally natural to spontaneous speech by viewers when scroll speed matched the speaker's natural delivery pace. The perceptibility of teleprompter use was primarily driven by scroll speed mismatches — speakers rushing to keep up with text, or speaking faster than the scroll — rather than by the act of reading itself. Calibration, not practice, determined whether the technique was detectable.

Frequently Asked Questions