How to set up a browser teleprompter for video and live calls

The short version #

Strip under the notch, cue line at the top.

1. Open scrollcue.com/app in Safari or Chrome and paste your script.
2. Resize the window to about a third of the screen wide and drag it to the top centre, under the camera.
3. Move the cue line near the top, press play, and share only a window on calls.

Full screen, Stage Manager, Continuity Camera and external displays are covered in the MacBook guide.

How do I use a teleprompter with a webcam on a Mac? #

Put the ScrollCue strip at the top of the monitor, right under the webcam. For a camera on a tripod, use a glass rig.

With a webcam on top of an external monitor, put the ScrollCue strip at the top of that monitor. If the camera sits on a tripod in front of the screen, use a glass rig instead; see the hardware guide. For mounting, lighting and cables, see the home desk setup.

How do I use a teleprompter on Zoom, Teams or Meet? #

Put ScrollCue in a narrow window under the webcam and share only your slides or one window, never the whole screen.

1. Open ScrollCue and paste your talking points. Mark each topic with ## so you can jump to it if someone asks a question.
2. Resize the window into a strip and place it right under your webcam, with the cue line near the top.
3. Join the call and share only your slides or a single browser tab. Your prompter stays on your screen and off the call.

ScrollCue does not alter your camera feed or install a virtual camera. Your call app sees your normal webcam. The video calls guide has the steps for each app.

A 10 o'clock call, minute by minute #

How the prompter fits a real meeting.

• 9:52 · Prep. Paste your notes. Short lines read best, so pick a narrow column.
• 9:58 · Set up. Dock the strip under the camera and choose a size you can read from your chair.
• 10:00 · Go live. Share only your slides or one tab. The script stays off the call.
• 10:14 · Question. Pause the scroll, answer, then press play to pick up where you stopped.

Present over your slides #

Screen background on Pro.

With Pro, share a screen behind the script so your slides and notes sit in one window. Present your slides with the script on top, then share that window or keep presenting from your own slide app.

Phone under the webcam #

A second screen when your laptop is full.

If the laptop screen is busy with the call and slides, run ScrollCue on a phone propped directly under the webcam. Add it to your home screen first so it opens full screen. See the iPhone and Android guides.

How do I record myself reading a script? #

Run ScrollCue under the lens and record with your camera app, or use Pro recording to save a take with the script behind you.

• Inside ScrollCue: press record and your camera appears behind the script. Takes are free in 720p and 1080p on Pro: clean camera video, saved to your device without a watermark; the script never appears in the file. Front or back camera.
• Phone or laptop camera plus ScrollCue: record with the camera app and run ScrollCue on a second screen right under the lens.
• Camera plus glass rig: the cleanest result. Put a phone or tablet in a beam-splitterBeam-splitter glass. Partly mirrored glass mounted at 45° in front of a camera. The camera sees through it while the presenter sees the screen's reflection, so text sits directly over the lens. rig and turn on Mirror. See the hardware guide.

A YouTube workflow that saves takes #

Write, mark, record in sections.

1. Write the script in short paragraphs, one idea each.
2. Mark each paragraph with ## so you can jump back and re-record a single section.
3. Add [[presenter notes]] for B-roll cues and "smile here" reminders. They never show on camera.
4. Record each section, then pause and jump to the next. Edit on the section breaks.

Can I use a teleprompter for TikTok, Reels and Shorts? #

Yes. Use a phone under the lens in portrait, with short lines and a slightly faster pace, near 170 words per minute.

Vertical videos are read faster, often near 170 words per minute, so a 30-second script is around 85 words. Keep the phone in portrait directly under the front camera, use the narrow column, and put the cue line near the top. Open on your strongest line; viewers decide in the first seconds whether to stay.

Keynote and PowerPoint presentations #

Notes and slides without switching windows.

Mark each slide as a section with ## and the slide title, so the script stays in step with the deck. On a laptop, put ScrollCue on the display you face and keep the slides on the projector. On Pro, the screen background puts your slides behind the script in one window. For conference talks with a phone remote or presenter view, see the teleprompter for speakers guide.

If you rehearse with a clicker, rehearse with the script too: read each section, then click to the next slide and jump to the next section.

Conference stages and confidence monitors #

Floor monitors for the speaker.

A confidence monitorConfidence monitor. A screen facing the speaker, usually at the front of a stage or platform, that shows the script, notes or slides where the audience cannot see them. is a screen on the stage floor or at the back of the room that only the speaker sees. Run ScrollCue on a laptop wired to the monitor, with large text and red dim or dark theming; an HDMI splitter sends the same script to a second screen. An operator can follow along with the phone remote (Pro), which talks to the prompter over the venue's Wi-Fi, even with no internet.

Church services #

Sermons, announcements and readings.

Put the sermon on a monitor at the front of the platform. Mark each point as a section so the pastor can skip ahead if the service runs long, and keep personal reminders in [[notes]]. Red dim mode keeps the screen from glowing in a dark sanctuary. The media desk can run it from one laptop in the booth, with a phone remote (Pro) for the pastor or a volunteer.

Podcast recording #

Intros, sponsor reads and segment cues.

Script only what must be exact: the intro, sponsor reads, disclosures and the outro. Mark each as a section and talk freely in between. Conversation usually runs around 130 to 150 words per minute, so a 60-second sponsor read is roughly 140 words. Put the prompter at eye level near the camera so video podcasts keep eye contact.

How do I keep eye contact while reading a script? #

Keep the text within about 2 cm of the lens and the lines short, so your eye angle stays under 2°.

• Put the line you read as close to the lens as possible: cue line near the top, screen just under the camera.
• Use a narrow column so each line holds five to eight words. Long lines make your eyes sweep sideways, which viewers notice.
• Sit farther back with bigger text. Doubling your distance roughly halves the eye angle.

How do I sound natural reading from a teleprompter? #

Rehearse once out loud, mark the pauses, and set the speed slightly slower than feels natural.

• Read the script aloud once before recording and fix any sentence that trips you up.
• Write the way you speak: short sentences, contractions, everyday words.
• Add pauses as line breaks and emphasis in bold. Your voice follows the layout.
• Let the scroll be slightly slower than feels natural. Rushing is the most common sign of reading.

Write a script that reads well #

A template for a 2-minute video.

A two-minute video at 140 words per minute is about 280 words. A structure that works:

1. Hook (1–2 lines): the problem or promise.
2. Context (2–3 lines): why it matters to this viewer.
3. Three points (2–4 lines each): one idea per section, marked with ##.
4. Proof (1–2 lines): an example or a number.
5. Call to action (1 line): one thing to do next.

Practice scripts to download: 2-minute video script (about 280 words, written to this structure) · 60-second intro template. Paste either into ScrollCue; the ## sections and [[notes]] already work.

Speak confidently on camera #

Small fixes that change how you come across.

• Light your face from the front, slightly above eye level, and keep the camera at eye height.
• Look at the lens, not your own preview. Hide self-view if it distracts you.
• Stand or sit tall and breathe at the line breaks. Smile at the start and end of each section.