Use a teleprompter for presentations with slides.
A chart may take longer to explain than three slides of text. Plan the pauses before you set the teleprompter’s pace. Your rehearsal should test the talk you will give, including slide changes and the places where you stop speaking.
Rehearse your presentationChoose the sentences that need exact wording
Write out an opening, a definition or a final request when the wording matters. For a familiar explanation, a cue may be easier to use than a paragraph. You should be able to glance away, look back and find the next idea without hunting through an essay.
Keep the slide reference and the speaking cue together. “SLIDE 4 — point to the March peak” tells you both where you are and what to do. Copying every label from the chart into the script creates another thing to read.
Leave room for pauses in an eight-minute talk
This is an illustrative run-of-show for a short recommendation. Adapt the allocation to your material; the final buffer is time you have deliberately left unfilled.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0:00–0:45 | State the decision you want the audience to make. |
| 0:45–2:30 | Explain the problem and who it affects. |
| 2:30–5:00 | Show the evidence. Pause on the main chart. |
| 5:00–6:30 | Explain your recommendation and its tradeoff. |
| 6:30–7:15 | Make the request and give the next action. |
| 7:15–8:00 | Buffer for a slow transition or a brief clarification. |
For another way to budget it, 750 spoken words at 120 words per minute take about 6 minutes 15 seconds. That leaves 1 minute 45 seconds within an eight-minute slot. This calculation assumes a steady pace; it does not predict the length of your actual talk.
Turn a paragraph into a cue you can recover from
An interruption is a good test of your notes. If you cannot find the point after answering a question, shorten the block and give it a label you recognise.
SLIDE 4 — the busiest month Point to the March peak. Explain what changed that month. Decision: do we need extra cover at that point? NEXT: show the proposed schedule.
These are prompts for the speaker, not commands to the app. Labels and unspoken notes count toward its word-based estimate. Rehearse with a separate timer if the time slot is strict.
Rehearse the interruption, not just the opening
Start with the actual slides and the screen in its expected position. Pause at the chart. Explain it while looking away from the reader, then find your next cue. Practise the same return after a question. A continuous run with no interruptions will not expose this weak spot.
Use a text size you can read from where you will stand. If the monitor moves or the room lighting changes, check it from that position again. Keep a TXT export of the final notes outside browser storage so you can reopen them on a replacement device.
For a remote talk, the Zoom guide covers sharing the slides without showing the script. For a scripted camera piece with demonstrations, use the YouTube filming workflow.