Actors, politicians and public speakers have known for years how the use of a teleprompter has helped them give better performances. What is a teleprompter? A teleprompter is equipment used to display smooth scrolling text (similar to credits at the end of a movie). The text is read by someone who is in front of either a camera or live audience. As the text is read, a teleprompter operator uses a computer to control the speed of the scrolling text to closely follow the speech pattern and delivery of the speaker. There are some common applications of teleprompting that you may already be familiar with:

News Anchor

Ever wonder how a news anchor can get the whole story right, even if it’s a long and complicated one? Well, thanks to a teleprompter they can read the story, word for word, while looking directly into the camera. The secret is reflective glass that is positioned to reflect a video monitor with the scrolling text on it. The camera’s lens is placed directly behind the reflective glass. Like magic… the scrolling text is clearly seen by the news anchor in front of the reflective glass, but is completely invisible to the camera behind the glass. The same method can be used by virtually anyone on video or TV who talks directly into the camera.

“State of the Union” Address

Did you ever notice that the President can deliver his yearly “State of the Union” address, which can last over an hour in length, without looking at notes or index cards? And how about other politicians, business leaders and lecturers who deliver lengthy speeches without ever once looking away from their audience? Next time, take note of the two panes of glass that are positioned at the corners of their podiums. The glass reflects monitors that have the entire speech scrolling on them. While the text is seen clearly from behind the podium, it is completely invisible to the audience in front. These “Presidential Prompters” can be used by anyone who speaks to a live audience from behind a podium.

Benefits include:

  • Script does not need to be memorized to be delivered with confidence and accuracy.
  • Eliminates need for notes, cue cards and index cards.
  • Allows speaker to focus more on style and delivery rather than memorizing the content of a speech or presentation.
  • Enables speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience.
  • Reduces video production costs by making it easier to get longer and more accurate “takes.”
  • Makes complicated speeches consistent time after time.

The Performance Prompter 



The principles behind the success of the teleprompter are the same for the Performance Prompter. Following the principles of the teleprompter, psychologist Dr. Herbert Kellner,  United States Online University (USOU), created the Performance Prompter. The Performance Prompter is an Augmented Reality (AR) system that provides instant feedback to the role players during the role play exercise.

The Performance Prompter has opened new dimensions in behavior training, revolutionizing role play exercises. Solving the problems inherent in the traditional role play exercise has proved to be a major breakthrough in behavior training. This dramatic new approach raised the effectiveness of role playing to unexpected heights.

More about the Performance Prompter in our next post.