TJ WALKER - THE HABIT INFLUENCER - Personal Development | LIVE STREAM

5 Jan 2018 · 3 min

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2:36

TJ Walker explains why untrained speakers should avoid using teleprompters, arguing they often produce robotic, stiff deliveries that alienate audiences. He recommends undergoing teleprompter training, practicing on video frequently, and varying pace, volume, pauses, facial/head/hand movement to appear natural. The clip ends with a promotion for his media training services and free book downloads.

Chapters

How do you give a presentation or make a video using a teleprompter? These days, more and more websites, applications, tools for helping speakers include software that allows you just to cut, paste your speech, put it in and a software program will roll that text across and you have an instant teleprompter. Sounds great. Why wouldn't everyone use that? Here's my warning to you. Never, ever, ever use teleprompter unless you're going to go through teleprompter training. The problem with using a teleprompter if you're not trained is all of a sudden you will look like this and sound like this and you look and sound like a robot. And yeah, you got every word just right. Big deal. You put everybody to sleep and you looked so stiff and phony and fake people are laughing at you. So you don't get any credit for remembering every word and reading because you did it in a way that was so inartful. So my challenge to you, don't get lured in by the technology. If you want to use the technology, it's fine, but you've got to use it in a way that's effective. If you're going to use a teleprompter, you need to practice on video. Many times. Teleprompters don't save you a ton. It's going to take more time. It could be worth it. But practice on video until you like how you're coming across the big challenges using a teleprompter. There's just a handful of things you need to focus on. You need to sometimes speak a little faster, sometimes a little slower, sometimes louder, sometimes softer. And occasionally you need to pause. You gotta do those five things, plus you gotta move your head and move your hands and move your face. Most people, when they're using a teleprompter software for the first time, they don't do any of those things. Nothing is moving. Speaking speed is the same, volume is the same, no pauses, no head movement. And that's what just makes them sound awful. So, tips on using teleprompter software. I'm TJ Walker. I help people speak more effectively. If you'd like to improve your own speaking skills or media skills, go to mediatrainingworldwide.com you can download a couple of my books at no charge. Get information about our online training programs as well as our in person coaching.