We have come to the end of our series.
The final letter is T: The Torpid Teleprompter.
We love living in a video world. We have our favorite Insta influencers who keep us laughing and learning. Charlotte is obsessed with the chefs and gardeners; Barbara gets lost in the @animalsdoingnothing feed.
So, what’s their secret?
Well, the animals are just cute and being themselves.
But for most humans, the teleprompter is their secret.
What’s not to Love?
It’s easy technology that helps to ensure succinct, sticky language that reinforces your fabulous self and brand. No more filler language or awkward word choices. No more blanking out on the next point you want to make. Easy-peasy, right?
Well…. not so much
As soon as we see the speaker’s eyes darting back and forth as they read their script, we focus our attention on the reading rather than the reader.
They often sound flat, (dare we say “scripted”), monotonal, and usually they lack the natural intonations and physicality that we all express in our unscripted moments. It can be a credibility killer.
True Confessions
How can we speak with such authority about this? Because we found ourselves using a teleprompter to make a video about why speakers should be authentic and make a genuine connection with their audience.
What the…???
Only when we saw Charlotte’s eyes going back and forth on the replay did we grasp the irony of it all! *Deletes clip* 🙁
So what is a speaker to do?
- Remember the #1 goal is to engage your audience.
- Keep clips short and conversational.
- Don’t write out every word. Instead, create an outline of main points with keywords underneath. It works for us and our clients.
- Memorize your first sentence. Start strong out of the gate!
- Release yourself from the pursuit of perfection. A conversational human is always superior to a robotic reader! Or Torpid Teleprompter-er.
- When budget allows, hire a teleprompter tech! They’ll set it up so that your eyes barely move and they’ll tell you if you veered into zombie land.
We hope you enjoyed this series. We sure enjoyed bringing it to you!
Stay tuned for our next installment: “Public Speaking Summer Camp!”
Fun, fun, fun!