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| _Talk
Tips: Short tips on working with a teleprompter |
| _Teleprompting
101: First-Time Presenting |
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Relax. You'll be with a crew whose sole resonsibility
is to make sure you do as well as you can. If you make little mistakes,
it's not the end of the world. Very, very few productions, live or recorded,
go through without hiccups.
The operator scrolls words at your speed: if you slow down, the words
slow down. Speed up, and the words will speed up. If you think the words
are going too fast – pause! Use full-stops and commas as breath
aids and pauses for you to collect your thoughts.
Before a take, have a stretch, scrunch your face up a few times before
reading, clear your throat – like any other activity, warming up
always helps. More direction about your personal presentation will be
given by the director.
| _Teleprompting
101: Warming Up |
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Before launching into a piece, stretch your arms out wide
and take a big breath of air. A little water helps (preferably just
below room temperature, not ice cold). Then try some basic head rolls
and mouth exercises, like big forced smiles then scrunched frowns. Like
a sport, presenting involves being warmed up before the delivery. More
direction about your personal presentation will be given by the director.
The operator scrolls words at your speed: if you slow
down, the words slow down. Speed up, and the words will speed up. If
you think the words are going too fast – pause! Use full-stops
and commas as breath aids and pauses for you to collect your thoughts.
| _What's
more Important: You or the Message? |
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Professional presenters are trained so that their body
language and the words they're saying are the same. New/ untrained presenters
are able to say the words... but their body language is either missing
or betraying the message.
Just before the rehearsals start, focus on WHY you're presenting this
message, rather than the words.
As a presenter you're important because you represent a great business.
Whether or not you are a great person, look nice or are very intelligent
is beside the point. Harsh, but a fact. If you're not engaged about
WHY the message needs to go out to your audience, this will show on
camera. When people look self-conscious or uncomfortable on camera,
it's because they either don't believe what they're saying, or they're
thinking about what they look like, rather than the message itself.
| _Who
Says It like THAT??!? |
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Imagine this scenario: You've finished writing your message
to the audience and believe it utterly. Then, when you go to present
it, there's one section of simple words that REFUSES to be spoken properly!
It's like being stymied by the world's simplest tongue-twister, one
which everyone can say except you.
Spoken language and written language suit different tasks. When drafting
your speech, look to incorporate contractions of phrases, like "can't"
instead of "cannot", "we'll" for "we will"
and "you're" for "you are".
Often the autocue operator can help by re-arranging words slightly,
inserting 'breath-aids' like commas, blank lines and minor formatting
that aids you in timing your delivery. PLEASE don't try adding your
own formatting before giving the script to the operator. Common 'page'
format elements like bullet points, indentation and tables don't translate
to autocues.
If all else fails, slow down or use gestures. Use handmovements and
slow speed to emphasise the aspect you're getting stuck on. This helps
you concentrate on getting past this block.
Oh, and pre-read the bit that comes after the section you get stuck
on. After 5 takes of trying to get one little bit right, presenters
are often so relieved that they forget there's more to come... and trip
over THAT!
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