Teleprompter for Keynote: turn your Keynote deck into a voice-following rehearsal

Start with the talk, not the tool

Keynote has a presenter display that shows your notes, the next slide and a timer on your screen while the audience sees the current slide. If you can glance at your notes and carry on talking, that is enough, and you do not need anything else. A voice-following script helps a different presenter: the one who knows the material but loses the line when looking down, or who is presenting in a second language and wants the exact words close by.

Export your Keynote deck to PDF

Aitho imports PDF and PowerPoint files; for Keynote, the route on the Aitho help pages is to export to PDF before importing. In Keynote, choose File, then Export To, then PDF, and save the file somewhere you can reach from the device you will rehearse on. Export again whenever you change the deck.

Check what the static export changes

• Builds and animations. A PDF is static. A slide that builds in four steps can arrive as its finished state. Look at the export options Keynote offers for builds, and decide which version you want to rehearse with.
• Fonts. Check any slide with custom type in the PDF before importing.
• Slide order and skipped slides. Make sure hidden slides are not in the export unless you plan to present them.
• Video. Movies on a slide do not play from a PDF. Plan to describe them or show them separately.

Rehearse the talk out loud

Write one spoken section per slide. Then rehearse in three passes: a slow pass to check each slide arrives where it should, a timed pass against your slot, and a standing pass with the device where it will be on the day. The talk length calculator will tell you whether the script fits.

Rehearse your Keynote deck with Aitho

1. Import the PDF. Sign in at aitho.app on your Mac, iPad or iPhone. In Talks, tap Import and choose the PDF you exported. Aitho doesn't change your slides.
2. Add your script. Paste your presenter notes rewritten as spoken sentences, or use Draft with AI for a draft from your slides (in Pro and Presenter Pro).
3. Rehearse. Tap Start and speak. The script follows your voice and each slide advances when you reach its words. If you pause, it waits; when your words return, it catches up.
4. Set up the audience screen. In a room, open aitho.app/cast on the presentation laptop and enter the 6-digit code from Show on a screen. On a call, share the Audience Stage window. The audience sees the slides; your script stays on your screen.

On a Mac, use Aitho in the browser. On iPhone and iPad, the Aitho app follows your script offline using Apple's on-device recognizer; the room screen and question help need a connection. Aitho has no native Keynote integration; it works from the exported PDF. See import your presentation and rehearse out loud.

Troubleshooting

• The import fails or looks wrong. Re-export the PDF and check it opens in Preview, then import again.
• A build matters to your story. Duplicate the slide in Keynote for each stage you need, export again, and give each page its own section in the script.
• The script and slides drift apart. Check that each script section matches its slide, especially after you add or remove slides in Keynote.

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 a teleprompter with Keynote?

Yes, through export. Save the Keynote deck as a PDF, import it into Aitho, and rehearse with a script that follows your voice while each slide advances when you reach its words.

Is there a teleprompter app for Mac for presentations?

Aitho runs in a browser on a Mac, and has apps for iPhone and iPad. Import your deck as a PDF or PowerPoint file and rehearse out loud.

Is there a teleprompter app for iPad?

Yes. The Aitho app runs on iPhone and iPad, and following your script works offline there because Apple’s on-device recognizer runs on the device.

Do Keynote animations survive the export?

A PDF is static, so builds can appear as finished slides. Check the export before you rehearse, and duplicate a slide for each stage if a build matters.