Teleprompter app for iPhone: how to use your iPhone as a teleprompter for a slide presentation

Start with where the phone will be

Before you open any app, decide where the iPhone will sit while you talk. This guide is about presenting slides to people, not recording to a camera, so the phone does not need to be near a lens. It needs to be somewhere a short glance reaches it:

• On a lectern. Lay it flat or on a small stand at the top edge, so your eyes drop a few centimetres, not to the floor.
• In your hand. Fine for a short talk or a walk-and-talk style. Hold it at chest height, not at your waist.
• On a stand near the front row. Useful if you move around; check the angle from where you will actually stand.

Turn on Do Not Disturb, raise the brightness, and pick a text size you can read at arm's length. If you cannot read it in one glance during rehearsal, you will not read it under nerves.

Write a script the phone can follow

A phone screen shows a few lines at a time, so the script has to be easy to pick up mid-sentence. Write one short section per slide, in the words you would actually say. Keep sentences short, put numbers exactly as they appear on the slide, and mark the line where each slide should change. If you do not want a full script, a few spoken sentences per slide still give you something to come back to.

Rehearse with the phone, out loud

1. A slow read-through. Speak every word, standing, with the phone where it will be on the day.
2. Practise losing your place. Stop mid-sentence, look up, say something that is not in the script, then return. A teleprompter that follows your voice should wait while you are off script and pick up when your words come back.
3. A timed run. Check the length against your slot with the talk length calculator and cut points, not pace, if you run long.
4. A run with someone watching. Ask them where your eyes went. If they saw the top of your head, move the phone up.

Keep the audience screen separate

The most common phone mistake is mirroring the phone to the projector. Mirroring shows the whole phone, script included. Whatever app you use, the room screen should come from a separate source that shows slides and nothing else, and you should see it working before the audience arrives.

Day-of checklist

• Microphone permission allowed for the app you are using.
• Battery above 80 percent, or a cable long enough to reach the lectern.
• Notifications off, auto-lock set long enough for the talk.
• A printed backup: one line per slide, in large type, in your pocket.
• A test of the room screen from where you will stand.

Use your iPhone as a teleprompter with Aitho

Aitho is a teleprompter built around a slide talk. Get the iPhone app on the App Store and sign in; the same account works on iPad, Android and in any browser at present.aitho.app.

1. Import your deck. On Talks, tap Import and choose your PDF or PowerPoint (.pdf, .pptx or .ppt). Using Keynote or Google Slides? Export to PDF before importing. Aitho doesn't change your slides.
2. Add your script. Paste or type what you'll say on each slide, or use Draft with AI for a draft from your slides that you then edit into your own words (AI drafts are in Pro and Presenter Pro).
3. Rehearse. Tap your talk, choose Just this phone, allow the microphone when asked, and tap Start. The script follows your voice, the word you're on is highlighted, and each slide advances when you reach its words. If you pause, the script waits; when your words return, it catches up.
4. Put the slides on the room screen. On the presentation laptop, open aitho.app/cast in a browser and make it full screen; no account or install is needed there. In your talk, tap Show on a screen to get a 6-digit code and enter it on the laptop. The audience sees the slides; your script stays on your phone. Choosing A screen in the room also offers an HDMI cable route.

On iPhone and iPad, Apple's on-device recognizer runs on the phone, so following your script works offline. The room screen and the private question help need a connection. See iPhone as a teleprompter and present in a room.

New to it? Every free account comes with a sample talk, so you can try a full rehearsal before importing your own deck. Free to start: the free plan includes the voice-following script, your own PDF or PowerPoint (or the sample talk), any browser plus the iPhone and Android apps, spoken slide commands, and three private answers to try. Free needs no card. Current plans are on the pricing page.

Questions

Can I use my iPhone as a teleprompter for a slide presentation?

Yes. Keep the script on the phone and put the slides on a separate room screen. With Aitho, the script follows your voice on the iPhone and the slides advance when you reach their words, while the room screen at aitho.app/cast shows the slides.

Is there a free teleprompter app for iPhone that follows your voice?

Aitho is free to start: the free plan includes the voice-following script, your own PDF or PowerPoint or the sample talk, and three private answers to try, with no card.

Does the iPhone teleprompter work without Wi-Fi?

In the Aitho iPhone and iPad app, following your script works offline because Apple’s on-device recognizer runs on the phone. The room screen and answers to audience questions need a connection.

Can I mirror my iPhone to the projector?

It is safer not to. Mirroring shows the whole phone, including your script. Use the 6-digit code at aitho.app/cast so the room screen shows the slides.