How to use a teleprompter on Zoom, Google Meet and Teams

Best teleprompter setups for Zoom calls

• Phone right under the webcam. The easiest setup. Stand an iPhone on a small stand or a stack of books, camera end up, as close under your webcam as you can. In Scrollglass the line you're reading sits just under the phone's own camera, so it ends up only a couple of inches below the webcam lens.
• iPad under or beside the webcam. A bigger screen lets you use larger text and sit farther back, which hides eye movement. Put it right next to the webcam if it won't fit below.
• A window on your Mac. On a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later, Scrollglass runs as its iPad app. Move its window near the top of the screen, close to the camera, and keep the call window beside it.
• Glass over the webcam. If you own a teleprompter glass rig, Prompt mode can show mirrored text for beam-splitter glass.

How to keep eye contact while reading on Zoom

• Raise the webcam to eye level. Put a laptop on books or a stand so you aren't looking down at the lens.
• Sit about an arm's length from the screen. The farther back you sit, the less your eyes seem to move.
• Make the text column narrow so your eyes don't sweep side to side. In Scrollglass you can set the text width, size and typeface.
• Look straight into the lens for your key lines, then drop back to the script.
• Turn the prompter's brightness down if you wear glasses. A bright screen can reflect in the lenses.
• Wear headphones. The call sounds cleaner, and the prompter's microphone hears only you.

Can people see my teleprompter when I share my screen?

Yes, if it's on what you share. Whatever is on a shared screen or window is visible to everyone on the call, and it can end up in the recording too. So don't share the screen or the window that shows your notes.

The simplest fix is to keep your script on a separate phone or iPad, so it's never on the computer. If the script is on the same computer, share a single window, such as your slides, instead of the whole screen. Do a short test call with a colleague before an important meeting.

How fast should you read a script on a video call?

Slower than you think. About 130 to 150 words per minute sounds calm and clear on a call, where audio can lag or break up. At that pace, a 300-word update takes about two minutes.

Check how long your script runs with the free script timer, or find your natural pace with the words per minute calculator. In Scrollglass you set the scroll speed in words per minute, or use Finish in so a five-minute webinar slot ends on time. With voice follow the text follows your voice and waits when you pause, which helps when someone jumps in with a question.

How to write a script for a meeting or webinar

• Write the way you talk: short sentences, contractions, plain words.
• For meetings, script your opening and key points word for word, and keep the rest as short notes so you can react to people.
• For webinars and online presentations, script the whole talk, then rehearse it out loud twice.
• Add a blank line or a note like [NEXT SLIDE] where you want to pause or switch slides.
• Paste the script into the prompter, import a PDF, RTF, Markdown or text file, or send text from any app or AI chat with the Send to Scrollglass shortcut.

How to set up a teleprompter for a Zoom call

1. Raise your webcam to eye levelSet your laptop or monitor so the webcam is level with your eyes. A stack of books works fine.
2. Put your script in the prompterPaste or import your script into Scrollglass and choose Prompt mode. It shows just the script, with no camera and no recording.
3. Place the phone or iPad right under the webcamStand it on a small stand with its camera edge right under your webcam, or as close beside it as you can, so the words you read sit near the lens.
4. Set the text and the speedMake the text big enough to read from your chair and the column narrow. Pick about 130 to 150 words per minute, or turn on voice follow.
5. Join the call and check your self-viewJoin with your computer's camera as usual and read a few lines. If your eyes look only slightly off the lens, you're set.
6. Share only what you mean to shareIf you present, share your slides or a single window. Never share the screen or window that shows your script.

Frequently asked questions