Teleprompter for Zoom: how to present on Zoom with a private voice-following script

The two windows you need

When you present slides on Zoom, there are two things on your computer: what the attendees should see (your slides) and what you alone should see (your script or notes). Most mishaps come from mixing them up: sharing the whole desktop and exposing the notes, or sharing PowerPoint's presenter view by mistake. Decide before the call which window is which. For the general habits of presenting on a call (camera, pacing, questions), read how to present slides on Zoom without looking away; this page is the setup.

Set up the private script window

Put the script window directly under your webcam, at the top centre of the screen, and make it narrow so your eyes move as little as possible. Make the text large enough to read at a glance. If you have a second monitor, keep the shared window on one screen and the script on the screen with the camera.

Share a window, not your screen

In Zoom, choose Share Screen and pick the specific window with your slides, not the Screen or Desktop option. Sharing one window means notifications, other apps and your script stay out of the share. Close what you do not need and turn on Do Not Disturb before you start.

Test with a real call

Before the real presentation, start a call with a colleague (or join from your phone as a second attendee) and check:

• The attendee sees the slides, and nothing from the script window.
• The slides change for them when they change for you.
• Your eyes look close to the lens when you read the script. Ask them.
• Your microphone is the one you think it is.

Practise transitions and interruptions

Run the talk once with a colleague who interrupts with a question halfway through. Answer it, then find your place and carry on. On a call, saying where you are going next ("now the budget") does the job body language does in a room.

Common problems and recovery

• Microphone contention. If two apps want the microphone, one may get silence. Choose the same microphone in Zoom and in your teleprompter, and test both together.
• The whole desktop got shared. Stop sharing, then share again and pick the slides window. Have the recovery practised so it takes seconds.
• The slides window is minimised. Keep the shared window open on screen while you present.

Use a teleprompter on Zoom with Aitho

1. Import and script. Import your PDF or PowerPoint, add what you'll say on each slide, and rehearse it once out loud.
2. Open the Audience Stage window. Click Present, choose On a video call, pick Zoom, and open the Audience Stage window. Your Presenter View, with your script and controls, stays yours. The top bar confirms when the Audience Stage is in sync.
3. Share that window in Zoom. Share the Audience Stage window, not your whole screen and not the Presenter View: both of those show your script.
4. Start and speak. Click Start presentation. Your script follows your voice and each slide advances when you reach its words, so remote viewers see the slides move as you speak.

If the wrong window ever gets shared, one key blanks everything private. Presenting from a phone instead? Choose A video call on the phone and your phone stays your private teleprompter. See present on Zoom, Teams or Meet.

When questions come, hold the button and repeat the question, or type it: a suggested answer from your own slides and documents appears on your screen, not in the share. The free plan includes three to try. 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

How do I present on Zoom without showing my notes?

Share a single window that shows the slides, not your whole screen, and keep your notes in a separate window that is not shared. In Aitho, you share the Audience Stage window while your script stays in the Presenter View.

Is there a teleprompter app for Zoom meetings that follows my voice?

Aitho’s script follows your voice on your own screen while you share the Audience Stage window in Zoom. Each slide advances when you reach its words.

How do I keep eye contact while presenting on Zoom?

Place your script in a narrow window directly under the webcam, so reading it keeps your eyes close to the lens, and look into the lens for key lines.

What if I share the wrong window?

Stop sharing and share the slides window again. In Aitho, one key also blanks everything private if the wrong window gets shared.