How to use a teleprompter with Zoom on Mac
Reading talking points during a Zoom call usually means looking down at notes or away at another window. With PromptStrip, your script floats right under the camera and stays out of the way of Zoom. The same steps work for Google Meet.
Open your script during a call
- Before the call, add your talking points to a script in the PromptStrip library.
- Join the Zoom meeting as usual.
- When it’s your turn, switch to PromptStrip, select the script and press Start Prompting (⌘↩). You can also start a script from the PromptStrip menu-bar icon without opening the library.
- Go back to Zoom. The strip stays on top while Zoom is active, and Zoom keeps focus for your mic and camera controls.
Where to place the strip
- Built-in camera: leave the strip where it opens, right under the camera. People in the call see you looking at them.
- External webcam: drag the strip next to the webcam. Choose Reset to Camera from the menu-bar icon to bring it back under the built-in camera.
- Full-screen Zoom: the strip stays visible above full-screen apps, so you can keep Zoom in full screen.
For a natural look, set 2 visible lines and a small text size in Settings. Your eyes move less, and it looks like you’re making eye contact.
Control the scrolling without leaving Zoom
PromptStrip’s shortcuts work while Zoom is the active app:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| ⌃⌥↩ | Play / pause |
| ⌃⌥↑ / ⌃⌥↓ | Faster / slower |
| ⌃⌥← / ⌃⌥→ | Rewind / skip ahead |
| ⌃⌥H | Hide / show the strip |
Pause whenever someone asks a question, then press ⌃⌥↩ to continue from the same line. You can also hover over the strip for on-screen buttons, or scroll over it to scrub.
Screen sharing: window vs. entire screen
What participants see depends on what you share:
- Share a single window (for example, your slides or a browser window): the strip isn’t shared. Only you can see it. This is the best option when you present with a script.
- Share your entire screen: the strip is visible to participants like any other window. Press ⌃⌥H to hide it before you share, or switch to sharing a window.
The same applies in Google Meet: when you present a window or tab, the strip isn’t shared, and when you present your entire screen, it is.
Known limitations
- Entire-screen sharing shows the strip. Hide it with ⌃⌥H or share a window.
- Macs without a notch: the strip sits just under the menu bar. It’s still close to the camera, but it doesn’t blend into a notch.
- No voice tracking: the text scrolls at the speed you set. Use the shortcuts to pause and adjust.
Summary
Start your script, keep it under the camera, control it with shortcuts and share a window instead of your entire screen. Your notes stay private, and you stay focused on the people in the call.