How to Make a Computer Teleprompter

by John Mitchell, studioD Google

You can turn any computer into a teleprompter with PowerPoint or a similar presentation tool like Google Docs. For best results, connect a high-resolution widescreen monitor to your computer so the quality of the text on the screen is at an optimal level. However, a widescreen monitor is not necessary -- any monitor will do.

Choose the Computer

Use either a computer that you use on an everyday basis, or an older computer that might be lying around unused, then choose a monitor to go with it. You can use an older CRT, or Cathode Ray Tube, monitor, or connect a widescreen LCD, or Liquid Crystal Display, monitor with a high-resolution display to your computer. The latter is by far the best choice for displaying a clear picture of the text, especially since the text will be scrolling from the bottom of the screen to the top.


PowerPoint is a versatile tool that has various animation effects you can apply to any slide in the presentation. One of the effects useful for creating a teleprompter on your computer is the scrolling up effect, which causes the selected text to scroll upward from the bottom.

Teleprompter Document

Launch Microsoft PowerPoint and create a new document that doesn't have a layout. Set the background color as black and the foreground as white. White text on a black background helps the text stand out and be readable from a distance. Enlarge the font size to at least 48 points or larger, if necessary. Also, choose a font that is clear and crisp, such as Calibri, Cambria or Corbel. Enter your speech text in a text field box. If you already have the speech in another document, copy and paste it into the teleprompter presentation.


Go to the "Animations" tab in PowerPoint and click the "Lines" icon. Click on the "Effect Options" icon, then select "Up" and set the "Sequence" to "As One Object." Press the "F5" key on your keyboard to play the presentation, which begins scrolling the text immediately. To stop the slide show, press the "Esc" key, which exits the presentation entirely. To pause the scrolling animation, press the "B" key. To jump to the next slide, press the space bar. Practice several times reading your speech to get the timing right.


If you are not comfortable with the default scrolling speed of the text, adjust it by going to the "Animations" tab and clicking the "Effect Options." On the next screen, click the "Timing" tab, then go to the "Speed" field and enter a length of time in seconds. Click the "OK" button to save the changes. The value you enter should be the total amount of time you wish for the text to scroll on the screen. For example, 20 to 25 seconds scrolls the text at a decent speed, but 50 seconds scrolls the text at a slower rate. Tweak this value to find the speed that works best for your speech.

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