The Script Prompter and How to Use It
One of the great innovations to help performers improve their presentation technique is the prompting device which gives the impression that the words are being spoken from memory. Audiences are less likely to be fooled or surprised by this than they used to be, and prompter techniques have found their way into speech delivery. If you watch the wider shots at a political or public conference you might see two transparent plates on top of thin posts on either side of the speaker. It is these which project the words–seen by the orator, but invisible to the audience. They add a professional touch as well as giving confidence and credibility to all forms of speech-making.
Beyond the idiot board
Script prompting hardware has improved considerably since the early days of ‘idiot boards’–handwritten cards or sheets held below or just to one side of the camera. This technique was followed by long narrow sheets of paper onto which the script was typed and then projected by mirrors onto the front of each camera lens without obscuring the shot. All prompter systems are now electronic and can appear in front of the newsreader at the touch of a button.
Avoid the shifty look
The most important thing for the presenter to be aware of is that the narrowness of the script on the prompter means that only three or four lines can be seen at a time, and each line may contain only four or five words. Make a point of trying to read the words from the centre of the screen rather than from side to side. Do feel free to move your head and body weight slightly from time to time. It looks more natural. It is also natural to look down occasionally to consult your hard copy, the paper script on your desk. The viewer needs to be reassured that some facts–figures or direct quotations in particular–are not somehow being conjured up from memory. The trick is to look down as if refreshing the memory, then look up again and continue presenting from the prompter. Always ensure that the page in hard copy form in front of you is the same page on the prompter.
If you have never presented using a prompter, make sure you get some practice before you go on air. Even a few minutes is useful. Best of all, borrow a director and studio for an hour or two, try it several times, and also practise a disaster–that moment when the prompter breaks down and you have to get your head down to the hard copy.
The electronic prompter
(1) Reader’s eye view (courtesy EDS Portaprompt). (2) Prompting systems linked with newsroom computers allow script changes and updates to be made without writers leaving their desks for the studio. (courtesy Autocue)