How to read a script and still look at the camera
Updated 20 September 2026 · by Viktor, video creator
Put the text as close to the lens as you can and keep the lines short. Eyes give you away because they travel: a line of ten words pulls them sideways, a line of four does not. On a phone that means the script in a band at the top of the screen, right under the front camera, moving at the speed you talk.
Why the eyes give it away
A viewer reads eye direction before they hear a word. Reading from a laptop screen below the camera tilts the eyes down; reading from notes beside it sends them sideways at every line break. Nothing in your delivery fixes that — only moving the text closer to the lens does.
How short should a line be?
Three to five words. Long lines force a sweep back to the left edge, which is the movement people notice. Inream Teleprompter reflows pasted text into lines of that length automatically, so the eyes travel a few millimetres instead of across the screen.
How fast should it scroll?
Slower than you think, or not at a fixed speed at all. Unhurried reading aloud is about 130 words per minute, and a prompter running at a presenter’s pace leaves you chasing it. Better: let the text follow your voice — it moves while you speak and waits when you stop — so a pause for breath does not put you three lines behind.
Phone at arm’s length, or a laptop?
A phone held at arm’s length gives you the best camera and the shortest distance between the text and the lens. A laptop webcam puts the text below the camera and the camera slightly above your eyeline. If you film on a laptop, raise it so the lens is level with your eyes and keep the prompter band at the top of the screen.
What to practise
Read the script aloud once before recording, out loud rather than in your head: the sentences you stumble over are the ones written for the page, not the mouth. Shorten them. Then record without trying to be perfect — record in short sections, so a stumble costs one section instead of a whole take.
Questions
Can people tell I am reading?
Not if the text sits under the lens in short lines and moves at your pace. What gives reading away is the eye movement, not the reading itself.
Where should the text be on a phone?
In a band at the top of the screen, directly under the front camera, in large type.
What speed should a teleprompter run at?
Around 130 words per minute for unhurried speech, or a mode that follows your voice and waits when you pause.
Do I need a teleprompter rig?
Not for talking-head video. A rig with a beam-splitter matters when the camera is further away, as in a studio.
All guides · Online teleprompter · The best teleprompter apps