Reading between the lines | Why teleprompter timing matters in a live television broadcast

Teleprompter operation is one of the essential roles of the broadcast industry. It's not only a script for the on-air talent to read, but it's also a script that the director, audio operator, and graphics operator can go by for a smooth and clean show. Here is what I learned and my experience as a teleprompter operator in the news television industry.

When I first started operating the prompter, I thought only the on-air talent depended on it. Everyone knows the teleprompter is used for the on-air talent to communicate to the public while keeping eye contact directly into the camera - a big improvement from using cue cards.

It's vital for the speakers and the prompter operator to work well together for a successful show. So if you're unsure about how well or how bad you are at operating the prompter like I was when I first started, it's best to ask the speakers how you are doing and how you can improve. Trust me, they'll appreciate this!

Not only will the speakers be more confident in your ability as a prompter operator, but you will also be improving your skills. As time goes on, you will continuously get better at your job, but operating the teleprompter is more than just following along with the on-air talent word for word. The job is not as easy as it seems to the average person.

Listening to the Director and Crew

Your job as a teleprompter operator is to listen. Along with listening to the anchors and reporters, you also have to listen to the production crew you work with, especially the director and producer. All things don't go to plan when executing a live broadcast. Some stories are killed, while others are added. To know where you should be in the script, you must listen to the producer and director. That sometimes involves listening to the crew while you're operating the prompter for the on-air talent. Whatever you do, don't lose your focus.

Different Speech Patterns within Talent

Some on-air talent are speedy readers, while others read slow. Some do lots of adlibs while others don't. Whatever their speech pattern is, it's not your job to fix them for your benefit. It's your job to adjust the speed for them to make their on-air read smoother. You just have to do your best to listen to the anchors and reporters while matching the speech of the presenter word for word. Speed up when they speed up. Slow down when they slow down. Skip ahead if they paraphrase. Soon enough, you'll know exactly what to expect from their reading.

Mistakes are Noticeable

Everyone makes mistakes, and that's okay. Even though your job is just to scroll and follow along, you will probably make a mistake on the teleprompter at least once. For example, you may scroll the wrong way, you may be in the wrong spot, you may scroll too slow, and you may even scroll too far ahead from where the talent is reading. I'm guilty of all of this. Just fix your errors as soon as you can, and get back to the show.

By now, I hope you've learned the main roles of operating the teleprompter. As easy as it seems, it can be extremely stressful especially during a live broadcast. However, some days are just easier than others. Teleprompters ensure the talent delivers the speech as intended without having to rehearse the script to recite from memory. Overall, it helps a lot of people.