How to Use a Teleprompter on Zoom

The Short Answer

To use a teleprompter on Zoom, put your script right under the camera and keep the Zoom window beside it. On a Mac, download Avocado, paste your script, press ⌘1 to start it at the top of the screen, and join your call as usual. Then move Zoom up towards the camera, so your eyes stay near the lens whether you're reading or looking at people.

It takes about two minutes. The steps below cover the setup, the scroll speed, and the test worth doing before an important call.

Step 1: Get Your Script Into Avocado

1. Download Avocado, which is free and needs macOS 14 or later, and go through the short setup.
2. Press ⌘N to start a new script.
3. Paste your notes with ⌘V.

For a call, short notes usually work better than a full script, because you'll need to respond to people. Put each topic under a line starting with # , like # Pricing, and you can press ⇧⌘C to jump to the next one when the conversation moves on. If you do need a full script, our video script templates are ready to paste in.

Step 2: Start It Under the Camera

Press ⌘1 or click Start in Notch. On a MacBook with a notch, your script appears at the top centre of the screen, right beside the camera. On other Macs and external displays, Avocado draws the same panel at the top of the screen.

Using a webcam somewhere else? Press ⌘2 or click Start Floating, then drag the window directly under your camera.

Step 3: Move the Zoom Window

This step makes the biggest difference to how you look. Make the Zoom window smaller and drag it to the top of the screen, as close to the camera as you can. Then hide your self view, so your eyes aren't pulled towards your own face. There's more on why this works in how to make eye contact on camera.

Step 4: Set the Scroll Speed

You have two options:

• A speed you set. This is free on scripts of any length. Press ⌘↑ or ⌘↓ to change the speed mid-call, and the space bar to pause.
• Your voice. Voice-Activated Scrolling moves the script when you talk and stops when you stop, which suits calls well. It's part of Pro, and the free plan on Mac includes three Pro sessions a week. Turn it on under Settings › Voice.

Press Esc to close the prompter when you're done.

Step 5: Check What Other People See

Avocado asks macOS to keep its prompter and editor windows out of screen capture. Check this yourself before a call that matters, because screen capture can change with macOS and Zoom updates:

1. Start a test meeting in Zoom with the prompter running.
2. Share your screen the way you plan to on the call, and record it, or join from a second device.
3. Watch the result to confirm what appears.

Sharing a single window, like your slides or your browser, rather than your whole desktop is the simplest way to keep everything else on your screen private. Also make sure Demo Mode is off under Settings › Advanced, because it deliberately makes Avocado visible so you can show it to people.

How to Sound Natural Reading on Zoom

• Write the way you talk. Short sentences are easier to read aloud and easier to leave when someone interrupts.
• Read a few words ahead. It stops the flat, word-by-word sound of someone reading.
• Use a larger text size. You want to catch the words at a glance. Here's our teleprompter font size guide.
• Look up now and then. Check people's faces when you finish a point, as you would in a room.
• Rehearse once out loud. Most of the problems with a script only show up when you say it.

There's more in how to read a teleprompter without looking like you're reading.

Recording Instead of Going Live?

The same setup works for recording a video of yourself in Zoom. Here's how to record yourself on Zoom, step by step.

Not on a Mac?

Avocado's desktop app is for Mac. On a Windows laptop or PC, our free online teleprompter runs in your browser with nothing to install. A browser tab behaves like any other window, so share a single window on Zoom rather than your whole screen.