How to read a script on camera without sounding scripted

Short answer: put the text as close to the lens as you can in a narrow column, rewrite the script the way you'd say it, rehearse it out loud once, and read a phrase ahead instead of word by word, pausing where you'd naturally breathe.

1. Fix your eyes

The biggest giveaway is eye movement: either sweeping left to right across long lines, or looking slightly off-camera.

• Narrow column. Five to eight words per line. Your eyes should barely move horizontally.
• As close to the lens as possible. On a laptop, the top center of the screen. On a phone, the text overlaid near the top of the selfie view. With glass, directly in front of the lens.
• Distance from the camera. Doubling your distance roughly halves how far your eyes appear to move. Sit back and make the text bigger.
• Fixed reading position. Read at the same spot on the screen (the reading line) and let the text come to you.

2. Fix your rhythm

Readers sound robotic because they give every word equal weight and pause only at punctuation. Natural speech groups words into phrases and pauses for meaning.

• Read a phrase ahead. Let your eyes run slightly ahead of your mouth. You can only do this if the scroll speed is a touch slower than your voice.
• Mark pauses in the script. A blank line for a breath; an ellipsis or dash for a beat of emphasis.
• Vary your pace. Slow down for the important sentence; speed up through the setup. If you're using a teleprompter with live speed control, lean on it.
• Pause the scroll when you want a real pause, rather than speeding up to "catch up" afterwards.

3. Fix your voice

• Talk to one person. Picture a specific friend behind the lens. You'll naturally use more expression.
• Smile at the start of sentences. It lifts your tone even when the smile isn't visible.
• Emphasize one word per sentence. CAPS in the script remind you which one.
• Gesture. Hands moving below frame still change how your voice sounds.

A 15-minute routine before you record

1. Rewrite for speech (5 min). Read the script aloud once from the page. Anything that trips you up gets shortened or replaced. Contractions in, jargon out.
2. Mark it up (2 min). Blank lines for breaths, CAPS for emphasis.
3. Find your pace (3 min). Run it on the teleprompter at 140 wpm. Adjust until the line you're reading stays at the reading line.
4. Full rehearsal (3 min). Read it start to finish to the camera without recording.
5. Record (2 min). First take. Watch it back with the sound off: if your eyes look busy, narrow the text or sit further back.

Device-specific tips

iPhone or iPad

Mount the phone at eye level and use a teleprompter app that puts the text over the selfie camera; the Tuzu app does this while recording. Read the lines nearest the top edge, which are closest to the lens. Turn the screen brightness up if you're outside.

Laptop or Mac

Use a browser teleprompter in a small window directly under the webcam. Raise the laptop on books so the camera is at eye level. The online teleprompter can also record your webcam directly.

Zoom, Teams or Meet

Same setup as a laptop, but use notes rather than a full script so you can react to people. See teleprompter for Zoom.

Without a teleprompter

Break the script into short sections, memorize one section at a time, record it, and cut between them. Changing your framing slightly between sections hides the cuts. It's slower but works with any camera.