WEBVTT 00:00:00.399 --> 00:00:03.120 Have you ever considered using a teleprompter in your podcasting 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:03.919 workflow? 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:07.519 Here are some ways it could benefit you even if you only podcast 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:17.454 in audio. Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast. 00:00:17.454 --> 00:00:18.654 I'm Daniel J. Lewis. 00:00:18.654 --> 00:00:22.335 Teleprompters aren't only for newscasters and politicians. 00:00:22.494 --> 00:00:26.414 They can be great for podcasting even if you podcast in only 00:00:26.414 --> 00:00:27.134 audio. 00:00:27.294 --> 00:00:30.550 So just to make sure we're all on the same page, what is a 00:00:30.550 --> 00:00:31.510 teleprompter? 00:00:31.589 --> 00:00:36.390 It is the thing that reflects a surface so that you can look the 00:00:36.390 --> 00:00:39.909 idea is generally directly at a camera or you can look through 00:00:39.909 --> 00:00:43.545 the teleprompter to something that's behind it, but you are 00:00:43.545 --> 00:00:46.344 seeing what's being shown on the teleprompter. 00:00:46.344 --> 00:00:49.864 This is also like a heads up display where you're able to then 00:00:49.864 --> 00:00:53.864 have your head up looking straight through, maybe even looking 00:00:53.864 --> 00:00:57.829 directly at a camera, and there can be things displayed in front 00:00:57.829 --> 00:00:58.869 of you on it. 00:00:58.949 --> 00:01:02.549 There is a specific teleprompter that I've used for now a couple 00:01:02.549 --> 00:01:03.989 of years that I do recommend. 00:01:03.989 --> 00:01:07.590 I do have some issues with it, but I'll talk more about the model 00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:09.189 specifically throughout this episode. 00:01:09.594 --> 00:01:11.435 But it's the Elgato Prompter. 00:01:11.435 --> 00:01:15.834 They also have the Elgato Prompter XL, and Elgato is not paying 00:01:15.834 --> 00:01:16.155 me. 00:01:16.155 --> 00:01:19.994 I am currently not sponsored by anyone, so I don't get paid to 00:01:19.994 --> 00:01:22.795 simply talk about anything right now. 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:25.500 There are affiliate links in this episode. 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:28.780 So if you do decide to purchase 1 of these teleprompters or some 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:31.579 others that I'll have links to in the notes for this episode, I 00:01:31.579 --> 00:01:35.180 will get a commission from that if you purchase through my links. 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:38.140 But I recommend things I truly believe in regardless of earnings, 00:01:38.344 --> 00:01:40.825 I'm not currently sponsored by anyone. 00:01:40.825 --> 00:01:43.465 So even though you're going to hear me talk about a specific 00:01:43.465 --> 00:01:47.064 teleprompter from a specific company throughout this episode, 00:01:47.224 --> 00:01:48.584 they are not paying me. 00:01:48.584 --> 00:01:50.984 So if you'd like to follow along in the notes for this episode 00:01:50.984 --> 00:01:53.465 and get the links to some of the teleprompters that I recommend, 00:01:53.810 --> 00:01:57.250 They are a simple tap or swipe away, look at the chapters, or go 00:01:57.250 --> 00:02:01.569 to the audacity to podcast.com/teleprompter. 00:02:01.890 --> 00:02:05.969 Number 1 benefit here, make eye contact with your audience. 00:02:06.415 --> 00:02:09.375 This is really what teleprompters are designed to do. 00:02:09.455 --> 00:02:12.495 There are lots of different styles of video that you'll see. 00:02:12.655 --> 00:02:16.574 We're typically used to seeing people talk from a third person 00:02:16.574 --> 00:02:20.669 perspective, where it's like we're getting to sit in on someone 00:02:20.669 --> 00:02:23.230 else being interviewed by someone else. 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:26.669 Or, of course, movies and TV shows are recorded this where you're 00:02:26.669 --> 00:02:31.069 not actually the person being spoken to, but you're getting to 00:02:31.069 --> 00:02:33.789 see the characters speak to other characters. 00:02:33.789 --> 00:02:36.514 So you have this third person perspective. Yes. 00:02:36.514 --> 00:02:39.955 That is a technique, certainly, and it has its places, especially 00:02:39.955 --> 00:02:43.715 in interview style podcasts that fits very well or any kind of 00:02:43.715 --> 00:02:45.155 interview style video. 00:02:45.235 --> 00:02:49.250 Even if you don't get to hear the interviewer and you're seeing 00:02:49.250 --> 00:02:54.370 only the interviewee, still that sort of third person perspective 00:02:54.530 --> 00:02:57.090 is totally okay in those cases. 00:02:57.409 --> 00:03:02.104 But podcasting tends to be a bit more intimate, And this is 00:03:02.104 --> 00:03:06.824 thanks to the audio method of podcasting primarily, I think, 00:03:06.985 --> 00:03:11.384 where audio podcasting allows people to take your episode with 00:03:11.384 --> 00:03:15.710 them theoretically anywhere, and they can listen to your voice 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:19.150 directly in their ears through earbuds or headphones. 00:03:19.150 --> 00:03:22.110 Some people, yes, listen to podcasts through speakers, but I 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:25.389 would suspect that most podcast consumption happens through some 00:03:25.389 --> 00:03:27.069 kind of headphone or earbud. 00:03:27.365 --> 00:03:30.965 And that provides a rather intimate experience, especially as 00:03:30.965 --> 00:03:34.564 people can take your voice with them to places where they 00:03:34.564 --> 00:03:38.645 wouldn't welcome other voices or wouldn't be able to have other 00:03:38.645 --> 00:03:42.650 conversations, like doing chores, mowing the yard, driving on an 00:03:42.650 --> 00:03:44.490 airplane, all of these different places. 00:03:44.810 --> 00:03:49.449 Then take that same intimate experience and that connection that 00:03:49.449 --> 00:03:51.610 you get with your audience through audio. 00:03:51.944 --> 00:03:55.305 And I think the best way to do that through video is making eye 00:03:55.305 --> 00:03:56.665 contact with your audience. 00:03:56.825 --> 00:03:59.865 This is something I learned very early on when I first started 00:03:59.865 --> 00:04:04.185 public speaking in my teenage years is make eye contact with your 00:04:04.185 --> 00:04:04.504 audience. 00:04:04.849 --> 00:04:11.010 That helps them feel seen, but also it helps you to see their 00:04:11.010 --> 00:04:14.770 reactions. I do this with kids. I do this with adults. 00:04:14.930 --> 00:04:18.129 When I tell a joke, I wanna see, are people actually laughing? 00:04:18.209 --> 00:04:22.254 When I'm explaining a concept, I'm looking to see, do people look 00:04:22.254 --> 00:04:24.814 like they're understanding it, or do they have a confused look on 00:04:24.814 --> 00:04:25.615 their faces? 00:04:25.774 --> 00:04:29.214 Now you're not actually making eye contact with an audience when 00:04:29.214 --> 00:04:32.814 you're looking into a camera, but it will feel that way to your 00:04:32.814 --> 00:04:33.375 audience. 00:04:33.615 --> 00:04:37.100 And a teleprompter allows you to do that because this is the core 00:04:37.100 --> 00:04:40.620 design of a teleprompter is for newscasters and politicians and 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:45.899 others to be able to see something while looking directly into 00:04:45.899 --> 00:04:46.620 the camera. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:49.100 And whatever that thing is that they're seeing, it might be their 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:52.555 notes, their script, their video, the person that they're talking 00:04:52.555 --> 00:04:54.794 to. It could be anything, really. 00:04:55.034 --> 00:04:59.115 But then that enables them to look at that thing while not having 00:04:59.115 --> 00:05:00.714 to take their eyes off the camera. 00:05:00.794 --> 00:05:04.154 There are plenty of times that it is okay for you to look away 00:05:04.154 --> 00:05:07.354 from the camera, and it won't really hurt that intimate 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:08.110 experience with your audience. 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:11.389 Like, if you're reading from a chat room or if you're reading a 00:05:11.389 --> 00:05:14.670 comment, an email, you're looking up something on the web, you're 00:05:14.670 --> 00:05:16.029 talking to someone else. 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:20.685 Those are times when I think not only okay, but maybe even 00:05:20.764 --> 00:05:24.525 expected that you might look away from the camera to do those 00:05:24.525 --> 00:05:25.004 things. 00:05:25.004 --> 00:05:29.165 It might be kind of weird if I'm talking to you, and then 00:05:29.165 --> 00:05:33.805 suddenly I'm talking to my cohost, but I'm still looking directly 00:05:33.805 --> 00:05:37.930 at you, or at least that's the way you feel I'm doing it. 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:41.930 Or I'm looking directly at you as I'm looking up things on the 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:42.649 Internet. 00:05:42.889 --> 00:05:48.274 That can feel a little weird and a little creepy to do something 00:05:48.274 --> 00:05:52.034 like that or maybe even robotic in some ways where I'm looking 00:05:52.034 --> 00:05:56.115 directly at you as I'm then citing information from the Internet. 00:05:56.115 --> 00:05:57.154 That can be weird. 00:05:57.314 --> 00:06:00.354 Those are times it's totally okay to look away from the camera 00:06:00.550 --> 00:06:02.069 and people will be okay with that. 00:06:02.069 --> 00:06:04.310 I think it helps make it even human. 00:06:04.310 --> 00:06:07.270 Even though I am recording and I look directly into the camera 00:06:07.270 --> 00:06:09.430 when I'm speaking, there are still times that I look away from 00:06:09.430 --> 00:06:12.870 the camera just for a brief moment for a thought or just looking 00:06:12.870 --> 00:06:14.204 at something. 00:06:14.204 --> 00:06:17.485 It's just something that people do where we're not always 00:06:17.485 --> 00:06:22.284 directly glued to each other's eyes and nothing ever takes our 00:06:22.284 --> 00:06:24.764 eyes off of it in a normal conversation. 00:06:24.925 --> 00:06:27.620 There are times we look away. We glance at things. 00:06:27.620 --> 00:06:30.819 We glance at what's around us. We're aware of our surroundings. 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:33.779 We look at something that someone is pointing out to us. 00:06:33.779 --> 00:06:36.579 We're sometimes even just looking at our hands as we're making 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:41.045 gestures and sort of telling a visual story that we might pretend 00:06:41.045 --> 00:06:42.485 that we're holding something. 00:06:42.485 --> 00:06:45.125 Even though our hands are empty, we pretend we're holding 00:06:45.125 --> 00:06:47.764 something and we're looking at it in our hands. 00:06:48.004 --> 00:06:52.324 And that helps our audience relate to that because they can kind 00:06:52.324 --> 00:06:53.444 of imagine that with us. 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:57.300 But a teleprompter, bringing it back to this, allows you to make 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:01.620 the eye contact with your audience for those times that you want 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:04.740 to do that and you want to be able to see something. 00:07:04.900 --> 00:07:07.300 Now what is that thing that you might want to see? 00:07:07.379 --> 00:07:09.060 That goes on to number 2. 00:07:09.365 --> 00:07:13.285 You can use a teleprompter to display your notes or script. 00:07:13.764 --> 00:07:17.605 Typically, you see people read a whole script from a 00:07:17.605 --> 00:07:18.404 teleprompter. 00:07:18.404 --> 00:07:21.685 That's what the newscasters are doing, and politicians are 00:07:21.685 --> 00:07:23.045 reading from the teleprompter. 00:07:23.410 --> 00:07:25.889 And it does take some skill to get good at that. 00:07:25.889 --> 00:07:29.009 The best thing to do is get really good at writing and get really 00:07:29.009 --> 00:07:29.730 good at speaking. 00:07:29.730 --> 00:07:32.689 Get to the point where you can write like you speak and speak 00:07:32.689 --> 00:07:35.490 like you write, and they are both good communication. 00:07:35.914 --> 00:07:38.794 And I've worked on that for many years, and I think I've gotten 00:07:38.794 --> 00:07:42.794 mostly to that point where I generally speak like I write, and I 00:07:42.794 --> 00:07:44.875 generally write like I speak. 00:07:45.115 --> 00:07:49.035 So that if I write my own script, it's very easy for me to read 00:07:49.035 --> 00:07:50.154 it and sound natural. 00:07:50.430 --> 00:07:54.189 I see other people who need some more practice with that, and 00:07:54.189 --> 00:07:56.189 that might be where you are, that you just need some more 00:07:56.189 --> 00:07:56.750 practice. 00:07:56.750 --> 00:07:59.870 But you don't have to use a teleprompter for a whole script. 00:07:59.949 --> 00:08:03.229 You could use a teleprompter for just your notes. 00:08:03.574 --> 00:08:05.334 In fact, that's what I'm doing right now. 00:08:05.415 --> 00:08:07.095 I'm not reading from a script. 00:08:07.175 --> 00:08:11.975 I do have my notes in front of me, a multiple point outline in 00:08:11.975 --> 00:08:12.694 front of me. 00:08:12.694 --> 00:08:16.615 So I see those points, and I can read those to know where I am, 00:08:16.829 --> 00:08:21.310 to know what's coming, and to read those points exactly as I want 00:08:21.310 --> 00:08:21.870 them. 00:08:22.029 --> 00:08:24.669 But they're on the teleprompter screen, so I can still look 00:08:24.669 --> 00:08:28.189 directly into the camera as I'm looking at my outline. 00:08:28.349 --> 00:08:32.554 This can make you look really knowledgeable and experienced with 00:08:32.554 --> 00:08:33.675 what you're talking about. 00:08:33.754 --> 00:08:37.274 I remember back many years ago when I recorded the SEO for 00:08:37.274 --> 00:08:40.235 Podcasters course, which was the first training of its kind, by 00:08:40.235 --> 00:08:45.279 the way. And I think it was in maybe 2011 or 2012. I had an iPad. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:48.720 I had a DSLR camera. I did not have a teleprompter. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:52.320 So my notes for that session and teaching that, I was sitting 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:56.815 down at my desk with my computer and workstation behind me, and I 00:08:56.815 --> 00:08:59.375 would look at the camera, and I wanted to make eye contact with 00:08:59.375 --> 00:09:02.095 my audience, and I had my notes on my iPad. 00:09:02.174 --> 00:09:05.294 So if I wanted to remember what my next point was because I 00:09:05.294 --> 00:09:08.095 didn't have the whole thing memorized, I would have to look down 00:09:08.095 --> 00:09:10.829 at my notes, and then look back up at the camera. 00:09:10.990 --> 00:09:15.789 And I didn't like that. And it might even look kind of weird. 00:09:15.789 --> 00:09:18.509 And you can display your notes in different places and it might 00:09:18.509 --> 00:09:19.389 be okay. 00:09:19.389 --> 00:09:21.789 Even if you do something like you have your laptop in front of 00:09:21.789 --> 00:09:24.884 you, especially if you're sitting at a table or a desk where 00:09:24.884 --> 00:09:27.845 there's a surface and you can have your laptop in front of you or 00:09:27.845 --> 00:09:28.965 slightly off to the side. 00:09:28.965 --> 00:09:33.205 I think that's more okay and doesn't look so weird if you glance 00:09:33.205 --> 00:09:37.285 at that for your notes. But in my case, my notes were in my lap. 00:09:37.659 --> 00:09:41.179 I had no table in front of me or desk or anything like that. 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:44.779 So I had to look completely all the way down at my lap to see the 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:47.340 notes because I wasn't gonna hold the iPad in front of me the 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:49.419 whole time. I just didn't like the way that looked. 00:09:49.514 --> 00:09:54.875 So it made for a lot of edit points because all I needed was just 00:09:54.875 --> 00:09:57.115 to remind myself what the next point was. 00:09:57.115 --> 00:09:58.394 I wasn't reading a script. 00:09:58.394 --> 00:10:02.235 I just needed to follow my outline, and having a teleprompter 00:10:02.235 --> 00:10:05.035 would have made that a whole lot easier because I could put the 00:10:05.035 --> 00:10:08.690 notes on the teleprompter, have them directly in front of me, and 00:10:08.690 --> 00:10:11.970 advance them as I needed to, while I'm advancing it in a moment. 00:10:11.970 --> 00:10:16.450 And then I could keep eye contact with the camera while I'm 00:10:16.450 --> 00:10:17.409 reading my notes. 00:10:17.490 --> 00:10:21.014 And if you're doing any kind of live streaming presentation, then 00:10:21.014 --> 00:10:25.254 this can make you look really knowledgeable because people will 00:10:25.254 --> 00:10:29.095 see you not breaking eye contact or not breaking eye contact very 00:10:29.095 --> 00:10:33.014 much, but still being able to present the information that you 00:10:33.014 --> 00:10:35.940 want to share. And they might even think, woah. 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:39.139 She's not even using notes. That's pretty cool. 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:43.300 And even if they know that you're using notes, then still, you're 00:10:43.300 --> 00:10:46.820 able to do that while maintaining eye contact with them. 00:10:46.820 --> 00:10:47.700 That's pretty cool. 00:10:47.700 --> 00:10:49.700 And I think that really enhances that experience. 00:10:49.995 --> 00:10:52.875 So you can display your notes or your script in front of you. 00:10:52.875 --> 00:10:54.714 And that's great for video. 00:10:54.714 --> 00:10:57.595 Whether you're recording video, you're doing some kind of live 00:10:57.595 --> 00:11:01.754 streaming, even if you're simply in a call with someone, like 00:11:01.754 --> 00:11:05.590 you're interviewing a guest to have the questions that you want 00:11:05.590 --> 00:11:08.309 to ask the guest up there on the screen, maybe as you work 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:08.790 through that. 00:11:08.790 --> 00:11:12.470 Or maybe it's even you are being interviewed and you want a 00:11:12.470 --> 00:11:15.590 couple of statistics in front of you, so you have those 00:11:15.590 --> 00:11:16.070 available. 00:11:16.245 --> 00:11:19.205 But you don't want to have to look away from the camera. 00:11:19.205 --> 00:11:22.085 You want to make it sound like you're able to recite those 00:11:22.085 --> 00:11:22.804 statistics. 00:11:23.125 --> 00:11:25.684 Maybe it's even just you wanna make sure that you get the number 00:11:25.684 --> 00:11:29.205 exactly right. It's 335, not 336. 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:31.540 You wanna make sure you have that number in front of you. 00:11:31.540 --> 00:11:33.300 A teleprompter can be great for that. 00:11:33.300 --> 00:11:36.660 But even if you don't do video, a teleprompter can still be 00:11:36.660 --> 00:11:40.740 really helpful because of the tools that a teleprompter is 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:42.019 designed around. 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:46.995 And that is displaying text very cleanly and flowing, and 00:11:46.995 --> 00:11:51.794 allowing you to focus on just the piece of text that you want in 00:11:51.794 --> 00:11:52.595 that moment. 00:11:52.595 --> 00:11:56.514 The way that most teleprompters do this is that you can scroll 00:11:56.514 --> 00:12:01.050 through either manually or at an automatic pace where it's 00:12:01.050 --> 00:12:04.330 scrolling, and then you're reading along that as it's moving 00:12:04.330 --> 00:12:05.370 across the screen. 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:09.610 But typically, you'll see the middle line or the middle few lines 00:12:09.610 --> 00:12:13.774 will be highlighted or bold or a brighter text color or something 00:12:13.774 --> 00:12:14.254 like that. 00:12:14.254 --> 00:12:17.695 And then the text that you are not reading will be faded out in 00:12:17.695 --> 00:12:20.174 some way or maybe even completely disappear. 00:12:20.174 --> 00:12:22.095 That way you're not being overwhelmed. 00:12:22.174 --> 00:12:25.774 It's a lot easier to keep your place in your notes or your script 00:12:26.169 --> 00:12:30.250 if all you see is exactly where you're supposed to be in your 00:12:30.250 --> 00:12:33.210 notes or script, and that's right there in front of you. 00:12:33.210 --> 00:12:37.529 So even if there's no camera attached, simply the software in a 00:12:37.529 --> 00:12:39.450 teleprompter can be really helpful. 00:12:39.804 --> 00:12:43.165 And you can run some of this teleprompter software through an 00:12:43.165 --> 00:12:44.764 iPad or even your computer. 00:12:44.764 --> 00:12:48.605 In fact, when I inducted Dave Jackson into the Podcast Hall of 00:12:48.605 --> 00:12:51.404 Fame, and then later when I was inducted to the Hall of Fame, I 00:12:51.404 --> 00:12:56.490 used my iPad and a teleprompter app on my iPad to read what I 00:12:56.490 --> 00:12:57.529 wanted to share. 00:12:57.769 --> 00:13:01.209 And the teleprompter made it easy for me so I didn't lose my 00:13:01.209 --> 00:13:04.649 place. It kept scrolling for me automatically. 00:13:04.649 --> 00:13:08.169 So when I looked down, the place where I looked was exactly where 00:13:08.169 --> 00:13:11.455 I needed to be in my script or in my notes. 00:13:11.534 --> 00:13:13.774 And you can do that with your audio podcast too. 00:13:13.934 --> 00:13:17.695 Even if you're using simply teleprompter software, it provides a 00:13:17.695 --> 00:13:21.855 very clean experience designed to be read very clearly, very 00:13:21.855 --> 00:13:22.654 cleanly. 00:13:22.654 --> 00:13:25.500 You don't have to worry about zooming in or increasing the font 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:29.420 size or trying to remove items from the interface to make it less 00:13:29.420 --> 00:13:32.860 confusing and less distracting or notifications or anything like 00:13:32.860 --> 00:13:35.820 that. It provides you a very clean interface. 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:39.165 And as far as how to advance through it, you can do those things 00:13:39.165 --> 00:13:42.205 where you're manually advancing line by line or section by 00:13:42.205 --> 00:13:46.125 section, or it can automatically scroll at a particular speed. 00:13:46.205 --> 00:13:49.325 And you can use different devices or tools or keyboard shortcuts 00:13:49.325 --> 00:13:51.725 to speed up or slow down that pace. 00:13:51.884 --> 00:13:55.539 But I also love that some of these tools and way back when I 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:59.220 first started using a teleprompter on my iPad, I used the app 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:03.220 Promp Smart Pro that had this feature and it's paid feature for 00:14:03.220 --> 00:14:06.179 it. So it's 1 of the reasons why I bought the app back then. 00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:10.325 And I love this feature is that some of these teleprompter tools 00:14:10.404 --> 00:14:14.565 can listen to you and move your scripts. 00:14:14.565 --> 00:14:17.285 We can put that in quotation marks because it might simply be on 00:14:17.285 --> 00:14:21.445 outline, but it can move your script along as it hears you 00:14:21.445 --> 00:14:23.830 reading those things. So consider this. 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:27.509 Maybe you do have a complete script, and you are reading your 00:14:27.509 --> 00:14:28.629 script verbatim. 00:14:28.629 --> 00:14:32.389 But at 1 point, you decide you wanna go off script, and you want 00:14:32.389 --> 00:14:35.910 to share some extra anecdote, or you want to say something a 00:14:35.910 --> 00:14:36.629 little bit differently. 00:14:37.014 --> 00:14:40.454 When you do that and when the script software is listening to 00:14:40.454 --> 00:14:44.454 you, it will pause scrolling until it hears you reading the 00:14:44.454 --> 00:14:47.174 script again, and then it continues scrolling. 00:14:47.334 --> 00:14:49.095 Apply that same thing to your outline too. 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:53.580 Even if you simply have your bullet points in front of you, like 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:58.139 I'm doing right now as I'm looking directly into a camera and my 00:14:58.139 --> 00:15:01.740 notes, simple bullet point list of my notes, not an entire 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:04.304 script, just my bullet points are in front of me. 00:15:04.304 --> 00:15:08.304 I'm able to read them very easily, and I can advance them a point 00:15:08.304 --> 00:15:09.264 at a time. 00:15:09.345 --> 00:15:12.865 Or if I was using the speech recognition software, then it would 00:15:12.865 --> 00:15:13.985 advance for me. 00:15:13.985 --> 00:15:18.179 So it wouldn't bump down to number 3 until I said number 3, and 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:19.779 then it would move down there. 00:15:19.860 --> 00:15:24.820 So it's a nice way to keep my place in my notes or script even if 00:15:24.820 --> 00:15:28.419 you have no camera attached or behind the teleprompter. 00:15:28.419 --> 00:15:31.860 It can be really helpful for audio podcasters as well. 00:15:32.214 --> 00:15:35.495 And if you're going to read something from a teleprompter, I 00:15:35.495 --> 00:15:40.855 highly recommend that you make sure it is not too visually large 00:15:40.855 --> 00:15:41.654 to you. 00:15:41.735 --> 00:15:46.309 Though the larger it is visually to you, then the more that your 00:15:46.309 --> 00:15:49.509 eye movement will be visible to the camera. 00:15:49.589 --> 00:15:52.870 In general, the best way to reduce eye movement is have the 00:15:52.870 --> 00:15:56.309 camera farther away and thus the teleprompter farther away as 00:15:56.309 --> 00:15:59.829 well, so then your eyes don't have to move very much. 00:16:00.215 --> 00:16:03.575 And the reason why I emphasize the visual size of it is because 00:16:03.575 --> 00:16:05.815 it's not necessarily the physical size. 00:16:05.894 --> 00:16:10.934 Like, the teleprompter from Elgato is a 9 inch display, and it's 00:16:10.934 --> 00:16:15.014 great for having the teleprompter about an arm's length away from 00:16:15.014 --> 00:16:17.590 you. They also make a 15 inch display. 00:16:17.669 --> 00:16:20.389 I think if you were to use that an arm's length away from you, 00:16:20.389 --> 00:16:23.110 that might be a little bit too big because if you were reading 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:26.710 from it, then your eye movement would be a lot more obvious. 00:16:27.190 --> 00:16:30.325 But you could also change the margins on it so that your eyes 00:16:30.325 --> 00:16:32.805 don't have to move very far across the screen. 00:16:32.965 --> 00:16:36.644 So keep that in mind if you do decide to use a teleprompter and 00:16:36.644 --> 00:16:40.725 read from that teleprompter, even if it's simply your outline. 00:16:40.725 --> 00:16:44.070 But if you're recording that video, then try to keep your eye 00:16:44.070 --> 00:16:45.830 movement as small as possible. 00:16:45.830 --> 00:16:48.470 And 1 of the ways that you could do this is many of these 00:16:48.470 --> 00:16:52.149 teleprompter tools allow you to place some kind of target, a 00:16:52.149 --> 00:16:55.029 crosshair, a bull's eye, or something like that so you can know 00:16:55.029 --> 00:16:56.950 exactly where the camera lens is. 00:16:57.294 --> 00:17:02.975 And you look at that point and try not to read word by word by 00:17:02.975 --> 00:17:05.134 word by word across the screen. 00:17:05.214 --> 00:17:10.589 If you can, glance at the entire line instead of 1 word at a time 00:17:10.589 --> 00:17:14.349 where your eye is definitely scanning back and forth like the old 00:17:14.349 --> 00:17:15.470 typewriters used to be. 00:17:15.470 --> 00:17:20.269 But if you can grasp an entire line in just a glance, then you 00:17:20.269 --> 00:17:23.309 don't have to have your eyes moving back and forth so much. 00:17:23.535 --> 00:17:26.974 You'll see this sometimes where people will have their 00:17:26.974 --> 00:17:30.815 teleprompter much too big, or they are obviously reading from a 00:17:30.815 --> 00:17:33.215 script and they're looking away from the camera, but you see 00:17:33.215 --> 00:17:36.174 their eyes moving back and forth as they're reading from the 00:17:36.174 --> 00:17:36.335 script. 00:17:36.649 --> 00:17:39.690 And then sometimes that gives that impression of, if you're just 00:17:39.690 --> 00:17:42.009 gonna read from a script, why don't you just provide me with the 00:17:42.009 --> 00:17:43.849 script instead of reading it to me? 00:17:43.929 --> 00:17:47.049 But if you can display that script or your notes in a way that 00:17:47.049 --> 00:17:50.134 allows you to make eye contact with your audience, then that's 00:17:50.134 --> 00:17:50.854 much better. 00:17:51.014 --> 00:17:53.654 Before I had a teleprompter, I tried to work around this in 00:17:53.654 --> 00:17:58.134 different ways by putting my webcam on a mic stand actually, like 00:17:58.134 --> 00:18:02.309 the Heil p l 2 t, which is a overhead boom arm, but that allowed 00:18:02.309 --> 00:18:05.269 me to position the webcam exactly where I wanted it. 00:18:05.269 --> 00:18:09.029 And I would position it in the middle of my 27 inch iMac. 00:18:09.190 --> 00:18:12.630 So it covered part of the screen, but it made it easier for me to 00:18:12.630 --> 00:18:14.789 look directly into the camera for certain things. 00:18:15.234 --> 00:18:18.274 But I tried to position my notes right above or right below the 00:18:18.274 --> 00:18:20.595 camera depending on which way I mounted it, and I've tried 00:18:20.595 --> 00:18:22.835 different ways of mounting, like mounting it from the top, 00:18:22.835 --> 00:18:24.034 mounting it from the bottom. 00:18:24.034 --> 00:18:26.755 But the point was to try and get what I was looking at as close 00:18:26.755 --> 00:18:29.889 to the camera as possible so that it would look like I was making 00:18:29.889 --> 00:18:32.849 eye contact with the camera even though I had some notes or maybe 00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:35.809 the person I was talking to on the screen behind the camera. 00:18:35.889 --> 00:18:39.009 But that didn't always work because the camera would get in the 00:18:39.009 --> 00:18:42.474 way of things or even simply the arm that was positioning the 00:18:42.474 --> 00:18:45.674 camera there would get in the way of stuff and I'd have to do 00:18:45.674 --> 00:18:49.115 some weird trying to peek over or move things around to try and 00:18:49.115 --> 00:18:50.954 see things. And that just got frustrating. 00:18:50.954 --> 00:18:53.515 It is so much easier to have a teleprompter. 00:18:53.515 --> 00:18:57.440 So my notes are in front of me and I can look directly at the 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:00.799 camera as I'm looking at my notes or my script if you want to 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:01.599 read a script. 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:05.680 Number 3, with the teleprompter, you can see yourself as the 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:06.640 camera sees you. 00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:10.765 If you've ever gotten into trying to adjust camera settings, you 00:19:10.765 --> 00:19:14.125 probably know this frustration where you want to make sure the 00:19:14.125 --> 00:19:17.085 lighting is correct, especially like the lighting and shadows on 00:19:17.085 --> 00:19:18.924 your nose or your glasses. 00:19:19.244 --> 00:19:21.964 You have to look at the camera, but you also have to look at your 00:19:21.964 --> 00:19:22.285 screen. 00:19:22.285 --> 00:19:25.329 So you do this weird thing where your your nose is pointed at the 00:19:25.329 --> 00:19:27.650 camera, but you're looking out of the corner of your eye at the 00:19:27.650 --> 00:19:30.849 screen as you're trying to adjust the settings and trying to make 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:34.369 sure that you look right because your screen where you can see 00:19:34.369 --> 00:19:36.929 the what the camera sees is off to the side. 00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:40.924 Well, that's a lot easier to do if you just position your video 00:19:40.924 --> 00:19:42.765 right there on the teleprompter. 00:19:42.765 --> 00:19:46.045 And you can do that where it's mirrored so that when you raise 00:19:46.045 --> 00:19:50.045 your left hand, you see it oriented correctly in the video that 00:19:50.045 --> 00:19:52.765 you're looking at just as if you're looking at a mirror. 00:19:52.765 --> 00:19:55.164 It's not actually recording that way. I hope it's not. 00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:57.299 But it looks that way to you. 00:19:57.460 --> 00:20:00.420 So then you can adjust your lighting, your exposure, your 00:20:00.420 --> 00:20:04.420 clothing, your hair, your backdrop, all of that stuff looking 00:20:04.420 --> 00:20:07.859 directly into the camera just like you will be doing when you're 00:20:07.859 --> 00:20:11.295 recording, but you can also be doing that while you're adjusting 00:20:11.295 --> 00:20:12.815 any of those settings. 00:20:13.215 --> 00:20:16.654 And related to that, number 4, using a teleprompter allows you to 00:20:16.654 --> 00:20:18.575 look at the people you're talking to. 00:20:18.815 --> 00:20:21.659 Even if you don't publish your own video, like you're not doing a 00:20:21.659 --> 00:20:24.380 video podcast, you're not doing anything on YouTube, you're not 00:20:24.380 --> 00:20:28.940 live streaming, I think as podcasters, we still need to be ready 00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:30.619 to be on video. 00:20:30.700 --> 00:20:33.579 Because even if we don't do video ourselves, a lot of other 00:20:33.579 --> 00:20:37.335 people do, and those other people might want to interview us. 00:20:37.494 --> 00:20:41.654 So that's a good reason to make sure that you can be camera ready 00:20:41.654 --> 00:20:42.934 to some degree. 00:20:43.015 --> 00:20:47.015 And having a teleprompter really enhances that experience. 00:20:47.255 --> 00:20:51.690 Because even if the person interviewing you is not on camera, or 00:20:51.690 --> 00:20:54.730 maybe you are interviewing them, and even if you're not going to 00:20:54.730 --> 00:20:59.769 publish the video, the conversation feels so much different if 00:20:59.769 --> 00:21:02.890 you can look at the person you're talking to. 00:21:02.890 --> 00:21:06.494 And a teleprompter enables you to do that, where you can put your 00:21:06.494 --> 00:21:10.414 Zoom, your Descript, your Riverside, whatever tool you're using. 00:21:10.414 --> 00:21:14.494 You can put that on the teleprompter screen so you are seeing the 00:21:14.494 --> 00:21:18.414 person you're talking to, and you are looking directly at them 00:21:18.575 --> 00:21:23.000 while you're talking. They see you looking directly at them. 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:25.720 So it feels more intimate in that conversation. 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.000 It feels more natural to them instead of their seeing you looking 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.799 off to the side, and they're looking at you from the side. 00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:34.765 And if they have a teleprompter too, then you're not looking at 00:21:34.765 --> 00:21:36.204 them from the side either. 00:21:36.285 --> 00:21:40.205 But you can be sort of looking directly at each other, making eye 00:21:40.205 --> 00:21:41.804 contact with each other. 00:21:41.884 --> 00:21:46.205 And that helps so much in the conversation because a lot of our 00:21:46.205 --> 00:21:48.204 communication is nonverbal. 00:21:48.285 --> 00:21:52.380 It's the slight cues, the even just active listening, like the 00:21:52.380 --> 00:21:55.579 nodding of the head, the weird expressions, or the certain things 00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:58.940 where you can tell someone wants to say something because you see 00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:01.785 their mouth opening up, or they're raising their hand, or they 00:22:01.785 --> 00:22:04.105 were holding up a finger saying, hold on. I wanna make a point. 00:22:04.105 --> 00:22:05.785 Or hold on. Wait. I've got something. 00:22:05.785 --> 00:22:09.705 You can see that if you're making eye contact with them, even if 00:22:09.705 --> 00:22:12.184 you're not actually publishing the video. 00:22:12.265 --> 00:22:16.210 Being able to see the person you're talking to can help that 00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:18.929 conversation flow a whole lot better. 00:22:19.009 --> 00:22:23.009 Whether that's a cohost, a guest, or you're the guest and you're 00:22:23.009 --> 00:22:26.450 being interviewed, you can then look at the person you're talking 00:22:26.450 --> 00:22:29.970 to and it makes it flow so much better, I think. 00:22:30.384 --> 00:22:35.025 Fewer interruptions, better communication even, because you can 00:22:35.025 --> 00:22:38.704 start to pick up on those things by seeing if they're maybe 00:22:38.704 --> 00:22:41.984 confused or if they have a question or maybe if they're starting 00:22:41.984 --> 00:22:45.184 to disagree with something, and you can anticipate some of those 00:22:45.184 --> 00:22:49.960 things and guide what you say or what you ask based on some of 00:22:49.960 --> 00:22:52.200 that nonverbal communication. 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:55.960 And number 5, depending on the teleprompter you're using or even 00:22:55.960 --> 00:23:00.244 just some of the ideas from this, you can use a teleprompter as 00:23:00.244 --> 00:23:02.164 an external display. 00:23:02.565 --> 00:23:05.845 There are many times when an external display can be really 00:23:05.845 --> 00:23:07.924 helpful. I remember my first job. 00:23:08.005 --> 00:23:12.565 I was a presentation designer working at an organization, and I 00:23:12.565 --> 00:23:17.159 had 3 monitors at 1 point. And I used all 3 of them. 00:23:17.159 --> 00:23:20.440 And I felt really cool like I was at some command station. 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:23.640 I would have something in 1 monitor, an old version of something 00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:26.519 that I was redesigning, and all my toolbars were in another 00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:26.839 monitor. 00:23:27.015 --> 00:23:30.134 So that way I could focus on what I was doing on the 1 center 00:23:30.134 --> 00:23:32.294 screen and my other stuff was off to the side. 00:23:32.375 --> 00:23:35.015 Well, a teleprompter, especially something like the Elgato 00:23:35.015 --> 00:23:38.375 Prompter can function as an external display. 00:23:38.535 --> 00:23:41.494 Even simply an iPad can function as an external display. 00:23:42.009 --> 00:23:46.809 And doing so allows you to put that low priority information off 00:23:46.809 --> 00:23:48.489 to that external monitor. 00:23:48.569 --> 00:23:52.250 Even if it's a small 1, it doesn't have to be another 27 inch 00:23:52.250 --> 00:23:55.369 monitor, another 30 inch monitor, whatever size screen that you 00:23:55.369 --> 00:23:56.089 normally look at. 00:23:56.174 --> 00:23:59.215 It could be a smaller 1, and there's a good place for that. 00:23:59.215 --> 00:24:02.815 Like, for example, I use the ARC browser, and like several other 00:24:02.815 --> 00:24:06.975 browsers, it has a picture in picture option where when you're 00:24:06.975 --> 00:24:10.690 playing a video in 1 tab and then you switch tabs, it will move 00:24:10.690 --> 00:24:13.009 that video into a picture in picture sort of thing. 00:24:13.009 --> 00:24:17.410 So it moves then to 1 of the corners of your overall display so 00:24:17.410 --> 00:24:20.690 that you can still see the video while you're doing something 00:24:20.690 --> 00:24:21.250 else. 00:24:21.410 --> 00:24:23.890 And I don't know about you, but it seems like it's Murphy's Law. 00:24:23.954 --> 00:24:28.034 But when I am watching slash listening to a video while I'm doing 00:24:28.034 --> 00:24:31.234 some kind of work, it seems like that picture in picture display 00:24:31.234 --> 00:24:33.554 is always in the way. 00:24:33.794 --> 00:24:37.315 So I sometimes have to fight with it, move it around, and then 00:24:37.315 --> 00:24:40.349 that starts distracting me and makes me get frustrated. 00:24:40.349 --> 00:24:43.630 And so I decide, I'm just gonna pause this because I want to be 00:24:43.630 --> 00:24:47.230 able to listen, but this thing is in the way, and I don't wanna 00:24:47.230 --> 00:24:48.509 fiddle with this too much. 00:24:48.509 --> 00:24:51.825 Or if you have an external display, even a small 1, you could 00:24:51.825 --> 00:24:54.464 move that video to that external display. 00:24:54.625 --> 00:24:59.105 Or you could move notes there or that chat room or your social 00:24:59.105 --> 00:25:03.505 feed or your stock or crypto portfolio or anything like that to 00:25:03.505 --> 00:25:06.384 that external display, really enhancing your workflow. 00:25:06.679 --> 00:25:12.200 Not necessarily making it a primary spot that you do work in, but 00:25:12.200 --> 00:25:15.319 just that extra stuff that you want to be able to have on the 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:19.654 screen while you're working, but it's not taking up space on your 00:25:19.654 --> 00:25:23.335 normal screen distracting you or getting in the way of things. 00:25:23.335 --> 00:25:25.654 And that can be a huge workflow booster. 00:25:25.654 --> 00:25:29.174 That's something I really like about the Elgato Prompter is that 00:25:29.174 --> 00:25:32.679 it functions as an external display. 00:25:32.839 --> 00:25:35.960 So anything you can do with an external display, you can do with 00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:36.440 it. 00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:39.399 Even when the camera's not on, you can still look at the 00:25:39.399 --> 00:25:42.919 teleprompter to see the stuff that is on that external monitor. 00:25:42.919 --> 00:25:46.585 And the Elgato Prompter comes in 2 sizes, the 9 inch, and these 00:25:46.585 --> 00:25:50.345 are diagonal sizes, 9 inch and about 15 and a half inches. 00:25:50.505 --> 00:25:53.704 So you can pick 1 that works best for your space and your needs. 00:25:53.705 --> 00:25:56.664 I use the 9 inch. I think it's just the perfect size for me. 00:25:56.745 --> 00:25:59.465 And I can use that sometimes as an external display. 00:25:59.640 --> 00:26:03.320 Like if I'm doing some programming, maybe I move my terminal, my 00:26:03.320 --> 00:26:07.000 command line over into that window while I'm doing my main work 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:10.759 in a window. Or my browser, I move my browser over there. 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:14.105 So whenever I make changes, when I'm looking at code, it live 00:26:14.105 --> 00:26:17.944 refreshes in the browser, or it's a social feed or a chat room or 00:26:17.944 --> 00:26:22.505 something else I'm listening to passively or watching passively 00:26:22.505 --> 00:26:23.704 off to the side. 00:26:23.704 --> 00:26:27.980 It can be a great workflow booster even just to have that small 00:26:27.980 --> 00:26:29.339 extra display. 00:26:29.660 --> 00:26:32.700 So these are 5 things that I think can really benefit a 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:35.660 podcasting workflow if you get a teleprompter. 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:37.660 Number 1, make eye contact with your audience. 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:39.660 Number 2, display your notes or script. 00:26:39.955 --> 00:26:42.755 Number 3, see yourself as the camera sees you. 00:26:42.755 --> 00:26:46.035 Number 4, look at the people you're talking to even if you do 00:26:46.035 --> 00:26:50.194 only audio. And number 5, use it as an external display. 00:26:50.355 --> 00:26:52.674 My recommendation, if you haven't already picked up on it 00:26:52.674 --> 00:26:56.659 throughout this episode, is the Elgato Prompter and Prompter XL. 00:26:56.659 --> 00:26:59.619 This episode is not sponsored by Elgato. 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:01.779 I have some issues with them sometimes. 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:05.539 I'm not currently sponsored by anybody to simply talk about 00:27:05.539 --> 00:27:05.779 something. 00:27:06.154 --> 00:27:08.714 I do have affiliate links in the notes for this episode. 00:27:08.714 --> 00:27:11.115 So if you purchase through my affiliate links, I do get a 00:27:11.115 --> 00:27:13.595 commission from that. But I recommend things I truly believe in. 00:27:13.595 --> 00:27:14.794 And I'll be honest with you. 00:27:14.794 --> 00:27:18.154 I've had some frustrations with the Elgato Prompter before, and 00:27:18.154 --> 00:27:21.150 you can see every now and then on social that I might voice some 00:27:21.150 --> 00:27:22.990 of those frustrations to Elgato. 00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:26.830 Their software isn't always that great, but their hardware, I 00:27:26.830 --> 00:27:28.910 think, is great and really useful. 00:27:28.910 --> 00:27:31.549 And I love that the way that they've designed this is that it 00:27:31.549 --> 00:27:33.549 functions as an external display. 00:27:33.934 --> 00:27:37.775 So as opposed to in the past where I've had a teleprompter where 00:27:37.775 --> 00:27:42.255 I would put my iPad in it, and I have to get the iPad ready and 00:27:42.255 --> 00:27:42.974 all of that stuff. 00:27:42.974 --> 00:27:45.775 And if I wanted to do something on the iPad, I would have to 00:27:45.775 --> 00:27:49.339 actually reach up in front of the camera to be able to touch the 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:53.099 iPad and try and work it in different ways and trying to work it 00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:54.700 through a mirror too. 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:58.380 And that mess could get frustrating a lot of times. 00:27:58.565 --> 00:28:01.924 But when you're using something like the Elgato Prompter, then 00:28:01.924 --> 00:28:03.525 you're controlling it from your computer. 00:28:03.525 --> 00:28:06.565 It is just an external display from your computer and you have 00:28:06.565 --> 00:28:08.484 the software that can control that too. 00:28:08.484 --> 00:28:11.204 And then you add that with other accessories, keyboard shortcuts, 00:28:11.204 --> 00:28:13.765 and stuff to be able to control the teleprompter in different 00:28:13.765 --> 00:28:14.005 ways. 00:28:14.369 --> 00:28:18.049 So that could be helping your scrolling speed or moving through 00:28:18.049 --> 00:28:22.210 points or switching windows or anything like that, allowing you 00:28:22.210 --> 00:28:27.970 to use that as really a productivity tool, not just a video tool. 00:28:28.265 --> 00:28:30.664 So I really like the Elgato Prompter. 00:28:30.664 --> 00:28:35.225 It goes on sale sometimes for as low as in the 100 to $200 00:28:35.225 --> 00:28:38.184 depending on current inflation and certain things like that. 00:28:38.184 --> 00:28:42.960 But I've seen it as low as, I believe, a $120 for the Elgato 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:47.359 Prompter, the 9 inch model. And the XL is 15 and a half inches. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:50.559 So if you need that larger size, watch out for a deal for that 00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:53.680 because it's a little more pricey, but maybe that would be worth 00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:56.294 it to you, especially when you consider the productivity 00:28:56.294 --> 00:28:59.494 enhancement or if you need that larger screen because you need to 00:28:59.494 --> 00:29:01.575 position the Prompter farther away from you. 00:29:01.575 --> 00:29:04.774 But I've got those links in the chapters for this episode as well 00:29:04.774 --> 00:29:10.214 as in the notes over at the audacitytopodcast.com/teleprompter. 00:29:10.679 --> 00:29:14.859 Special thanks to Dreb Scott for streaming 310 Satoshis to The 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:16.679 Audacity to Podcast from the last episode. 00:29:16.679 --> 00:29:17.959 I really appreciate that. 00:29:17.960 --> 00:29:21.480 And if you value The Audacity to Podcast, consider whatever is 00:29:21.480 --> 00:29:25.244 worth to you and consider giving that back through either a 00:29:25.244 --> 00:29:29.005 podcasting 2 system like the streaming Satoshis or Boostagram, or 00:29:29.005 --> 00:29:33.484 a simple gift through the audacitytopodcast.com/giveback. 00:29:33.484 --> 00:29:36.044 Now that I've given you some of the guts and taught you some of 00:29:36.044 --> 00:29:39.329 the tools, it's time for you to go start and grow your own 00:29:39.329 --> 00:29:42.609 podcast for passion and profit. I'm Daniel J. 00:29:42.609 --> 00:29:46.129 Lewis from theaudacitytopodcast.com. Thanks for listening.